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High-performance osmotic energy conversion requires both large ionic throughput and high ionic selectivity, which can be significantly promoted by exterior surface charges simultaneously, especially for short nanopores. Here, we investigate the enhancement of ionic diffusion by charged exterior surfaces under various conditions and explore corresponding effective charged areas. From simulations, ionic diffusion is promoted more significantly by exterior surface charges through nanopores with a shorter length, wider diameter, and larger surface charge density, or under higher salt gradients. Effective widths of the charged ring regions near nanopores are reversely proportional to the pore length and linearly dependent on the pore diameter, salt gradient, and surface charge density. Due to the important role of effective charged areas in the propagation of ionic diffusion through single nanopores to cases with porous membranes, our results may provide useful guidance to the design and fabrication of porous membranes for practical high-performance osmotic energy harvesting., 24 Pages,5 figures

As an important property of porous membranes, the surface charge property determines many ionic behaviors of nanopores, such as ionic conductance and selectivity. Based on the dependence of electric double layers on bulk concentrations, ionic conductance through nanopores at high and low concentrations is governed by the bulk conductance and surface charge density, respectively. Here, through the investigation of ionic conductance inside track-etched single polyethylene terephthalate (PET) nanopores under various concentrations, the surface charge density of PET membranes is extracted as ∼-0.021 C/m

Solar-driven interfacial steam generation (SISG) has attracted much attention in recent years as a solution to freshwater scarcity and the energy crisis. Currently, research interests are mainly focused on standard conditions under "1-sun" illumination, which we believe are insufficient on their own. Gaining insight and understanding about SISG under both weak and strong irradiation have important implications for real-world use that are rarely presented in relevant discussions. In this review, we aim to discuss SISG under weak (1 sun) and strong solar irradiation (1 sun), both of which are often undervalued but necessary for real application. By analyzing state-of-the-art techniques and recent research progress, we provide some possible strategies, in terms of both energy and water management, for improving the performance of SISG under different irradiation powers. Finally, we also give a summary and our perspectives on the directions that the future development of this exciting field might take.

In this work, we report a simple one-pot reprecipitation method of CsPbX3/Pb3(PO4)2 composite nanocrystals (NCs), which have significantly improved photophysical properties and stability. The as-obtained CsPbBr3/Pb3(PO4)2 NCs display bright green emission with a high PLQY of 95%. In addition, the product has an outstanding stability toward moisture and polar solvents, superior to that of pristine CsPbBr3 NCs. This work not only provides a facile method for preparing lead halide perovskite NCs with high quality, but also sheds some light on the potential of inorganic salts as passivators.

All-inorganic lead halide perovskite (CsPbX

The electrochemical reduction of deuterons (2D+ + 2e- → D2) at Pt nanodisk electrodes (radius = 15 to 100 nm) in D2O solutions containing deuterium chloride (DCl) results in the formation of a sing...

Electrochemical processes occurring at solid/solid and solid/membrane interfaces govern the behavior of a variety of energy storage devices, including electrocatalytic reactions at electrode/membrane interfaces in fuel cells and ion insertion at electrode/electrolyte interfaces in solid-state batteries. Due to the heterogeneity of these systems, interrogation of interfacial activity at nanometer length scales is desired to understand system performance, yet the buried nature of the interfaces makes localized activity inaccessible to conventional electrochemical techniques. Herein, we demonstrate nanoscale electrochemical imaging of hydrogen evolution at individual Pt nanoparticles (PtNPs) positioned at a buried interface using scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM). Specifically, we image the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at individual carbon-supported PtNP electrocatalysts covered by a 100 to 800 nm thick layer of the proton exchange membrane Nafion. The rate of hydrogen evolution at PtNP at this buried interface is shown to be a function of Nafion thickness, with the highest activity observed for ∼200 nm thick films.

