Abstract: According to various embodiments, a microfluidic system for detecting a biological entity in a sample volume is provided. The microfluidic system may include: a chamber configured to receive the sample volume, wherein the chamber includes a detection region for detecting the biological entity; a first port in fluid communication with the chamber; and a second port including a filter in fluid communication with the chamber; and wherein a fluid provided to the first port or the second port flows between the first port and the second port through the chamber.

Abstract: There is provided a method of culturing a stem cell on extracellular matrix extracted from support cells and in a stem cell culture medium comprising medium conditioned by the support cells.

Abstract: According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an antenna including: a substrate; a conductive layer formed on a portion of a top surface of the substrate; a first slot formed within the conductive layer; a conductive stub disposed within the first slot, the conductive stub tuned to reject a first frequency band; and a second slot formed within the conductive layer, the second slot tuned to reject a second frequency band.

Abstract: The present invention provides a porous hollow silica micro- or nanoparticle with a polymer grafted thereon, wherein the polymer is selected from poly(methacrylic acid) and copolymers thereof. The polymer may be covalently linked to the silica particle via a bridging group. Provided is also a method of covalently coupling a poly(methacrylic acid) to a silica surface of a hollow silica particle. The method comprises contacting a silica surface of a hollow silica particle that carries amino functional or halogen functional groups with a poly(methacrylic acid) or a copolymer or a respective monomer thereof. The method further comprises allowing the carboxyl group of the monomer or the poly(methacrylic acid) and an amino functional group or a halogen functional group on the silica surface to undergo a coupling reaction, thereby covalently coupling the polymer to the silica surface.

Abstract: There is provided a substrate comprising an array of non-pillar-shaped nanoformations extending from the surface of the substrate and being arranged to form, between adjacent non-pillar-shaped nanoformations, longitudinally shaped nano-sized depression formations, said nanoformations and said depressions being selected to enable the surface of the substrate to exhibit a higher pinning force relative to the surface of a substrate with an array of pillar-shaped formations.

Abstract: A method for identifying a pathological region of a scan (such as a stroke region within a MRI DWI volume scan) is proposed. A region of the scan which is likely to contain pathological tissue (e.g. infracted tissue) is identified by obtaining a parameter which, for a given slice, or portion of a slice, characterizes the distribution of the intensity of pixels, e.g. the relative proportion of high intensity pixels. In a first case, such a parameter is used to identify those slices of a volume scan which are likely to include infarction. In a second case, such a parameter (hemisphere parameter) is obtained for each of the left- and right-hemispheres of a brain, to estimate which hemisphere contains the stroke. In either case, the parameter may be calculated based on ranges, percentiles and functions of the percentiles of the intensity distribution. These ranges, percentiles and functions of the percentiles are not pre-defined but are selected to maximize sensitivity.

Abstract: A composition is provided, which comprises chains comprising a first graft copolymer of a first elastomer and a poly(L-lactic acid), and chains comprising a second graft copolymer of a second elastomer and a poly(D-lactic acid). At least some of the poly(L-lactic acid) and poly(D-lactic acid) crosslink the chains. Poly(L-lactic acid) and poly(D-lactic acid) may form stereocomplexes that crosslink the chains. The chains may be crosslinked by crystalline structures formed from at least some of the poly(L-lactic acid) and poly(D-lactic acid) in discrete regions. The crosslinked chains may form a matrix. In a method of forming the composition, the first and second graft copolymers are mixed, such as by melt blending or solution casting, to form the composition. The graft copolymers may be formed by a “grafting-though” or “grafting-from” process. The composition may be useful under a relatively wide range of temperatures.

Abstract: The brittleness of a thermoplastic material containing a polylactic acid may be reduced by melting and mixing the thermoplastic material and a graft copolymer to link the graft copolymer to thermoplastic polymer to form a new thermoplastic material with reduced brittleness. The graft copolymer comprises an elastomeric backbone and a side chain grafted to the backbone. The side chain comprises a enantiomer of lactic acid opposite to the enantiomer in the thermoplastic material. A composition comprises a thermoplastic polymer and the graft copolymer, where the graft copolymer is linked to the thermoplastic polymer by the enantiomers. A method of forming the composition may comprise melting precursors for the thermoplastic polymer and the graft copolymer, and mixing the precursors to allow the lactic acids to link the graft copolymer to the thermoplastic polymer.

Abstract: Biodegradable cationic block copolymers are disclosed, comprising a hydrophilic block comprising first repeat units derived from a first cyclic carbonyl monomer by ring-opening polymerization, wherein more than 0% of the first repeat units comprise a side chain moiety comprising a quaternary amine group; a hydrophobic block comprising second repeat units derived from a second cyclic carbonyl monomer by ring-opening polymerization; an optional endcap group; and a chain fragment derived from an initiator for the ring opening polymerization. The cationic block copolymers form aqueous micelle mixtures suitable for antimicrobial applications.

