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Micropatterning techniques have become an important tool for the study of cell behavior in controlled microenvironments. As a consequence, several approaches for the creation of micropatterns have been developed in recent years. However,…
The interaction of fluid membranes with a scaffold, which can be a planar surface or a more complex structure, is intrinsic to a number of systems - from artificial supported bilayers and vesicles to cellular membranes. In principle, these…
The development of bio-inspired interfacial materials with enhanced drop mobility that mimic the innate functionalities of nature will have significant impact on the energy, environment and global healthcare. In spite of extensive progress,…
With much advancement in the field of nanotechnology, bioengineering and synthetic biology over the past decade, microscales and nanoscales devices are becoming a reality. Yet the problem of engineering a reliable communication system…
Deep learning has revolutionized biomedical research by providing sophisticated methods to handle complex, high-dimensional data. Multimodal deep learning (MDL) further enhances this capability by integrating diverse data types such as…
Droplet interactions with solid surfaces are fundamental to natural phenomena and hold significant commercial relevance across diverse applications. While the impingement dynamics of conventional aqueous droplets on solid substrates are…
Microscopes are vital pieces of equipment in much of biological research and medical diagnostics. However, access to a microscope can represent a bottleneck in research, especially in lower-income countries. `Smart' computer controlled…
At the heart of the structured architecture and complex dynamics of biological systems are specific and timely interactions operated by biomolecules. In many instances, biomolecular agents are spatially confined to flexible lipid membranes…
Liquid-liquid phase separation is important across biology, physics, and materials science. Although usually studied at equilibrium, active components - such as motor proteins, enzymes, and synthetic microswimmers - are increasingly…
Droplets provide unique opportunities for the investigation of laser-induced surface chemistry. Chemical reactions on the surface of charged droplets are ubiquitous in nature and can provide critical insight into more efficient processes…
Significant progress has been made to increase access to droplet microfluidics for labs with limited microfluidics expertise or fabrication equipment. In particular, using off-the-shelf systems has been a valuable approach. However, the…
Macro-textured superhydrophobic surfaces can reduce droplet-substrate contact times of impacting water droplets, however, surface designs with similar performance for significantly more viscous liquids are missing, despite their importance…
Petra S. Dittrich is associate professor for Bioanalytics at the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering at ETH Z\"urich. Here she describes the microfluidic devices that her lab develops to facilitate comprehensive studies on…
Droplet microfluidics combined with optical detection has become a powerful approach for high-throughput single-cell assays, but these systems often face limited sensitivity and signal heterogeneity due to optical and geometrical…
Liquid crystals are synthetic and biological viscoelastic anisotropic soft matter materials that combine liquid fluidity with crystal anisotropy and find use in optical devices, sensor/actuators, lubrication, super-fibers. Frequently…
We propose the next evolution of the artificial sense of touch, including an in-depth examination of the latest advancements in tactile sensing technology and the challenges that remain. We delve into the forefront of DNA and nanomaterials…
Electrochemical Biosensors are uniquely positioned to offer real-time in vivo molecular sensing due to their robustness to both biofluids and contaminants found in biofluids, and their adaptability for the detection of different analytes by…
Many multiphase fluid systems, such as those involving immiscible polymers or liquid-liquid systems with surfactants, have shown a breakdown of the no-slip condition at the material interface. This results in systems where the tangential…
Colloids are abundant in nature, science and technology, with examples ranging from milk to quantum dots and the "colloidal atom" paradigm. Similarly, liquid crystal ordering is important in contexts ranging from biological membranes to…
Photoelectron emission microscopy PEEM is a powerful tool to spectroscopically image dynamic surface processes at the nanoscale but is traditionally limited to ultra high or moderate vacuum conditions. Here, we develop a novel grapheme…