Bipyridine complexes of Ni are used as catalysts in a variety of reductive transformations. Here, the electroreduction of [Ni(Mebpy)3]2+ (Mebpy = 4,4’-dimethyl-2,2’-bipyridine) in dimethylformamide is reported, with the aim of determining the redox mechanism and oxidation states of products formed under well-controlled electrochemical conditions. Results from cyclic voltammetry, steady-state voltammetry (SSV) and chronoamperometry demonstrate that [Ni(Mebpy)3]2+ undergoes two sequential 1e reductions at closely separated potentials (E0’1 = -1.06 ± 0.01 V and E0’2 = -1.15 ± 0.01 V vs Ag/AgCl (3.4 M KCl)). Homogeneous comproportionation to generate [Ni(Mebpy)3]+ is demonstrated in SSV experiments in low ionic strength solutions. The comproportionation rate constant is determined to be > 106 M-1s-1, consistent with rapid outer-sphere electron transfer. Consequentially, on voltammetric time scales, the 2e reduction of [Ni(Mebpy)3]2+ results in formation of [Ni(Mebpy)3]1+ as the predominant species released into bulk solution. We also demonstrate that [Ni(Mebpy)3]0 slowly loses a Mebpy ligand (~10 s-1).

Continuum simulations become an important tool to uncover the mysteries in nanofluidic experiments. However, fluid flow in simulation models is usually unconsidered. Here, systematical simulations are conducted to provide a quantitative understanding of influences from electroosmotic flow (EOF) on ionic transport through nanopores by both types of models with and without consideration of EOF. In nanopores of less than ∼10 nm in diameter, counterions dominate ionic current, which is always promoted obviously by the convective effect of EOF. In the diameter range from ∼10 to ∼30 nm, strong EOF induces ion concentration polarization or ion depletion inside nanopores, which causes significant decreases in ionic current. For nanopores larger than ∼30 nm, due to convective promotion and inhibition of EOF on the transport of counterions and anions, considerable nanopore selectivity to counterions maintains in cases with EOF. Though the difference in total current between both cases decreases with further pore size increasing, the difference in cation/anion current is still considerable. From our results under various pore parameters and applied conditions, the fluid flow should be considered in the simulation cases when EOF is strong. Our work may provide useful guidance for simulation conductance.

We report voltammetric experiments of single H2 nanobubble nucleation at Pt nanodisk electrodes (radius < 100 nm) in the presence of highly-charged species: Ru(NH3)6 3+, La3+, Fe(CN)6 3−, and Fe(CN)6 4−. The highly charged cations are expected to be non-specifically adsorb at electrode potentials sufficiently negative for the H2 evolution reaction (HER) to proceed, thus affecting the thermodynamics and kinetics of bubble formation through alterations in interfacial solution structure. Conversely, anions are not expected to be non-specifically adsorbed during H2 evolution. We observed a more highly complex behavior than expected: (i) the presence of the two redox ions that are simultaneously reduced at potentials where HER occurs (i.e., Ru(NH3)6 3+ and Fe(CN)6 3−) results in a large overpotential for HER and bubble nucleation as well as a decrease in the H2 supersaturation required for nucleation; (ii) the presence of the electroinactive cation, La3+, results in a decrease in H2 supersaturation but no increase in HER overpotential; and (iii) Fe(CN)6 4− has only a minor effect on both HER kinetics and H2 supersaturation. We infer that the driving force of nucleation decreases in the presence of highly-charged ions. The results also suggest that the HER rate is significantly decreased when parallel redox reactions are operative.

Ion transport in highly-confined space is important to various applications, such as biosensing and seawater desalination with nanopores. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations are conducted to investigate the transport of Na$^+$ and Cl$^-$ ions through nanopores with the diameter below 6 nm. It is found that the formation of the contact ion pair plays a critical role in reducing the ion mobility inside a nanopore without surface charges. The mobility for both cations and anions decreases with the reduced pore size because it is easier to form the contact ion pairs inside the neutral nanopore with smaller diameter. Inside a charged nanopores, besides the contact ion pair formation, the surface charges also play a significant role in reducing the counterion mobility through surface trapping. It is uncovered that the mobility of Na$^+$ ions increases first and then decreases with the surface charge density, while Cl$^-$ ions have the opposite trend. A modified first-passage time model is proposed to take into account the ion pair formation and the trapped ions inside a nanopore, which provides a clear picture in describing ion transport through a nanopore.