Abstract: An electro-optic device is disclosed. The electro-optic device includes an insulating layer, a first semiconducting region disposed above the insulating layer and being doped with doping atoms of a first conductivity type, a second semiconducting region disposed above the insulating layer and being doped with doping atoms of a second conductivity type and an electro-optic active region disposed above the insulating layer and between the first semiconducting region and the second semiconducting region. The electro-optic active region includes a first partial active region and a second partial active region and an insulating structure in between. The insulating structure extends perpendicular to the surface of the insulating layer such that there is no overlap of the first partial active region and the second partial active region in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the insulating layer. A method for manufacturing is also disclosed.

Abstract: The present invention relates to method detecting analytes by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), comprising contacting the analytes with at least one analyte binding molecule attached to a metal substrate surface that enhances Raman scattering via a Raman-active molecular linker; and detecting a surface enhanced Raman signal from said compound. In a further aspect, this invention relates to a conjugate and a biosensor suitable for the invented SERS-based analyte detection method.

Abstract: The present invention provides an amphiphilic linear peptide and/or peptoid as well as a hydrogel that includes the amphiphilic linear peptide/peptoid. The amphiphilic linear peptide/peptoid is capable of forming a hydrogel. These peptides/peptoids include short amphiphilic sequences with a hydrophobic portion of aliphatic amino acids and at least one acidic, neutral, or basic polar amino acid. The amphiphilic linear peptide/peptoid is build up of non repetitive aliphatic amino acids, which may be in the L- or D-form. A plurality of such peptides/peptoids assembles to supramolecular helical fibers and forms peptide hydrogels after assembly. A corresponding hydrogel is formed in aqueous solutions at physiological pH and is thus useful for inter alia cell culture, tissue engineering, and drug release. Such hydrogels which are rigid, biocompatible and entrapping up to 99.9% of water are also well suited for applications utilizing electronic devices.

Abstract: The present invention relates, in some aspects, to systems and methods for fabricating longitudinally-shaped structures such as nanobelt semiconductor structures. In some embodiments, the method comprises: a) providing a substrate selected to promote epitaxial growth thereon a selected growth orientation, b) depositing a crystalline sacrificial layer on the substrate for epitaxially growing along the selected growth orientation, c) forming a film over the sacrificial layer, the film having a crystal lattice structure grown substantially along the selected growth orientation, and d) removing at least part of the sacrificial layer, thereby producing the longitudinally shaped structures from the film by strain redistribution through the crystal lattice structure of the film to crack the film along a selected in-plane axis of the selected growth orientation.

Abstract: The present invention relates to novel polyamino polyketide antibiotics, methods of their production as well as methods of using these antibiotics, for example, for inhibition or removal of biofilm formation or for treating bacterial infection with these antibiotics.

Abstract: This invention relates to shape memory block copolymers comprising: at least one switching segment having a Ttrans from 10 to 70° C.; and at least one soft segment, wherein at least one of the switching segments is linked to at least one of the soft segments by at least one linkage, and wherein the copolymer transforms from a first shape to a second shape by application of a first stimulus and the copolymer transforms back to the first shape from the second shape by application of a second stimulus. The shape memory block copolymers may be biocompatible and biodegradable.

Abstract: Biodegradable cationic block copolymers are disclosed, comprising a hydrophilic block comprising first repeat units derived from a first cyclic carbonyl monomer by ring-opening polymerization, wherein more than 0% of the first repeat units comprise a side chain moiety comprising a quaternary amine group; a hydrophobic block comprising second repeat units derived from a second cyclic carbonyl monomer by ring-opening polymerization; an optional endcap group; and a chain fragment derived from an initiator for the ring opening polymerization. The cationic block copolymers form aqueous micelle mixtures suitable for antimicrobial applications.

Abstract: A method for identifying a target nucleic acid bound by an analyte in a sample comprising: (a) contacting said sample with a first probe comprising a first nucleic acid and a first analyte binding domain and a second probe comprising a second nucleic acid and second analyte binding domain, wherein said first and second probes can bind to said analyte, such that said first and second nucleic acid are in spatial proximity to form a complex with said target nucleic acid if said target nucleic acid is bound by said analyte in said sample; (b) incubating said sample with a ligase that can ligate said complex to form a ligated target nucleic acid template; (c) amplifying said target nucleic acid template if present in said sample, and (d) detecting the presence or absence of an amplified target nucleic acid template.

Abstract: There is provided a process for forming a laminated structure, the process comprising the step of bonding a polymer film to an array of structures disposed on a substrate, and wherein a plurality of cavities are formed between the polymer film and the array of structures during the bonding.

Abstract: A radio frequency identification transceiver is disclosed. The radio frequency identification transceiver includes: a transmitter path, including; a pulse shaper to tunably shape the pulse of a signal to be transmitted in different predefined frequency ranges; a modulator to modulate the shaped pulse to be transmitted into one of a plurality of predefined frequency ranges; a receiver path, including: a demodulator to demodulate a received signal from a plurality of predefined frequency ranges.

Abstract: There is provided a polymer comprising blocks of at least one polyethylene glycol) block, at least one poly(propylene glycol) block and at least one poly(hydroxybutyrate) block. Also provided is a method of making the polymer and a method of using the polymer.