Ricardo Garcia
		Professor
		Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid
		CSIC
		Spain
		Personal homepage
Title: Frontiers of nanomechanical mapping: From single ions to single cell nanomechanics
Abstract: This contribution introduces some of the main challenges faced by force microscopy to map at subnanometer-scale spatial resolution properties of solid-liquid interfaces. The presentation is divided in three sections. The first section is devoted to introduce the capabilities of  3D-AFM to image with atomic-scale resolution the 3D interfacial structure of surfaces immersed in aqueous solutions [1-3]. The second section shows  the applications of high-speed bimodal AFM to map the nanomechanical properties of several biological processes [4]. The third section discusses some fundamental issues involving the imaging and nanomechanical characterization  of  live cells with the AFM [5-6]. [1] Fukuma, T. & Garcia, R. (2018).  Atomic- and Molecular-Resolution Mapping of Solid–Liquid Interfaces by 3D Atomic Force Microscopy. ACS Nano 12, 11785-11797. [2] Uhlig, M.R.,  Martin-Jimenez, D. & Garcia, R. (2019). Atomic-Scale Mapping of Hydrophobic Layers on Graphene and Few-Layer MoS2 and WSe2 in Water. Nat. Comm. 10 , 2606. [3] Uhlig, M.R., Benaglia, S., Thakkar, R., Comer, J. & Garcia, R. (2021). Atomically Resolved Interfacial Water Structures on Crystalline Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Surfaces. Nanoscale 13, 5275. [4] Gisbert, V.G., Benaglia, S., Uhlig, M.R., Proksch, R. & Garcia, R. (2021). High-Speed Nanomechanical Mapping of the Early Stages of Collagen Growth by Bimodal Force Microscopy. ACS Nano 15  1850. [5] Garcia, R. (2020). Nanomechanical Mapping of Soft Materials with the Atomic Force Microscope: Methods, Theory and Applications. Chem. Soc. Rev., 49, 5850–5884. [6] Garcia, P.D., Guerrero, C.R., Garcia, R. (2020). Nanorheology of living cells measured by AFM-based force-distance curves, Nanoscale 12, 9133..

		Per Hedegård
		Professor
		Condensed Matter Physics
		Niels Bohr Institute University of Copenhagen
		Denmark
		Personal homepage
Title: Bad weather in molecular electronics
Abstract: We study how the motion of electrons through single molecules can affect the atomic motion of the molecule. The electron flow will act as wind which may destroy the molecular contact. In a more controlled mode the wind will transfer energy to certain vibrational modes and the system can act as a sound laser. If the molecule is chiral, there is a possibility, that the electrons will start to spin (on average) when passing the molecule (CISS effect). The opposite effect, that the molecule will start to spin, is also possible. We present the theory and some experimental results.

		Xichun Luo
		Professor in Ultra Precision Manufacturing
		Centre for Precision Manufacturing (CPM)
		Department of Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Management
		University of Strathclyde (Glasgow)
		UK
		Personal homepage
Title: Scanning probe lithography through pulse modulated local anodic oxidation
Abstract: The application of nanotechnology has expanded to a variety of fields, leading to the emergence of functional devices as nanoelectronics, data storage, nanomechanical systems. A fast and reliable nanofabrication technique is thus in demand to produce solution for functional nanostructures. Atomic force microscope-based local anodic oxidation (LAO) lithography is a simple and cost-effective approach to create nanopatterns in comparison with electron beam lithography and focused ion beam lithography. In this work, we propose a pulse modulation method for LAO lithography to achieve the digital control over the 3D nanostructure. It is proved that the single pulse modulation could effectively control the oxidation growth over close-to-atomic scale and pulse-interval modulation can produce the 2D oxidation pattern over a microscale region with high accuracy. With this method, complex 3D structure could be created in a single scan.

		Xiaobo Mao
		Associate Professor
		Neuroregeneration and Stem Cell Programs
		Institute for Cell Engineering
		Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
		USA
		Personal homepage
Title: Pathogenic α-synuclein cell-to-cell transmission mechanism and related therapeutic development
Abstract: α-Synucleinopathies is characterized with accumulation of misfolded α-synuclein (α-syn), including Parkinson’s disease (PD), Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). Emerging evidence indicates that pathogenesis of α-synucleinopathies may be due to cell-to-cell transmission of prion-like preformed fibrils (PFF) of α-syn. We identified several receptors (Lag3, Aplp1, neurexins) that specifically bind with α-syn fibrils but not α-syn monomer. Lymphocyte-activation gene-3 (Lag3) exhibits the highest binding affinity with α-syn fibrils, and α-syn fibrils binding to Lag3 initiated pathogenic α-syn endocytosis, propagation, transmission, and toxicity. Lack of Lag3 (Lag3-/-) substantially delay α-syn PFF-induced loss of dopamine neurons, as well as biochemical and behavioral deficits in vivo. To determine the neuronal Lag3 and the function in mediating α-synucleinopathies in vivo, we obtained the neuronal Lag3 conditional knockout mice (Lag3n-/-) and found that Lag3n-/- can significantly reduce the behavioral deficits induced by α-syn PFF. Furthermore, we have generated the human dopamine neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and successfully generated the α-syn PFF model in human neurons. Moreover, we determined the LAG3 expression in human neurons. The LAG3 expression can be up-regulated by progerin, an aging inducer, and the higher LAG3 expression has been confirmed in aged mice compared to young mice. LAG3 inhibitors (anti-LAG3, compound) can inhibit the endocytosis of α-syn PFF and subsequent α-syn pathology propagation and toxicity. The identification of Lag3 that binds α-syn PFF provides a target for developing therapeutics designed to slow the progression of PD and related α-synucleinopathies.

