Sensitivity enhancement of magneto-optical Faraday effect immunoassay method based on biofunctionalized γ-Fe2O3@Au core-shell magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles for the blood detection of Alzheimer's disease.

In this work, we conducted a proof-of-concept experiment based on biofunctionalized magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles (MPNs) and magneto-optical Faraday effect for in vitro Alzheimer's disease (AD) assay. The biofunctionalized γ-Fe2O3@Au MPNs of which the surfaces are modified with the antibody of Tau protein (anti-τ). As anti-τ reacts with Tau protein, biofunctionalized MPNs aggregate to form magnetic clusters which will hence induce the change of the reagent's Faraday rotation angle. The result showed that the γ-Fe2O3@Au core-shell MPNs can enhance the Faraday rotation with respect to the raw γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles. Because of their magneto-optical enhancement effect, biofunctionalized γ-Fe2O3@Au MPNs effectively improve the detection sensitivity. The detection limit of Tau protein as low as 9 pg/mL (9 ppt) was achieved. Furthermore, the measurements of the clinical samples from AD patients agreed with the CDR evaluated by the neurologist. The results suggest that our method has the potential for disease assay applications.

Decoupling wing-shape effects of wing-swept angle and aspect ratio on a forward-flying butterfly.

The effect of wing shape on a forward-flying butterfly via decoupled factors of the wing-swept angle and the aspect ratio (AR) was investigated numerically. The wing-shape effect is a major concern in the design of a microaerial vehicle (MAV). In nature, the wing of a butterfly consists of partially overlapping forewing and hindwing; when the forewing sweeps forward or backward relative to the hindwing, the wing-swept angle and the AR of the entire wing simultaneously change. The effects of the wing-swept angle and AR on aerodynamics are coupled. To decouple their effects, we established wing-shape models with varied combinations of the wing-swept angle and AR based on the experimental measurement of two butterfly species (Papilio polytes and Kallima inachus) and developed a numerical simulation for analysis. In each model, the forewing and hindwing overlapped partially, constructing a single wing. Across the models, the wing-swept angle and AR of these single wings varied sequentially. The results show that, through our models, the effects of the wing-swept angle and AR were decoupled; both have distinct flow mechanisms and aerodynamic force trends and are consistent in the two butterfly species. For a fixed AR, a backward-swept wing increases lift and drag because of the enhanced attachment of the leading-edge vortex with increased strength of the wingtip vortex and the spanwise flow. For a fixed wing-swept angle, a small AR wing increases lift and decreases drag because of the large region of low pressure downstream and the wake-capture effect. Coupling these effects, the largest lift-to-drag ratio occurs for a forward-swept wing with the smallest AR. These results indicate that, in a flapping forward flight, sweeping a forewing forward relative to a hindwing is suitable for cruising. The flow mechanisms and decoupled and coupled effects of the wing-swept angle and the AR presented in this paper provide insight into the flight of a butterfly and the design of a MAV.

The Lift Effects of Chordwise Wing Deformation and Body Angle on Low-Speed Flying Butterflies.

This work investigates the effects of body angle and wing deformation on the lift of free-flying butterflies. The flight kinematics were recorded using three high-speed cameras, and particle-image velocimetry (PIV) was used to analyze the transient flow field around the butterfly. Parametric studies via numerical simulations were also conducted to examine the force generation of the wing by fixing different body angles and amplifying the chordwise deformation. The results show that appropriately amplifying chordwise deformation enhances wing performance due to an increase in the strength of the vortex and a more stabilized attached vortex. The wing undergoes a significant chordwise deformation, which can generate a larger lift coefficient than that with a higher body angle, resulting in a 14% increase compared to a lower chordwise deformation and body angle. This effect is due to the leading-edge vortex attached to the curved wing, which alters the force from horizontal to vertical. It, therefore, produces more efficient lift during flight. These findings reveal that the chordwise deformation of the wing and the body angle could increase the lift of the butterfly. This work was inspired by real butterfly flight, and the results could provide valuable knowledge about lift generation for designing microaerial vehicles.

Beneficial wake-capture effect for forward propulsion with a restrained wing-pitch motion of a butterfly.

Unlike other insects, a butterfly uses a small amplitude of the wing-pitch motion for flight. From an analysis of the dynamics of real flying butterflies, we show that the restrained amplitude of the wing-pitch motion enhances the wake-capture effect so as to enhance forward propulsion. A numerical simulation refined with experimental data shows that, for a small amplitude of the wing-pitch motion, the shed vortex generated in the downstroke induces air in the wake region to flow towards the wings. This condition enables a butterfly to capture an induced flow and to acquire an additional forward propulsion, which accounts for more than 47% of the thrust generation. When the amplitude of the wing-pitch motion exceeds 45°, the flow induced by the shed vortex drifts away from the wings; it attenuates the wake-capture effect and causes the butterfly to lose a part of its forward propulsion. Our results provide one essential aerodynamic feature for a butterfly to adopt a small amplitude of the wing-pitch motion to enhance the wake-capture effect and forward propulsion. This work clarifies the variation of the flow field correlated with the wing-pitch motion, which is useful in the design of wing kinematics of a micro-aerial vehicle.

