Early and accurate disease identification is pivotal for improving healthcare outcomes. The rapid progress in terahertz (THz) technology has created new opportunities for highly sensitive biomedical sensing that does not require labels. This study focuses on the design of graphene-based metasurface biosensors for the selective and improved detection of SARS-CoV-2 biomolecules in the terahertz frequency range. The proposed design is a three-layered structure which consists of graphene ribbon, silicon dioxide, and gold. The interaction between the target biological analyte and the amplified electromagnetic field at the metasurface causes a unique resonance shift, enabling accurate detection. Analytical modelling and full-wave simulations have been computed in CST Studio Suite 2024 to analyse the design’s refractive-index sensing properties. The optimization parameters, including the frequency range, nanoribbon gap width, and substrate height proves its stable resonance response and excellent sensitivity. The proposed biosensor demonstrated a sharp resonance at 2.45 THz with a sensitivity of 650 GHz/RIU and Figure of merit of 16.25 RIU⁻¹, confirming its ability to detect minute biomolecular changes.
Electrochemical and ionic signaling play key roles in regulating bacterial biofilm growth, spatial organization, and collective behavior. Delivering these signals with spatiotemporal control can enable biofilm engineering and interrogate fundamental processes. Here, we employ bioelectronic ion pumps to deliver ions and small molecules to Bacillus subtilis biofilms with spatiotemporal control. We deliver inorganic metal ions (Ag+, Cu++, Zn++), a small-molecule drug (fluoxetine+), and a neuroactive amino acid (GABA+). We compare bioelectronic delivery with solution-based delivery. Because the cation-exchange membrane transports only positively charged species, bioelectronic delivery introduces the target cation alone, without its counterion and without any added bulk fluid, and reproduces the biological response obtained by pipetting while delivering roughly an order of magnitude less material. We demonstrate that bioelectronic delivery can enhance or inhibit growth of the films in the desired direction. We demonstrate proof-of-concept patterning by enhancing film growth in one direction and inhibiting film growth in the opposite direction. Our results demonstrate that bioelectronic delivery can be used to modulate the growth of bacteria biofilms.
Surgical meshes are usually warp-knitted products that undergo different production steps prior to commercialization. While the literature extensively addresses how mechanical and morphological properties vary with different lapping configurations, limited attention has been paid to the influence of production parameters. This study aims at quantifying the impact of the heat setting process and the production parameters of the warp-knitting machine on surgical meshes morphological and mechanical properties. A factorial design was used to evaluate the impact of temperature and time in the heat-setting process on the morphology and the stiffness of a specifically reproduced lapping. Based on the obtained results, one time-temperature combination was selected and subsequently applied in the second phase of the study, aimed at assessing the effect of course density on two different lappings: an open atlas structure and a modified open atlas structure. A comprehensive mechanical characterization protocol was employed, including uniaxial tensile tests, ball burst tests and suture retention tests, together with a morphological analysis. The findings demonstrate a statistically significant influence of the heat setting temperature, with higher temperatures resulting in reduced mechanical properties and thickness, and increased porosity. Variations in course density also exhibited a statistically significant effect on both mechanical and morphological characteristics, with trends differing depending on the type of lapping. Overall, the results indicate that both heat setting temperature and stitch density must be carefully calibrated during the design and production of surgical meshes to achieve the desired performance characteristics.
Copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) are in the spotlight of biomedical research due to their diversified application in the field of nanomedicine. The biosynthesis of CuO NPs was carried out using the aqueous mycelium free extract of Aspergillus flavus. The biosynthesized CuO NPs were characterised for their nano structural characteristics using various analytical instruments. Antimicrobial study was evaluated using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay was used to determine antioxidant potency, and their cytotoxic potential was studied through 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay using MDA-MB 231 breast cancer cells. The characterization results revealed that the synthesised CuO NPs exhibited a maximum absorbance at 253 nm, scanning electron microscopy images depicted nanoparticles with a range of shapes, including spherical to polyhedron crystalline structures. The transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed particle size ranging from 28 to 36 nm respectively. The energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis revealed the presence of copper and oxygen with 69.42
Point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tests are revolutionizing disease management through rapid, convenient, and user-friendly testing beyond conventional laboratory settings. In the field of chronic kidney disease (CKD), timely and accurate diagnosis is essential for early detection, disease monitoring, and risk assessment. While centralised laboratory systems remain the gold standard in the clinic, innovations in diagnostics have facilitated the emergence of portable, miniaturised, and ultra-sensitive systems designed to assess kidney functionality. This review systematically surveys commercially available and emerging diagnostic devices for CKD, including automated clinical analyzers, immunoassay platforms, urinalysis systems, biosensors, and other portable and POC technologies. The reviewed studies were compared based on analytical performance, detection range, sensitivity, specificity, sample requirement, analysis time, portability, and estimated cost. Across the surveyed diagnostic platforms, reported analytical performance varied substantially, with detection limits ranging from 180 to 0.099 ng.mL− 1 and recovery rate 92 to 100
