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Background: One in four pregnancies end in a pregnancy loss. Although the effect on couples is well documented, evidence-based treatments and prediction models are absent. Fetal aneuploidy is associated with a higher chance of a next successful pregnancy compared with euploid pregnancy loss in which underlying maternal conditions might be causal. Ploidy diagnostics are therefore advantageous but challenging as they require collection of the pregnancy tissue. Cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) from maternal blood has the potential for evaluation of fetal ploidy status, but no large-scale validation of the method has been done. Methods: In this prospective cohort study, women with a pregnancy loss were recruited as a part of the Copenhagen Pregnancy Loss (COPL) study from three gynaecological clinics at public hospitals in Denmark. Women were eligible for inclusion if older than 18 years with a pregnancy loss before gestational age 22 weeks (ie, 154 days) and with an intrauterine pregnancy confirmed by ultrasound (including anembryonic sac), and women with pregnancies of unknown location or molar pregnancies were excluded. Maternal blood was collected while pregnancy tissue was still in situ or within 24 h after pregnancy tissue had passed and was analysed by genome-wide sequencing of cffDNA. Direct sequencing of the pregnancy tissue was done as reference. Findings: We included 1000 consecutive women, at the time of a pregnancy loss diagnosis, between Nov 12, 2020, and May 1, 2022. Results from the first 333 women with a pregnancy loss (recruited between Nov 12, 2020, and Aug 14, 2021) were used to evaluate the validity of cffDNA-based testing. Results from the other 667 women were included to evaluate cffDNA performance and result distribution in a larger cohort of 1000 women in total. Gestational age of fetus ranged from 35–149 days (mean of 70·5 days [SD 16·5], or 10 weeks plus 1 day). The cffDNA-based test had a sensitivity for aneuploidy detection of 85% (95% CI 79–

Spontaneous pregnancy loss occurs in approximately 1 in 4 pregnancies; however, diagnostic workup is mostly restricted to women with recurrent pregnancy loss. The lack of workup on first pregnancy loss is likely a result of the high de novo fetal aneuploidy rate; however, this ignores the association of euploid pregnancy loss with an increased risk of future losses. Diagnosis of ploidy is advantageous but requires collection of pregnancy tissue. Cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) has revolutionized prenatal screening and has shown evidence in 2 small studies of diagnostic utility in pregnancy loss. The prospective Copenhagen Pregnancy Loss (COPL) study is a large initiative with the overall aim to explore the causes of pregnancy loss. This prospective cohort study of women from the COPL aimed to investigate the clinical utility of cffDNA-based testing in women with pregnancy loss. Adult women with a pregnancy loss before gestational age 22 weeks seen between November 2020 and May 2022 at 1 of the 3 participating COPL sites were invited to participate. Blood samples for cffDNA analysis were obtained before treatment to remove pregnancy tissue or within 24 hours of passage of pregnancy tissue. Pregnancy tissue was collected for direct sequencing and comparison to cffDNA results. Aneuploidy was assessed for all chromosomes, and discordant results were considered false-positive if the cffDNA result was aneuploid and false-negative if the cffDNA result was euploid. A total of 1000 women were recruited and underwent cffDNA blood draws, and 32% of women either did not manage to collect pregnancy tissue or collected a sample classified as unknown tissue. The cffDNA result was inconclusive in 112 (11%) of initial cases due to a low fetal fraction or low sequencing quality and were excluded from sensitivity and specificity analysis. The association between inconclusive results and gestational age was approximately 10% from gestational age 7 weeks on, whereas resul

This work presents the fabrication and characterization of suspended three-dimensional (3D) pyrolytic carbon microelectrodes for electrochemical applications. For this purpose, an optimized process with multiple steps of UV photolithography with the negative tone photoresist SU-8 followed by pyrolysis at 900ºC for 1h was developed. With this process, microelectrode chips with a three electrode configuration were fabricated and characterized with cyclic voltammetry (CV) using a 10mM potassium ferri-ferrocyanide redox probe in a custom made batch system with magnetic clamping. The 3D pyrolytic carbon microelectrodes displayed twice the higher peak current compared to 2D.