Single nanopores have attracted much scientific interest due to their versatile applications. The majority of experiments have been performed with nanopores being in contact with the same electrolyte on both sides of the membrane, while solution gradients across semi-permeable membranes are omnipresent in natural systems. In this manuscript, we studied ionic and fluidic movement through thin nanopores under viscosity gradients both experimentally and using simulations. Ionic current rectification was observed under these conditions, due to solutions with different conductivities filled across the pore under different biases caused by electroosmotic flow. We found that a pore filled with high viscosity solutions exhibited current increase with applied voltage in a steeper slope beyond a threshold voltage, which abnormally reduced the current rectification ratio. Through simulations, we found reversed electroosmotic flow that filled the pore with aqueous solutions of lower viscosities was responsible for this behavior. The reversed electroosmotic flow could be explained by slower depletion of coions than counterions along the pore. By increasing the surface charge density of pore surfaces, current rectification ratio could reach the value of the viscosity gradient across thin nanopores. Our findings shed light on fundamental aspects to be considered when performing experiments with viscosity gradients across nanopores and nanofluidic channels., Comment: 7 figures https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.analchem.8b04225, Analytical chemistry 2018

High-performance osmotic energy conversion (OEC) with perm-selective porous membrane requires both high ionic selectivity and permeability simultaneously. Here, hydrodynamic slip is considered on surfaces of nanopores to break the tradeoff between ionic selectivity and permeability, because it decreases the viscous friction at solid-liquid interfaces which can promote ionic diffusion during OEC. Taking advantage of simulations, influences from individual slipping surfaces on the OEC performance have been investigated, i.e. the slipping inner surface (surfaceinner) and exterior surfaces on the low- and high-concentration sides (surfaceL and surfaceH). Results show that the slipping surfaceL is crucial for high-performance OEC. For nanopores with various lengths, the slipping surfaceL simultaneously increases both ionic permeability and selectivity of nanopores, which results in both significantly enhanced electric power and energy conversion efficiency. While for nanopores longer than 30 nm, the slipping surfaceinner plays a dominant role in the increase of electric power, which induces a considerable decrease in energy conversion efficiency due to enhanced transport of both cations and anions. Considering the difficulty in hydrodynamic slip modification to the surfaceinner of nanopores, the surface modification to the surfaceL may be a better choice to achieve high-performance OEC. Our results provide feasible guidance to the design of porous membranes for high-performance osmotic energy harvesting., Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures

Nanopores that exhibit ionic current rectification (ICR) behave like diodes, such that they transport ions more efficiently in one direction than the other. Conical nanopores have been shown to rectify ionic current, but only those with at least 500 nm in length exhibit significant ICR. Here, through the finite element method, we show how ICR of conical nanopores with length below 200 nm can be tuned by controlling individual charged surfaces i.e. inner pore surface (surface_inner), and exterior pore surfaces on the tip and base side (surface_tip and surface_base). The charged surface_inner and surface_tip can induce obvious ICR individually, while the effects of the charged surface_base on ICR can be ignored. The fully charged surface_inner alone could render the nanopore counterion-selective and induces significant ion concentration polarization in the tip region, which causes reverse ICR compared to nanopores with all surface charged. In addition, the direction and degree of rectification can be further tuned by the depth of the charged surface_inner. When considering the exterior membrane surface only, the charged surface_tip causes intra-pore ionic enrichment and depletion under opposite biases which results in significant ICR. Its effective region is within ~40 nm beyond the tip orifice. We also found that individual charged parts of the pore system contributed to ICR in an additive way due to the additive effect on the ion concentration regulation along the pore axis. With various combinations of fully/partially charged surface_inner and surface_tip, diverse ICR ratios from ~2 to ~170 can be achieved. Our findings shed light on the mechanism of ionic current rectification in ultra-short conical nanopores, and provide a useful guide to the design and modification of ultra-short conical nanopores in ionic circuits and nanofluidic sensors., 25 pages, 8 figures

