Soft, wearable, microfluidic system for fluorometric analysis of loss of amino acids through eccrine sweat

Cho, S. H.*; Cho, S. W.*; Lv, Z.*; Sekine, Yurina; Liu, S.*; Zhou, M.*; Nuxoll, R. F.*; Kanatzidis, E. E.*; Ghaffari, R.*; Kim, D.*; et al.

Lab on a Chip, 9 Pages, 2025/00

https://doi.org/10.1039/D4LC00734D

Amino acids are essential for protein synthesis and metabolic processes in support of homeostatic balance and healthy body functions. This study quantitatively investigates eccrine sweat as a significant channel for loss of amino acids during exercise, to improve an understanding of amino acid turnover and to provide feedback to users on the need for supplement intake. The measurement platform consists of a soft, skin-interfaced microfluidic system for real-time analysis of amino acid content in eccrine sweat. This system relies on integrated fluorometric assays and smartphone-based imaging techniques for quantitative analysis.

Brightening triplet excitons enable high-performance white-light emission in organic small molecules via integrating n-- transitions

Yang, Q.*; Yang, X.*; Wang, Y.*; Fei, Y.*; Li, F.*; Zheng, H.*; Li, K.*; Han, Y.*; Hattori, Takanori; Zhu, P.*; et al.

Nature Communications (Internet), 15, p.7778_1 - 7778_9, 2024/09

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52196-7

Luminescent materials that simultaneously embody bright singlet and triplet excitons hold great potential in optoelectronics, signage, and information encryption. However, achieving high-performance white-light emission is severely hampered by their inherent unbalanced contribution of fluorescence and phosphorescence. Herein, we address this challenge by pressure treatment engineering via hydrogen bonding cooperativity effect to realize the mixture of n-- transitions, where the triplet state emission was boosted from 7% to 40% in isophthalic acid (IPA). A superior white-light emission based on hybrid fluorescence and phosphorescence was harvested in pressure-treated IPA, and the photoluminescence quantum yield was increased to 75% from the initial 19% (blue-light emission). In-situ high-pressure IR spectra, X ray diffraction, and neutron diffraction reveal continuous strengthening of the hydrogen bonds with the increase of pressure. Furthermore, this enhanced hydrogen bond is retained down to the ambient conditions after pressure treatment, awarding the targeted IPA efficient intersystem crossing for balanced singlet/triplet excitons population and resulting in efficient white-light emission. This work not only proposes a route for brightening triplet states in organic small molecule, but also regulates the ratio of singlet and triplet excitons to construct high-performance white-light emission.

Dual nanoprecipitation and nanoscale chemical heterogeneity in a secondary hardening steel for ultrahigh strength and large uniform elongation

Wang, S.*; Wang, J.*; Zhang, S.*; Wei, D.*; Chen, Y.*; Rong, X.*; Gong, W.; Harjo, S.; Liu, X.*; Jiao, Z.*; et al.

Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 185, p.245 - 258, 2024/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2023.10.048

Phase transformation and equation of state in Ti-45Al alloy under high pressure

Li, X.*; Zhu, R.*; Xin, J.*; Luo, M.*; Shang, S.-L.*; Liu, Z.-K.*; Yin, C.*; Funakoshi, Kenichi*; Dippenaar, R. J.*; Higo, Yuji*; et al.

CALPHAD; Computer Coupling of Phase Diagrams and Thermochemistry, 84, p.102641_1 - 102641_6, 2024/03

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.calphad.2023.102641

Chiral Dirac fermion in a collinear antiferromagnet

Zhang, A.*; Deng, K.*; Sheng, J.*; Liu, P.*; Kumar, S.*; Shimada, Kenya*; Jiang, Z.*; Liu, Z.*; Shen, D.*; Li, J.*; et al.

Chinese Physics Letters, 40(12), p.126101_1 - 126101_8, 2023/12

https://doi.org/10.1088/0256-307X/40/12/126101

Validation of the Be ground-state molecular structure using Be()He triple differential reaction cross-section measurements

Li, P. J.*; Beaumel, D.*; Lee, J.*; Assi, M.*; Chen, S.*; Franchoo, S.*; Gibelin, J.*; Hammache, F.*; Harada, T.*; Kanada-En'yo, Yoshiko*; et al.

Physical Review Letters, 131(21), p.212501_1 - 212501_7, 2023/11

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.212501

The cluster structure of the neutron-rich isotope Be has been probed via the () reaction. The triple differential cross-section was extracted and compared to distorted-wave impulse approximation reaction calculations performed in a microscopic framework using the Tohsaki-Horiuchi-Schuck-Rpke wave function and the wave function deduced from Antisymmetrized Molecular Dynamics calculations. The remarkable agreement between calculated and measured cross-sections in both shape and magnitude validates the description of the Be ground-state as a rather compact nuclear molecule.

