New Platform for Gravitational Microfluidic Using Ferrofluids.

Among the large variety of microfluidic platforms, surface devices are a world apart. Electrowetting systems are used to control the displacement of droplets among predetermined pathways. More confidential, superhydrophobic surfaces are more and more described as new elements to guide spherical droplet reactors. As such, they can exhibit confinement properties analogous to channel-based microfluidics. In this article, we describe a new strategy to use superhydrophobic surfaces as a permanently tilted microfluidic platform, on which droplets containing iron oxide nanoparticles are guided with permanent magnets. These droplets are fed with water through a capillary tube until their weight exceeds the magnetic field force. Thus, the volume at which the droplet rolls off the surface is only governed by the initial quantity of magnetic nanoparticles and the tilting angle of the surface. This phenomenon provides a strategy for droplet dilution in a simple and reproducible manner, which is not that easy in microchannels, and a key advantage of open systems. As a proof of concept, we used this platform to prepare magnetic filaments by a salting-out process already described in large batches. By reducing salt concentration on the platform, we are able to control the electrostatic attractive interactions between iron oxide nanoparticles coated with poly(acrylic acid) and a positively charged polyelectrolyte [poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)]. The formation of nanostructured filaments was conducted in 2 min while more than 30 min was required for dialysis. Our results also illustrate the power of microfluidic reaction processes because such magnetic filaments could not be obtained through direct batch dilution because of mixing issues. Such microfluidic platforms could be useful for the efficient and simple dilution of systems where reactivity is controlled by concentration.

Detecting non-bridging oxygens: non-resonant inelastic X-ray scattering in crystalline lithium borates.

Probing the local environment of low-Z elements, such as oxygen, is of great interest for understanding the atomic-scale behavior in materials, but it requires experimental techniques allowing it to work with versatile sample environments. In this paper, the local environment of lithium borate crystals is investigated using non-resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (NRIXS) at energy losses corresponding to the oxygen K-edge. Large variations of the spectral features are observed close to the edge onset in the 535-540 eV energy range when varying the Li2O content. Calculations allow identification of contributions associated with bridging oxygen (BO) and non-bridging oxygen (NBO) atoms. The main result resides in the observed core-level shift of about 1.7 eV in the spectral signatures of the BO and NBO. The clear signature at 535 eV in the O K-edge NRXIS spectrum is thus an original way to probe the presence of NBOs in borates, with the great advantage of making possible the use of complex environments such as a high-pressure cell or high-temperature device for in situ measurements.

Digital Microfluidics─How Magnetically Driven Orientation of Pillars Influences Droplet Positioning.

Interfaces between a water droplet and a network of pillars produce eventually superhydrophobic, self-cleaning properties. Considering the surface fraction of the surface in interaction with water, it is possible to tune precisely the contact angle hysteresis (CAH) to low values, which is at the origin of the poor adhesion of water droplets, inducing their high mobility on such a surface. However, if one wants to move and position a droplet, the lower the CAH, the less precise will be the positioning on the surface. While rigid surfaces limit the possibilities of actuation, smart surfaces have been devised with which a stimulus can be used to trigger the displacement of a droplet. Light, electron beam, mechanical stimulation like vibration, or magnetism can be used to induce a displacement of droplets on surfaces and transfer them from one position to the targeted one. Among these methods, only few are reversible, leading to anisotropy-controlled orientation of the structured interface with water. Magnetically driven superhydrophobic surfaces are the most promising reprogramming surfaces that can lead to the control of wettability and droplet guidance.

The CRACAM Robot: Two-Dimensional Crystallization of Membrane Protein.

Membrane proteins are key cellular components that perform essential functions. They are major therapeutic targets. Electron crystallography can provide structural experimental information at atomic scale for membrane proteins forming two-dimensional (2D) crystals. There are two different methods to produce 2D crystals of membrane proteins. (1) either directly in the bulk of the solution (2) or under a lipid monolayer at the air-water interface. This extra lipid monolayer helps to pre-orient the proteins in order to facilitate the growth of 2D crystals. We present here these two methods for 2D crystallization of membrane proteins implemented in a fully automated robot called CRACAM. These methods require small volume of low concentration of proteins, making it possible to explore more conditions with the same amount of protein. These automated methods outperform traditional 2D crystallization approaches in terms of accuracy, flexibility, and throughput.

Assessment of Transition Element Speciation in Glasses Using a Portable Transmission Ultraviolet-Visible-Near-Infrared (UV-Vis-NIR) Spectrometer.

A new low-cost experimental setup based on two compact dispersive optical spectrometers has been developed to measure optical absorption transmission spectra over the 350-2500 nm energy range. We demonstrate how near-infrared (NIR) data are essential to identify the coloring species in addition to ultraviolet visible data. After calibration with reference glasses, the use of an original sample stage that maintains the window panel in the vertical position enables the comparison of ancient and modern glasses embedded in a panel from the Sainte-Chapelle of Paris, without any sampling. The spectral resolution enables to observe fine resonances arising in the absorption bands of Cr(3+), and the complementary information obtained in the NIR enables to determine the contribution of Fe(2+), a key indicator of glassmaking conditions.

High energy resolution five-crystal spectrometer for high quality fluorescence and absorption measurements on an x-ray absorption spectroscopy beamline.

Fluorescence detection is classically achieved with a solid state detector (SSD) on x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) beamlines. This kind of detection however presents some limitations related to the limited energy resolution and saturation. Crystal analyzer spectrometers (CAS) based on a Johann-type geometry have been developed to overcome these limitations. We have tested and installed such a system on the BM30B/CRG-FAME XAS beamline at the ESRF dedicated to the structural investigation of very dilute systems in environmental, material and biological sciences. The spectrometer has been designed to be a mobile device for easy integration in multi-purpose hard x-ray synchrotron beamlines or even with a laboratory x-ray source. The CAS allows to collect x-ray photons from a large solid angle with five spherically bent crystals. It will cover a large energy range allowing to probe fluorescence lines characteristic of all the elements from Ca (Z = 20) to U (Z = 92). It provides an energy resolution of 1-2 eV. XAS spectroscopy is the main application of this device even if other spectroscopic techniques (RIXS, XES, XRS, etc.) can be also achieved with it. The performances of the CAS are illustrated by two experiments that are difficult or impossible to perform with SSD and the complementarity of the CAS vs SSD detectors is discussed.

High-resolution spectroscopy on an X-ray absorption beamline.

A bent-crystal spectrometer based on the Rowland circle geometry has been installed and tested on the BM30b/FAME beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility to improve its performances. The energy resolution of the spectrometer allows different kinds of measurements to be performed, including X-ray absorption spectroscopy, resonant inelastic X-ray scattering and X-ray Raman scattering experiments. The simplicity of the experimental device makes it easily implemented on a classical X-ray absorption beamline. This improvement in the fluorescence detection is of particular importance when the probed element is embedded in a complex and/or heavy matrix, for example in environmental sciences.

Spherically bent analyzers for resonant inelastic X-ray scattering with intrinsic resolution below 200 meV.

Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering with very high energy resolution is a promising technique for investigating the electronic structure of strongly correlated materials. The demands for this technique are analyzers which deliver an energy resolution of the order of 200 meV full width at half-maximum or below, at energies corresponding to the K-edges of transition metals (Cu, Ni, Co etc.). To date, high resolution under these conditions has been achieved only with diced Ge analyzers working at the Cu K-edge. Here, by perfecting each aspect of the fabrication, it is shown that spherically bent Si analyzers can provide the required energy resolution. Such analyzers have been successfully produced and have greatly improved the energy resolution in standard spherically bent analyzers.