Enhanced lift and thrust via the translational motion between the thorax-abdomen node and the center of mass of a butterfly with a constructive abdominal oscillation.

Butterflies fly with an abdomen oscillating relative to the thorax; the abdominal oscillation causes body parts to undulate translationally relative to the center of mass of a butterfly, which could generate a significant effect on flight. Based on experimental measurements, we created a numerical model to investigate this effect in a free-flying butterfly (Idea leuconoe). We fixed the motions of wing-flapping and thorax-pitching, and parametrized the abdominal oscillation by varied oscillating phase. To concentrate the analysis on translational dynamics, we used a motion of a thorax-abdomen node, a joint that the thorax and the abdomen rotate about, to express the translational motion of body parts relative to the center of mass. The results show that the abdominal oscillation enhances lift and thrust via the translational motion of the thorax-abdomen node relative to the center of mass. With the abdominal oscillating phase recorded from real butterflies, the abdominal oscillation causes the thorax-abdomen node to move downward relative to the center of mass in downstroke and move upward relative to the center of mass in upstroke. This constructive movement amplifies the wing-flapping speed relative to the center of mass, which enhances the angle of attack and the strength of leading- and trailing-edge vortices on the wings. The wings thereby generate increased values of instantaneous lift and thrust by 50.32% and 32.57% compared to the case of no abdominal oscillation. Natural butterflies are stated to utilize a particular phase offset of abdominal oscillation to fly. With comparing varied oscillating phases, only the abdominal oscillating phase recorded from natural butterflies produces the best constructive effect on the translational motion of thorax-abdomen node, which maximizes the lift and thrust generated on the wings. It clarifies that butterflies use this specific range of abdominal oscillating phase to regulate the translational motion between the thorax-abdomen node and the center of mass to enhance flight. Our work reveals the translational mechanism of the abdominal oscillation, which is as important as the thorax-pitching effect. The findings in this work provide insight into the flight of butterflies and the design of micro aerial vehicles.

Effect of wing-wing interaction coupled with morphology and kinematic features of damselflies.

We investigated the effect of the wing-wing interaction, which is one key aspect of flight control, of damselflies (Matrona cyanopteraandEuphaea formosa) in forward flight that relates closely to their body morphologies and wing kinematics. We used two high-speed cameras aligned orthogonally to measure the flight motions and adopted 3D numerical simulation to analyze the flow structures and aerodynamic efficiencies. The results clarify the effects of wing-wing interactions, which are complicated combinations of biological morphology, wing kinematics and fluid dynamics. As the amplitude of the hindwing ofM. cyanopterais larger than that ofE. formosa, the effect of the wing-wing interaction is more constructive. Restricted by the body morphology ofE. formosa, the flapping range of the hindwing is below the body. With the forewing in the lead, the hindwing is farther from the forewing, which is not susceptible to the wake of the forewing, and enables superior lift and thrust. Because of the varied rotational motions, the different shed direction of the wakes of the forewings causes the optimal thrust to occur in different wing phases. Because of its biological limitations, a damselfly can use an appropriate phase to fulfill the desired flight mode. The wing-wing interaction is a compromise between lift efficiency and thrust efficiency. The results reveal that a damselfly with the forewing in the lead can have an effective aerodynamic performance in flight. As an application, in the design concept of a micro-aircraft, increasing the amplitude of the hindwing might enhance the wing-wing interaction, thus controlling the flight modes.

Magneto-Optical Characteristics of Streptavidin-Coated Fe3O4@Au Core-Shell Nanoparticles for Potential Applications on Biomedical Assays.

Recently, gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles have drawn the interest of researchers due to their unique magneto-plasmonic characteristics. Previous research has found that the magneto-optical Faraday effect of gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles can be effectively enhanced because of the surface plasmon resonance of the gold shell. Furthermore, gold-coated magnetic nanoparticles are ideal for biomedical applications because of their high stability and biocompatibility. In this work, we synthesized Fe3O4@Au core-shell nanoparticles and coated streptavidin (STA) on the surface. Streptavidin is a protein which can selectively bind to biotin with a strong affinity. STA is widely used in biotechnology research including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), time-resolved immunofluorescence (TRFIA), biosensors, and targeted pharmaceuticals. The Faraday magneto-optical characteristics of the biofunctionalized Fe3O4@Au nanoparticles were measured and studied. We showed that the streptavidin-coated Fe3O4@Au nanoparticles still possessed the enhanced magneto-optical Faraday effect. As a result, the possibility of using biofunctionalized Fe3O4@Au nanoparticles for magneto-optical biomedical assays should be explored.