Pressure engineering of van der Waals compound RhI; Bandgap narrowing, metallization, and remarkable enhancement of photoelectric activity

Fang, Y.*; Kong, L.*; Wang, R.*; Zhang, Z.*; Li, Z.*; Wu, Y.*; Bu, K.*; Liu, X.*; Yan, S.*; Hattori, Takanori; et al.

Materials Today Physics (Internet), 34, p.101083_1 - 101083_7, 2023/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtphys.2023.101083

The layered van der Waals halides are particularly sensitive to external pressure, suggesting a feasible route to pinpoint their structure with extraordinary behavior. However, a very sensitive pressure response usually lead to a detrimental phase transition and/or lattice distortion, making the approach of materials manipulation in a continuous manner remain challenging. Here, the extremely weak interlayer coupling and high tunability of layered RhI crystals are observed. A pressure-driven phase transition occurs at a moderate pressure of 5 GPa, interlinking to a change of layer stack mode. Strikingly, such a phase transition does not affect the tendency of quasi-linear bandgap narrowing, and a metallization with an ultra-broad tunability of 1.3 eV redshift is observed at higher pressures. Moreover, the carrier concentration increases by 4 orders of magnitude at 30 GPa, and the photocurrent enhances by 5 orders of magnitude at 7.8 GPa. These findings create new opportunities for exploring, tuning, and understanding the van der Waals halides by harnessing their unusual feature of a layered structure, which is promising for future devices based on materials-by-design that are atomically thin.

Pressure-modulated magnetism and negative thermal expansion in the HoFe intermetallic compound

Cao, Y.*; Zhou, H.*; Khmelevskyi, S.*; Lin, K.*; Avdeev, M.*; Wang, C.-W.*; Wang, B.*; Hu, F.*; Kato, Kenichi*; Hattori, Takanori; et al.

Chemistry of Materials, 35(8), p.3249 - 3255, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.3c00158

Hydrostatic and chemical pressure are efficient stimuli to alter the crystal structure and are commonly used for tuning electronic and magnetic properties in materials science. However, chemical pressure is difficult to quantify and a clear correspondence between these two types of pressure is still lacking. Here, we study intermetallic candidates for a permanent magnet with a negative thermal expansion (NTE). Based on in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction, negative chemical pressure is revealed in HoFe on Al doping and quantitatively evaluated by using temperature and pressure dependence of unit cell volume. A combination of magnetization and neutron diffraction measurements also allowed one to compare the effect of chemical pressure on magnetic ordering with that of hydrostatic pressure. Intriguingly, pressure can be used to control suppression and enhancement of NTE. Electronic structure calculations indicate that pressure affected the top of the majority band with respect to the Fermi level, which has implications for the magnetic stability, which in turn plays a critical role in modulating magnetism and NTE. This work presents a good example of understanding the effect of pressure and utilizing it to control properties of functional materials.

Corrosion fatigue crack growth behavior of a structurally gradient steel for high-speed railway axles

Ao, N.*; Zhang, H.*; Xu, H. H.*; Wu, S. C.*; Liu, D.*; Xu, P. G.; Su, Y. H.; Kang, Q. H.*; Kang, G. Z.*

Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 281, p.109166_1 - 109166_14, 2023/03

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2023.109166

Soft, environmentally degradable microfluidic devices for measurement of sweat rate and total sweat loss and for colorimetric analysis of sweat biomarkers

Liu, S.*; Yang, D. S.*; Wang, S.*; Luan, H.*; Sekine, Yurina; Model, J. B.*; Aranyosi, A. J.*; Ghaffari, R.*; Rogers, J. A.*

EcoMat (Internet), 5(1), p.e12270_1 - e12270_18, 2023/01

https://doi.org/10.1002/eom2.12270

Advanced capabilities in noninvasive, in situ monitoring of sweat serve as the basis for obtaining real-time insights into human physiological state, health, and performance. Although recently reported microfluidic systems support powerful functions, most are designed as single-use disposables. Here, we introduce materials and molding techniques that bypass these concerns through biodegradable microfluidic systems with a full range of features. The key components fully degrade through the enzymatic action of microorganisms in natural soil environments. Detailed characterization of the device reveal a set of essential performance parameters that are comparable to, or even better than, those of non-degradable counterparts. Human subject studies illustrate the ability of these devices to acquire accurate measurements of sweat loss, sweat rate, pH, and chloride concentration.