Jiping Yue | Searcharxiv

arXiv2024

Airborne Biomarker Localization Engine (ABLE) for Open Air Point-of-Care Detection

Unlike biomarkers in biofluids, airborne biomarkers are dilute and difficult to trace. Detecting diverse airborne biomarkers with sufficient sensitivity typically relies on bulky and expensive equipment like mass spectrometers that remain inaccessible to the general population. Here, we introduce Airborne Biomarker Localization Engine (ABLE), a simple, affordable, and portable platform that can detect both volatile, non-volatile, molecular, and particulate biomarkers in about 15 minutes. ABLE significantly improves gas detection limits by converting dilute gases into droplets by water condensation, producing concentrated aqueous samples that are easy to be tested. Fundamental studies of multiphase condensation revealed unexpected stability in condensate-trapped biomarkers, making ABLE a reliable, accessible, and high-performance system for open-air-based biosensing applications such as non-contact infant healthcare, pathogen detection in public space, and food safety.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

Dynamic and programmable cellular-scale granules enable tissue-like materials

Tissue-like materials are required in many robotic systems to improve human-machine interactions. However, the mechanical properties of living tissues are difficult to replicate. Synthetic materials are not usually capable of simultaneously displaying the behaviors of the cellular ensemble and the extracellular matrix. A particular challenge is identification of a cell-like synthetic component which is tightly integrated with its matrix and also responsive to external stimuli at the population level. Here, we demonstrate that cellular-scale hydrated starch granules, an underexplored component in materials science, can turn conventional hydrogels into tissue-like materials when composites are formed. Using several synchrotron-based X-ray techniques, we reveal the mechanically-induced motion and training dynamics of the starch granules in the hydrogel matrix. These dynamic behaviors enable multiple tissue-like properties such as strain-stiffening, anisotropy, mechanical heterogeneity, programmability, mechanochemistry, impact absorption, and self-healability. The starch-hydrogel composites can be processed as robotic skins that maintain these tissue-like characteristics.

cond-mat.soft↗