The removal of oil from the water surface is vital to protect the environment and living organisms against the threats posed by industrial oily wastewater and offshore oil spills. High cost, low efficiency, and environmental pollution limit the widespread use of the commercial methods of oil-water separation. In this study, the prewetting polypropylene-wood pulp fiber composite nonwoven fabric (PWNF) has been used in the gravity-driven separation of the oil-water mixture. The prewetting PWNF displayed superior underwater oleophobic properties, and the underwater kerosene contact angle was 137.65° ± 4.27°. The oil-water interfacial tension in the microchannels among the PWNF fibers prevented the oil from passing through the microchannels; however, it allowed the passage of water. The PWNF membrane maintained an excellent oil-water separation performance after repeated separation and long-term soaking cycles. The separation membrane maintained 75% and 50% of the initial separation performance after 40 repeat cycles and water immersion for more than 20 days, respectively. The separation rate of the PWNF membrane was also investigated as a function of salt solution concentration, temperature, and pH. Meanwhile, the influences of prewetting time, prewetting temperature, and different dyeing condition of the mixture on the separation rate were clarified. The destruction of the oil-water contact interface was suggested as the main failure mode of the developed PWNF separation membrane. The maximum kerosene height that the PWNF separation membrane could sustain was 800 mm. The obtained results confirmed that the PWNF separation membrane exhibited the high potential of widespread use in various environments for achieving efficient and stable separations, especially for the oily wastewater treatment.

Bipyridine complexes of Ni are used as catalysts in a variety of reductive transformations. Here, the electroreduction of [Ni(Mebpy)3]2+ (Mebpy = 4,4’-dimethyl-2,2’-bipyridine) in dimethylformamide is reported, with the aim of determining the redox mechanism and oxidation states of products formed under well-controlled electrochemical conditions. Results from cyclic voltammetry, steady-state voltammetry (SSV) and chronoamperometry demonstrate that [Ni(Mebpy)3]2+ undergoes two sequential 1e reductions at closely separated potentials (E0’1 = -1.06 ± 0.01 V and E0’2 = -1.15 ± 0.01 V vs Ag/AgCl (3.4 M KCl)). Homogeneous comproportionation to generate [Ni(Mebpy)3]+ is demonstrated in SSV experiments in low ionic strength solutions. The comproportionation rate constant is determined to be > 106 M-1s-1, consistent with rapid outer-sphere electron transfer. Consequentially, on voltammetric time scales, the 2e reduction of [Ni(Mebpy)3]2+ results in formation of [Ni(Mebpy)3]1+ as the predominant species released into bulk solution. We also demonstrate that [Ni(Mebpy)3]0 slowly loses a Mebpy ligand (~10 s-1).

The resistive-pulse technique provides a fast and label-free method for nanoparticle detection. In order to achieve a higher sensitivity, thin nanopores, such as silicon nitride pores, are usually considered. In this paper, nanoparticle detection has been mimicked by simulations. We found the surface charges of the particle can affect the current blockade obviously in short pores, especially under high electric fields. For particles with a surface charge density higher than -0.02 C/m2, its current blockade ratio depends on the applied voltage closely. From our simulation results, an optimal voltage can be found for the particle detection, under which the current blockade ratio does not depend on the surface charge density of the particle. This optimal voltage was obtained by the balance of current increase and decrease caused by cations and anions, respectively, due to the negative surface charges of particles. From the systematical study, the optimal voltage was found to work like a property of the system which only depends on the electrolyte type. We think our finding can provide some help to the accurate particle detection in experiments.

The poor stability of CsPbX3 (X = Cl, Br, I) nanocrystals (NCs) has severely impeded their practical applications. Although there are some successful examples on encapsulating multiple CsPbX3 NCs into an oxide or polymer matrix, it has remained a serious challenge for the surface modification/encapsulation using oxides or polymers at a single particle level. In this work, monodisperse CsPbX3/SiO2 and CsPbBr3/Ta2O5 Janus nanoparticles were successfully prepared by combining a water-triggered transformation process and a sol–gel method. The CsPbBr3/SiO2 NCs exhibited a photoluminescence quantum yield of 80% and a lifetime of 19.8 ns. The product showed dramatically improved stability against destruction by air, water, and light irradiation. Upon continuous irradiation by intense UV light for 10 h, a film of the CsPbBr3/SiO2 Janus NCs showed only a slight drop (2%) in the PL intensity, while a control sample of unmodified CsPbBr3 NCs displayed a 35% drop. We further highlighted the advantageous features of t...