		Jean Manca
		Professor
		Secretary of the Examination Board of the Bachelor of Physics
		Physics, X-Lab
		Hasselt University
		Belgium
		Personal homepage
Title: Biological vs synthetic organic electronic materials & the electrifying emergence of "cable bacteria"
Abstract: Cable bacteria, a group of filamentous electroactive bacteria, have developed a unique energy metabolism and parallel fibre structures demonstrating electron transport for conduction lengths up to 1 cm and with fibre conductivities exceeding 10 S/cm. Conduction measurements carried out in high vacuum excluded the possibility of ionic conduction, but the fundamental charge transport mechanisms remain unknown. The observed electron transport in cable bacteria over distances in the order of centimeters is remarkable in the biological world. Cable bacteria as ‘living electrical wires’ are of fundamental interest to better understand the underlying biological processes, but are also potentially interesting as alternative organic electronic materials for the emerging field of bioelectronics as e.g. biocompatible electrical connections and circuits, conductive composite materials, (nano-) sensors, transistors,... In order to investigate the intrinsic electrical properties and underlying transport mechanisms, our approach is to study them with a range of macroscopic and nanoscale solid state electrical characterisation techniques, in combination with structural and analytical techniques ranging from SEM to ToF-SIMS. Cable bacteria emerge as an electrifying class of biological electrical materials with record intrinsic electrical properties.

		Xuesong Mei
		Professor
		State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering
		School of Mechanical Engineering Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Intelligent Robots
		Xi'an Jiaotong University, China
		Personal homepage
Title: Ultrafast laser precise machining processes and equipments of hard and brittle materials
Abstract: Hard and brittle materials are widely used in a lot of fields such as aerospace, high-end electronic core components, etc. Because of its extremely short pulse and extremely high peak power, ultrafast laser has the characteristics of high flexibility, high precision and universality in the precision machining of hard and brittle materials. Aiming at the problem of precise and controllable machining of hard and brittle materials such as diamond, ceramics and superalloys, our team carried out theoretical and experimental researches on laser precision machining, revealed the material removal mechanism under the action of laser composite energy field, and established the theoretical model of nano-/ micro-scale ablation and propagation of pulsed laser in liquid environment. The accurate prediction of characteristic size and cross-section morphology of laser processed microstructures under the action of multi energy field is realized; the step-by-step laser processing technology based on the pulse timing regulation and the laser three-dimensional milling method based on the path optimization are proposed, which breaks through the technical problem of laser processing size and shape regulation. The liquid assisted laser composite machining method is explored, and the high-quality micro-holes of superalloy without recasting layer, microcrack, splash and deposition layer are machined. On the basis of technological breakthrough, we have overcome key technologies such as mechanical-photoelectronic collaboration and three-dimensional online detection, and developed high-end laser manufacturing equipments such as femtosecond laser processing equipment of aircraft engine CMC turbine parts and picosecond laser repair equipment of aircraft engine blade ceramic cores, which have important application value in the fields of aerospace and electronic manufacturing, etc.

		James Morris
		Emeritus Professor
		Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
		Portland State University, USA IEEE Life Fellow
		Past President, IEEE Nanotechnology Council
		Personal homepage
Title: Electron Transport in Discontinuous Metal Thin Films
Abstract: The electronic conduction mechanism in discontinuous thin films of discrete metal nanoparticles on insulating substrates was the subject of intense study in the 1960s and 1970s when the Neugebauer and Webb (N&W) model [1] of interisland tunneling between a sparse distribution of charged islands became generally accepted. A key feature of the model was that the charged island density is governed by Maxwell-Boltzmann statistics and an electrostatic nanoparticle charging energy. However, while the simple model explained the primary experimental observations [2], it ignored numerous discrepancies [3]. A modified model and computer simulations have explained these at a qualitative level [4, 5] but quantitative experimental verification is not possible without films of stable, known, and reproducible structures. The presentation introduces the N&W model and its experimental shortcomings, covers the modified model and its simulation results, and will conclude with a review of some possible  techniques to achieve such satisfactory samples. [1] C. Neugebauer and M. Webb, “Electrical Conduction Mechanism in Ultrathin, Evaporated Metal Films,” J Appl. Phys., vol. 33, pp. 74-82, January 1962. [2] J.E. Morris and T.J. Coutts, "Electrical Conduction in Discontinuous Metal Films; a Discussion" Thin Solid Films, vol. 47, pp. 3-65, November 1977. [3] J.E. Morris, “Electron Transport in Discontinuous Metal Thin Films,” Nano Express, vol. 3, 014002 (open access) 2022. doi:10.1088/2632-959X/ac550c [4] F. Wu and J.E. Morris, “Modeling Conduction in Asymmetrical Discontinuous Thin Metal Films” Thin Solid Films, vol. 317, pp. 178-182, 1998. [5] J.E. Morris, “Recent Progress in Discontinuous Thin Metal Film Devices,” Vacuum, vol. 50, pp. 107-113, 1998.

