Abstract: An amplification reaction chamber and a method for nucleic acid (NA) amplification in a gene analysis system are provided. The amplification reaction chamber includes an interior surface within which an NA amplification reaction is performed. The amplification reaction chamber also includes a multi-layered nanostructure coating conformally applied to at least a portion of the interior surface and including sub-micrometer nanostructures that enhance fluorescence in the NA amplification reaction based on at least one of plasmonic material of which the sub-micrometer nanostructures are made and geometric dimensions of the sub-micrometer nanostructures.

Abstract: An assay repository device for photothermal or joule heating includes an assay container having an interior surface and being configured to house an assay solution, and a nanostructure layer conformally integrated onto the assay container and directly contacting the interior surface, the nanostructure layer being plasmonic and thermally conductive, and including a plurality of nanofeatures having non-uniform sizes and/or non-uniform shapes.

Abstract: A system for nucleic acid (NA) amplification includes a light source configured to emit a first excitation light based on a control signal, a reaction chamber configured to house a solution including a plurality of first nucleic acids (NAs), the plurality of first NAs being configured to amplify in response to the first excitation light, the solution being configured to emit a second light in response to heating by the first excitation light and to emit a third light in response to amplification of the plurality of first NAs, a detector configured to detect the second and third lights and to generate a temperature signal corresponding to the second light and a first fluorescence signal corresponding to the third light, and a lens module configured to focus the second and third lights onto the detector.

Abstract: A smart contact lens includes a contact lens, a nanostructures layer, a first sensor, a connector, and a smart module. The nanostructures layer may be anti-bacterial. The smart contact lens may be worn on an eye or may be implanted within an eye. The nanostructures layer is fabricated by depositing a colloidal dispersion onto an electrostatically-coated substrate. The colloidal dispersion is then removed and nanoholes are etched. The electrostatic coating is removed and a biocompatible material is spin-coated onto the substrate. Upon removal, a quasi-randomly distributed nanostructures layer forms.

Abstract: By adopting nature's biopolymer-phase-separation process, a highly scalable biomimetic bottom-up nanofabrication method is developed to create low-aspect-ratio bioinspired nanostructures (BINS) on freestanding silicon-nitride (Si3N4) membranes. Unlike previous high-aspect-ratio nonstructures that focused on replicating optical antireflection and bactericidal properties, the IOP sensor with BINS (or BINS-IOP sensor) of the present disclosure has a pseudo-periodic arrangement and dimensions that control short-range scattering to enhance omnidirectional optical transmission and angle independence while also exhibiting anti-biofouling properties of high-aspect-ratio nanostructures, which typically rely on physical cell lysis. In some embodiments, the BINS-IOP sensor can have a low-aspect-ratio, which displays strong hydrophilicity to form an aqueous anti-adhesion barrier for proteins and cellular fouling without cell lysis.

Abstract: Systems, methods and devices are provided for electro-osmotic propulsion in a microfluidic environment. These systems, methods and devices can include a body having a channel comprising a pair of open ends, and a plurality of electrodes coupled to the body, wherein the electrodes are configured to generate a voltage and cause an electro-osmotic flow of a fluid through the channel. In many of the embodiments, an on-board power supply coupled to the body is provided for generating voltage across the electrodes. In some embodiments, the channel comprises a cylindrical shape having a circular cross-sectional area.

Abstract: IOP sensors and IOP measurement algorithms are disclosed herein. Examples of the IOP measurement algorithm can include a signal demodulation and artificial neural network algorithm to produce reliable results using minimal computational resources. The overall accuracy and speed of the IOP sensors and measurement algorithms enable their implementation in home-based IOP measurement systems.