Facile synthesis of the W18O49/Graphene (W18O49/G) nanocomposites were developed by a graphene assisted hydrothermal route, in which p-n heterojunction was successfully constructed for highly sensitive ethanol gas sensors. Their structure, morphology, and chemical compositions were examined by XRD, SEM, HRTEM, XPS, N2 adsorption-desorption techniques. The well-defined W18O49/G nanocomposites consisted of interlaced nanowires offered unique p-n junctions at the heterointerfaces, which could increase the point defects and vacancies in the vicinity of heterostructures, promoting gas adsorption and gas-sensing reactions. Gas-sensing tests confirmed that the combination of W18O49 nanowires and graphene endowed crucial advantages for ethanol detection, such as high response and selectivity, rapid responding and recovering, and excellent ability. In comparison with previous published works, the W18O49/G sensor also displayed outstanding ethanol sensing performance. A possible gas-sensing mechanism based on this novel W18O49/G nanocomposites was discussed.

High-performance osmotic energy conversion (OEC) requires both high ionic selectivity and permeability in nanopores. Here, through systematical explorations of influences from individual charged nanopore surfaces on the performance of OEC, we find that the charged exterior surface on the low-concentration side (surfaceL) is essential to achieve high-performance osmotic power generation, which can significantly improve the ionic selectivity and permeability simultaneously. Detailed investigation of ionic transport indicates that electric double layers near charged surfaces provide high-speed passages for counterions. The charged surfaceL enhances cation diffusion through enlarging the effective diffusive area, and inhibits anion transport by electrostatic repulsion. Different areas of charged exterior surfaces have been considered to mimic membranes with different porosities in practical applications. Through adjusting the width of the charged ring region on the surfaceL, electric power in single nanopores increases from 0.3 to 3.4 pW with a plateau at the width of ~200 nm. The power density increases from 4200 to 4900 W/m2 and then decreases monotonously that reaches the commercial benchmark at the charged width of ~480 nm. While, energy conversion efficiency can be promoted from 4% to 26%. Our results provide useful guide in the design of nanoporous membranes for high-performance osmotic energy harvesting., Comment: 30 pages and 7 figures

Rectifying pores, which transport ions mainly in one direction blocking the ionic flow in the other, were shown to be important in the preparation of chemical sensors, components of ionic circuits, and mimics of biological channels. Ionic rectification has been shown with various engineered systems, but pores with similar opening diameters often rectify to a various uncontrolled extent. In this Letter we present a system of single meso-pores, whose current-voltage curves and rectification can be tuned with great precision via viscosity and conductivity gradients of solutions placed on both sides of the membrane. The mechanism of rectification is based on electroosmotically induced flow, which fills the entire volume of the pore with a single solution from either side of the membrane. The highly predictable rectifying system can find various applications, including measuring viscosity of unknown media and tuning electrokinetic passage of particles.

Bi2MoO6 nanosheets were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Morphology and structure of the Bi2MoO6 nanosheets were analyzed by SEM, XRD, N2 adsorption techniques and XPS. Gas-sensing properties of the as-prepared Bi2MoO6 sensors were also systematically investigated. The results showed the reaction temperature greatly affected the morphology and structure of as-prepared Bi2MoO6 nanosheets. When the reaction temperature reached 170 oC, the morphology of the Bi2MoO6 nanosheets tended to regular, and pure Bi2MoO6 nanosheets were obtained. The operating temperature determined the gas-sensing properties of the Bi2MoO6 sensor. At this optimal operating temperature of 300 oC, the sensitivity of the Bi2MoO6 sensor towards 20 ppm nitrogen oxide (NO) reached a maximum of 3.13. With the increase of the nitrogen oxide (NO) concentration, the sensitivity of the Bi2MoO6 sensor also rapidly increased, and displayed an almost linear relationship between them. Additionally, the Bi2MoO6 sensor demonstrated excellent selectivity with respect to several typical interfering gases.

