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The current gold standard for COVID-19 confirmation is RT-PCR, which possesses high sensitivity and specificity, but a long turnaround time has been a drawback. Here, we introduce a nanoPCR platform that can yield breakthroughs in RT-PCR speed and decentralize the diagnostic testing. A key innovation is to exploit magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles for dual purposes: fast thermocycling through plasmonic heating and enhanced signal detection via magnetic fluorescence switch. We further integrated these functionalities into a portable system to streamline point-of-care (POC) COVID-19 diagnostics with a “one-step-finish” approach from sampling to result. When applied with clinical COVID-19 samples, nanoPCR achieved an analytical performance of sensitivity and specificity comparable to that of a benchtop instrument but completed the entire detection within 18 minutes (vs. 2.5 hours for regular RT-PCR), which makes it ideal for rapid POC diagnostics. This platform technology is readily scalable for higher throughput and expandable to other disease targets, promising broader impacts in on-site molecular testing.

Multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles have shown great promise as next-generation imaging and perturbation probes for deciphering molecular and cellular processes. As a consequence of multicomponent integration into a single nanosystem, pre-existing nanoprobes are typically large and show limited access to biological targets present in a crowded microenvironment. Here, we apply organic-phase surface PEGylation, click chemistry, and charge-based valency discrimination principles to develop compact, modular, and monovalent magnetofluorescent nanoparticles (MFNs). We show that MFNs exhibit highly efficient labeling to target receptors present in cells with a dense and thick glycocalyx layer. We use these MFNs to interrogate the E-cadherin-mediated adherens junction formation and F-actin polymerization in a three-dimensional space, demonstrating the utility as modular and versatile mechanogenetic probes in the most demanding single-cell perturbation applications.

Spatiotemporal interrogation of signal transduction at the single-cell level is necessary to answer a host of important biological questions. This protocol describes a nanotechnology-based single-cell and single-molecule perturbation tool, termed mechanogenetics, that enables precise spatial and mechanical control over genetically encoded cell-surface receptors in live cells. The key components of this tool are a magnetoplasmonic nanoparticle (MPN) actuator that delivers defined spatial and mechanical cues to receptors through target-specific one-to-one engagement and a micromagnetic tweezers (μMT) that remotely controls the magnitude of force exerted on a single MPN. In our approach, a SNAP-tagged cell-surface receptor of interest is conjugated with a single-stranded DNA oligonucleotide, which hybridizes to its complementary oligonucleotide on the MPN. This protocol consists of four major stages: (i) chemical synthesis of MPNs, (ii) conjugation with DNA and purification of monovalent MPNs, (iii) modular targeting of MPNs to cell-surface receptors, and (iv) control of spatial and mechanical properties of targeted mechanosensitive receptors in live cells by adjusting the μMT-to-MPN distance. Using benzylguanine (BG)-functionalized MPNs and model cell lines expressing either SNAP-tagged Notch or vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin), we provide stepwise instructions for mechanogenetic control of receptor clustering and for mechanical receptor activation. The ability of this method to differentially control spatial and mechanical inputs to targeted receptors makes it particularly useful for interrogating the differential contributions of each individual cue to cell signaling. The entire procedure takes up to 1 week.

Tools capable of imaging and perturbing mechanical signaling pathways with fine spatiotemporal resolution have been elusive, despite their importance in diverse cellular processes. The challenge in developing a mechanogenetic toolkit (i.e., selective and quantitative activation of genetically encoded mechanoreceptors) stems from the fact that many mechanically activated processes are localized in space and time yet additionally require mechanical loading to become activated. To address this challenge, we synthesized magnetoplasmonic nanoparticles that can image, localize, and mechanically load targeted proteins with high spatiotemporal resolution. We demonstrate their utility by investigating the cell-surface activation of two mechanoreceptors: Notch and E-cadherin. By measuring cellular responses to a spectrum of spatial, chemical, temporal, and mechanical inputs at the single-molecule and single-cell levels, we reveal how spatial segregation and mechanical force cooperate to direct receptor activation dynamics. This generalizable technique can be used to control and understand diverse mechanosensitive processes in cell signaling. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

Recently, the LCD manufacturing industries try to maximize the productivity of LCD panels due to sharp increase in the market need of LCD display. Usually, the increase in manufacturing speed induces additional vibration of glasses and manufacturing machineries. This kind of vibration can induce bad effects on the manufacturing accuracy, and even can damage the glasses. The vibration signal of glass itself is very useful to predict the allowable maximum level of manufacturing speed. Therefore, it is necessary to measure the vibration of the glass itself and a very thin vibration measurement system attachable on the glass is needed. Since in some processes the glasses need to go through very thin gaps such as 2.5mm, We develop a glass vibration measurement system with the thickness of 1.3mm. The system measures the glass vibration using MEMS type accelerometers and store vibration data in a Nand-Flash memory. The performance of the develop system has been verified on a real LCD manufacturing line and the accuracy of vibration measurement is comparable with that of an accurate commercial vibration measurement system.

Pinus densiflora wood flour was liquefied in the presence of phenol, using sulfuric acid as a catalyst. Liquefaction-modified phenol-formaldehyde (LPF) resins were synthesized as particleboard binder. The physical characteristics of the laboratory-synthesized control PF resin and the LPF resins are described. Laboratory particleboard (PB) was made using Korean hybrid poplar (Populus alba × glandulosa) particles with the control PF resin and LPF resins. The physical strength and dimensional stability of the PBs were tested according to ASTM D 1037-99 and KS F 3104 standard procedures. PB test results show that the physical and mechanical strength properties differed significantly according to resin type; however, all PBs made in this study exceeded the minimum strength requirement of the Korean Standard KS F 3104 for PB type 8.0.

A human case of the tick bite on the back of 36-year-old man was found in September 1995. On admission he complained of itching sensation and pain at the site. The removed tick was identified morphologically as Ixodes nipponensis.