Parkinson’s disease is characterized by a deficit of dopamine in the brain, a neurotransmitter involved in the motor function. One of the future ideas for treatment is cell replacement therapy. Our group has previously shown that pyrolysed 3D carbon micropillars induce spontaneous differentiation of human neural stem cells (hNSCs) into dopaminergic neurons and that they can also be employed for detecting dopamine release from mature neurons attached to them [1]. Here, we report 3D carbon nanopillars, fabricated through colloidal lithography, with even more pronounced effect on the electrochemical detection of dopamine

Here we present a robust, stable and low-noise experimental set-up for performing electrochemical detection on a centrifugal microfluidic platform. By using a low-noise electronic component (electrical slip-ring) it is possible to achieve continuous, on-line monitoring of electrochemical experiments, even when the microfluidic disc is spinning at high velocities. Automated sample handling is achieved by designing a microfluidic system to release analyte sequentially, utilizing on-disc passive valving. In addition, the microfluidic system is designed to trap and keep the liquid sample stationary during analysis. In this way it is possible to perform cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements at varying spin speeds, without altering the electrochemical response. This greatly simplifies the interpretation and quantification of data. Finally, real-time and continuous monitoring of an entire electrochemical experiment, including all intermediate sample handling steps, is demonstrated by amperometric detection of on-disc mixing of analytes (PBS and ferricyanide).

The present application discloses a method for separating a graphene-support layer laminate from a conducting substrate-graphene-support layer laminate, using a gentle, controllable electrochemical method. In this way, substrates which are fragile, expensive or difficult to manufacture can be used - and even re-used - without damage or destruction of the substrate or the graphene.

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a porous polymer component 1 with structured and/or random pores 4 and/or channels 5. The method comprises arranging a dissolvable, sacrificial material 2 in a geometrical arrangement corresponding to an inner structure to be obtained in the polymer component 1. A component material 3, which is to form the final component 1, is arranged so that it surrounds at least a majority of the sacrificial material 2, and subsequently the sacrificial material 2 is dissolved and removed from the component material 3. The sacrificial material 2 and thereby the resulting inner structure of the component 1 is arranged in a controlled and reproducible manner. The sacrificial material 2 and possibly also the component material 3 may e.g. be arranged by use of a 3D-printer or manually. The method may e.g. be used to manufacture a three-dimensional scaffold for tissue engineering.

Decontamination treatments of surfaces are performed on bacterial spores, albumin and brain homogenate used as models of biological contaminations in a low-pressure, inductively coupled plasma reactor operated with water-vapour-based gas mixtures. It is shown that removal of contamination can be achieved using pure H2O or Ar/H2O mixtures at low temperatures with removal rates comparable to oxygen-based mixtures. Particle fluxes (Ar+ ions, O and H atomic radicals and OH molecular radicals) from water vapour discharge are measured by optical emission spectroscopy and Langmuir probe under several operating conditions. Analysis of particle fluxes and removal rates measurements illustrates the role of ion bombardment associated with O radicals, governing the removal rates of organic matter. Auxiliary role of hydroxyl radicals is discussed on the basis of experimental data. The advantages of a water vapour plasma process are discussed for practical applications in medical devices decontamination.

This paper presents an assessment of titanium tungsten (TiW) coatings and their applicability as components of biosensing systems. The focus is put on using TiW as an electromechanical interface layer between carbon nanotube (CNT) forests and silicon nanograss (SiNG) cell scaffolds. Cytotoxicity, applicability to plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of aligned CNT forests, and electrochemical performance are investigated. Experiments include culturing of NIH3T3 mouse embryonic fibroblast cells on TiW coated silicon scaffolds, CNT growth on TiW substrates with nickel catalyst, and cyclic voltammetric investigation with PBS-buffered potassium hexacyanoferrate (II/III).