Magnetically Guided Microcatheter for Targeted Injection of Magnetic Particle Swarms.

The initial delivery of small-scale magnetic devices such as microrobots is a key, but often overlooked, aspect for their use in clinical applications. The deployment of these devices within the dynamic environment of the human body presents significant challenges due to their dispersion caused by circulatory flows. Here, a method is introduced to effectively deliver a swarm of magnetic nanoparticles in fluidic flows. This approach integrates a magnetically navigated robotic microcatheter equipped with a reservoir for storing the magnetic nanoparticles. The microfluidic flow within the reservoir facilitates the injection of magnetic nanoparticles into the fluid stream, and a magnetic field gradient guides the swarm through the oscillatory flow to a target site. The microcatheter and reservoir are engineered to enable magnetic steering and injection of the magnetic nanoparticles. To demonstrate this approach, experiments are conducted utilizing a spinal cord phantom simulating intrathecal catheter delivery for applications in the central nervous system. These results demonstrate that the proposed microcatheter successfully concentrates nanoparticles near the desired location through the precise manipulation of magnetic field gradients, offering a promising solution for the controlled deployment of untethered magnetic micro-/nanodevices within the complex physiological circulatory systems of the human body.

A modelling framework for local thermal comfort assessment related to bicycle helmet use.

Thermal discomfort due to accumulated sweat increasing head skin wettedness may contribute to low wearing rates of bicycle helmets. Using curated data on human head sweating and helmet thermal properties, a modelling framework for the thermal comfort assessment of bicycle helmet use is proposed. Local sweat rates (LSR) at the head were predicted as the ratio to the gross sweat rate (GSR) of the whole body or by sudomotor sensitivity (SUD), the change in LSR per change in body core temperature (Δtre). Combining those local models with Δtre and GSR output from thermoregulation models, we simulated head sweating depending on the characteristics of the thermal environment, clothing, activity, and exposure duration. Local thermal comfort thresholds for head skin wettedness were derived in relation to thermal properties of bicycle helmets. The modelling framework was supplemented by regression equations predicting the wind-related reductions in thermal insulation and evaporative resistance of the headgear and boundary air layer, respectively. Comparing the predictions of local models coupled with different thermoregulation models to LSR measured at the frontal, lateral and medial head under bicycle helmet use revealed a large spread in LSR predictions predominantly determined by the local models and the considered head region. SUD tended to overestimate frontal LSR but performed better for lateral and medial head regions, whereas predictions by LSR/GSR ratios were lower and agreed better with measured frontal LSR. However, even for the best models root mean squared prediction errors exceeded experimental SD by 18-30%. From the high correlation (R > 0.9) of skin wettedness comfort thresholds with local sweating sensitivity reported for different body regions, we derived a threshold value of 0.37 for head skin wettedness. We illustrate the application of the modelling framework using a commuter-cycling scenario, and discuss its potential as well as the needs for further research.

Covalent transfer of chemical gradients onto a graphenic surface with 2D and 3D control.

Control over the functionalization of graphenic materials is key to enable their full application in electronic and optical technologies. Covalent functionalization strategies have been proposed as an approach to tailor the interfaces' structure and properties. However, to date, none of the proposed methods allow for a covalent functionalization with control over the grafting density, layer thickness and/or morphology, which are key aspects for fine-tuning the processability and performance of graphenic materials. Here, we show that the no-slip boundary condition at the walls of a continuous flow microfluidic device offers a way to generate controlled chemical gradients onto a graphenic material with 2D and 3D control, a possibility that will allow the sophisticated functionalization of these technologically-relevant materials.

Chirality transfer from a 3D macro shape to the molecular level by controlling asymmetric secondary flows.

Homochirality is a fundamental feature of living systems, and its origin is still an unsolved mystery. Previous investigations showed that external physical forces can bias a spontaneous symmetry breaking process towards deterministic enantioselection. But can the macroscopic shape of a reactor play a role in chiral symmetry breaking processes? Here we show an example of chirality transfer from the chiral shape of a 3D helical channel to the chirality of supramolecular aggregates, with the handedness of the helical channel dictating the direction of enantioselection in the assembly of an achiral molecule. By combining numerical simulations of fluid flow and mass transport with experimental data, we demonstrated that the chiral information is transferred top-down thanks to the interplay between the hydrodynamics of asymmetric secondary flows and the precise spatiotemporal control of reagent concentration fronts. This result shows the possibility of controlling enantioselectively molecular processes at the nanometer scale by modulating the geometry and the operating conditions of fluidic reactors.

Synthesis of 2D Porous Crystalline Materials in Simulated Microgravity.

To date, crystallization studies conducted in space laboratories, which are prohibitively costly and unsuitable to most research laboratories, have shown the valuable effects of microgravity during crystal growth and morphogenesis. Herein, an easy and highly efficient method is shown to achieve space-like experimentation conditions on Earth employing custom-made microfluidic devices to fabricate 2D porous crystalline molecular frameworks. It is confirmed that experimentation under these simulated microgravity conditions has unprecedented effects on the orientation, compactness and crack-free generation of 2D porous crystalline molecular frameworks as well as in their integration and crystal morphogenesis. It is believed that this work will provide a new "playground" to chemists, physicists, and materials scientists that desire to process unprecedented 2D functional materials and devices.

Freezing the Nonclassical Crystal Growth of a Coordination Polymer Using Controlled Dynamic Gradients.

A methodology that can be efficiently used to synthesize, isolate, and study out-of-equilibrium crystal structures employing controlled and diffusion-limited microfluidic environments is demonstrated. Unlike studies conducted with conventional mixing procedures in a flask, it is proven experimentally and with numerical simulations that microfluidic technologies can undoubtedly fine-tune reaction times and reagents concentration profiles; factors that enable out-of-equilibrium crystal forms to be obtained.