Single pores have found application in detecting and characterizing individual objects such as cells, particles, and even individual molecules. The experimental approach, called resistive-pulse technique, is often performed at symmetric electrolyte conditions so that the properties of the passing object remain constant in the course of measurement and translocation. Here we report experiments with highly charged mesoparticles passing through pores placed in contact with a pH gradient and demonstrate that this setup allows probing protonation and deprotonation of the particles. On the basis of fast diffusion of protons and submillisecond deprotonation/protonation kinetics of carboxyl groups, we expected that the particles would change their ionization state within a few milliseconds. However, our results show that the kinetics of protonation and deprotonation of the highly charged particles is significantly slower and exceeds 100 ms. We hypothesize that condensation of counterions that occurs on the partic...

Our manuscript addresses the issue of probing an effective surface charge that any surface can acquire at the solid/liquid interface. Even if a particle is predicted to be neutral based on its chemical structure, the particle can carry finite surface charges when placed in a solution. We present tools to probe the presence of surface charge densities of meso-particles, characterized with zeta potentials below 10 mV. The tools are based on the resistive-pulse technique, which uses single pores to probe properties of individual objects including molecules, particles, and cells. The presented experiments were performed with particles 280 and 400 nm in diameter and single pores with opening diameter tuned between ∼ 200 nm and one micron. Surface charge properties were probed in two modes: (i) the passage of the particles through pores of diameters larger than the particles, as well as (ii) an approach curve of a particle to a pore that is smaller than the particle diameter. The curve in the latter mode has a biphasic character starting with a low-amplitude current decrease, followed by a current enhancement reaching an amplitude of ∼10% of the baseline current. The current increase was long-lasting and stable, and shown to strongly depend on the particle surface charge density. The results are explained via voltage-modulation of ionic concentrations in the pore.

Ion transport through nanopores is a process of fundamental significance in nature and in engineering practice. Over the past decade, it has been found that the ion conductivity in nanopores could be drastically enhanced, and different mechanisms have been proposed to explain this observation. To date, most reported studies have been carried out with relatively dilute electrolytes, while ion transport in nanopores under high electrolyte concentrations (>1 M) has been rarely explored. Through systematic experimental and atomistic simulation studies with NaCl solutions, here we show that at high electrolyte concentrations, ion mobility in small nanopores could be significantly reduced from the corresponding bulk value. Subsequent molecular dynamics studies indicate that in addition to the low mobility of surface-bound ions in the Stern layer, enhanced pairing and collisions between partially dehydrated ions of opposite charges also make important contributions to the reduced ion mobility. Furthermore, we show that the extent of mobility reduction depends on the association constant between cations and anions in different electrolytes with a more drastic reduction for a larger association constant.

Single pores in the resistive-pulse technique are used as an analytics tool to detect, size, and characterize physical as well as chemical properties of individual objects such as molecules and particles. Each object passing through a pore causes a transient change of the transmembrane current called a resistive pulse. In high salt concentrations when the pore diameter is significantly larger than the screening Debye length, it is assumed that the particle size and surface charge can be determined independently from the same experiment. In this article we challenge this assumption and show that highly charged hard spheres can cause a significant increase of the resistive-pulse amplitude compared to neutral particles of a similar diameter. As a result, resistive pulses overestimate the size of charged particles by even 20%. The observation is explained by the effect of concentration polarization created across particles in a pore, revealed by numerical modeling of ionic concentrations, ion current, and local electric fields. It is notable that in resistive-pulse experiments with cylindrical pores, concentration polarization was previously shown to influence ionic concentrations only at pore entrances; consequently, additional and transient modulation of resistive pulses was observed when a particle entered or left the pore. Here we postulate that concentration polarization can occur across transported particles at any particle position along the pore axis and affect the magnitude of the entire resistive pulse. Consequently, the recorded resistive pulses of highly charged particles reflect not only the particles' volume but also the size of the depletion zone created in front of the moving particle. Moreover, the modeling identified that the effective surface charge density of particles depended not only on the density of functional groups on the particle but also on the capacitance of the Stern layer. The findings are of crucial importance for sizing particles and characterizing their surface charge properties.

Conically shaped pores such as glass pipets as well as asymmetric pores in polymers became an important analytics tool used for the detection of molecules, viruses, and particles. Electrokinetic or pressure driven passage of single particles through a single pore causes a transient change of the transmembrane current, called a resistive-pulse, whose amplitude is the measure of the particle volume. The shape of the pulse reflects the pore topography, and in a conical pore, resistive pulses have a shape of a tick point. Passage of particles in both directions was reported to produce pulses of the same amplitude and shapes that are mirror images of each other. In this manuscript we identify conditions at which the amplitude of resistive-pulses in a conical mesopore is direction dependent. Neutral particles entering the pore from the larger entrance of a conical pore, called the base, block the current to a larger extent than the particles traveling in the opposite direction. Negatively charged particles on the other hand size larger when being transported in the direction from tip to base. The findings are explained via voltage-regulated ionic concentrations in the pore such that for one voltage polarity a weak depletion zone is formed, which increases the current blockage caused by a particle. For the opposite polarity, an enhancement of ionic concentrations was predicted. The findings reported here are of crucial importance for the resistive-pulse technique, which relates the current blockage with the size of the passing object.

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene fusion is a driving mutation underlying the development of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Accurate detection of ALK fusion is critical for the use of ALK inhibitors in the treatment of NSCLC. Commonly utilized methods for ALK detection include fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). However, these methods are time-consuming and costly. In the present study, a method for assessing ALK gene fusion based on the differential expression levels of the ALK kinase and non-kinase domains was developed and evaluated, with the aim of providing a convenient and reliable method for the detection of ALK fusion. In addition, another method was established to determine the integrity of exons 19–20 and 20–21 of ALK, two genomic loci that are typically broken in ALK fusions. These novel methods were applied to detect ALK fusion in 100 NSCLC patients, and were compared with IHC and FISH methods. The novel methods developed in the present study successfully detected ALK fusions in 10 samples. The concordances between the novel methods and IHC and FISH were 100%. Furthermore, the differential expression method was able to detect ALK fusions in cell-free urine samples, which was advantageous over FISH and IHC. The novel methods developed in the present study are cost-effective and easy to perform, and may provide simple and convenient techniques for the clinical assessment of ALK fusions, facilitating the use of targeted therapy for NSCLC.

Single micropores in resistive-pulse technique were used to understand a complex dependence of particle mobility on its surface charge density. We show that the mobility of highly charged carboxylated particles decreases with the increase of the solution pH due to an interplay of three effects: (i) ion condensation, (ii) formation of an asymmetric electrical double layer around the particle, and (iii) electroosmotic flow induced by the charges on the pore walls and the particle surfaces. The results are important for applying resistive-pulse technique to determine surface charge density and zeta potential of the particles. The experiments also indicate the presence of condensed ions, which contribute to the measured current if a sufficiently high electric field is applied across the pore.

This paper presents a 37 Gb/s phase locked-loop (PLL)-type clock recovery (CR) circuit designed and fabricated in 0.2-µm GaAs PHEMT process. The resonator of the modified LC-VCO is based on a compact circuit topology with high Q-value and better isolation. The active amplifier of the VCO is optimized with a combination of several circuit techniques to reduce phase noise and increase the operation speed. Resonant filters containing high-quality CPWs are employed in the signal preprocessor to accommodate the 37 Gb/s data rate. The measured figure of merit of the modified VCO is about ?196 dBc/Hz at 37-GHz when the PLL is locked. The experimental results also demonstrate that the recovered clock signal of the CR circuit has a phase noise of ?81.66 dBc/Hz at 50 kHz off the center frequency.