		Wilhelm Pfleging
		Professor
		Group Leader - Laser Technology / Lithium-Ion Batteries Institute for Applied Materials (IAM-AWP)
		Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
		Germany
		Personal homepage / Personal homepage
Title: Perspective for a Broader Approach of Laser Materials Processing in Lithium-Ion Battery Production
Abstract: Great efforts are being made worldwide to simultaneously increase the energy and power density of batteries, especially for future electric vehicles. In addition, the demand for inexpensive, low-degradation, safe and reliable lithium-ion batteries is constantly increasing. With regard to vehicle-to-grid technologies and 2nd-life applications, there is also a strong demand for significantly increased battery lifetime for electric vehicles. Laser-assisted welding, cutting, annealing, drying, structuring, surface modification, and printing of battery materials have great potential to advance current battery production in a broader manufacturing approach beyond the current state of the art. In addition to a positive effect of further reducing the production costs of lithium-ion batteries, enormously improved electrochemical performance and cycle lifetime of lithium-ion batteries can be achieved under certain circumstances. Laser welding of busbars and nanosecond laser cutting of electrodes, in particular the so-called slotting and notching of electrodes, were the first laser processing approaches that were successfully transferred to industrial lithium-ion battery production. Laser direct structuring and printing of electrode materials are rather new technical approaches to developing three-dimensional electrodes that generally result in improved electrochemical performances compared to traditional two-dimensional architectures due to reduced cell polarization and lower mechanical stresses during electrochemical cycling. During the last decade, a new generation of industrially reliable, high-power, ultrafast laser radiation sources has been developed, capable of upscaling the electrode patterning process to achieve the required high processing speeds of battery manufacturing. Using these types of laser sources, these lasers have been integrated at KIT into roll-to-roll systems applying multi-beam processing of electrodes to reach a high technological readiness level. 3D lithium-ion batteries based on lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide cathode materials and silicon/graphite anode materials were fabricated and characterized with regard to their electrochemical performance data. Starting points for electrochemical degradation could be identified from the 3D lithium elemental mapping, derived from laser-induced degradation spectroscopy post-mortem measurements. A strong influence of macroscopic porosity changes and macroscopic electrode defects on the lithium plating was shown. Compressive stresses applied to electrodes and separator during cycling also have a significant impact on lithium distribution and subsequent cell degradation. In current experimental studies and simulations, suitable types of laser-generated 3D patterns such as holes, lines, or grids are investigated depending on the application scenario and the respective materials. The perspective of laser processes in battery production is discussed.

		Mariana Medina Sánchez
		Group Leader
		Micro- and Nanobiomedical Engineering Group Institute for Integrative Nanosciences
		IFW Dresden
		Germany
		Personal homepage
Title: Medical microrobots for non-invasive in vivo assisted reproduction
Abstract: Several concepts have been pursued by different research groups worldwide to realize untethered propulsion on a small size scale. Potential geometries for such untethered devices range from tubular microjets, Janus particles or rods, over bio-inspired artificial flagella, to helical micromotors. Physical micromotor and microrobots for example are based on external physical fields such as magnetic fields and ultrasound, while the bio-hybrid micromotors mainly rely on the propulsion ability of the coupled biological entity (e.g. sperm, bacteria). In our group, we have developed different types of such physical and biohybrid micromotors, in particular, sperm-hybrid microrobots and microcarriers for fertilized oocytes with the purpose of increasing the pregancy success rate and to reduce the invasiveness of current assisted fertilization technologies. We have successfully demonstrated the guidance and transport of motile and immotile sperm by magnetic microcarriers actuated by weak external magnetic fields, in vitro, employing biological-relevant fluids. These sperm-hybrid microrobots have also been used as drug carriers towards gynecological cancer treatment. Moreover, we succeeded in the transport and release of multiple viable and mature sperm, being a crucial step to achieve the egg fertilization in vivo or to control drug dose in the case of cancer therapy. We have also evaluated their perfomance under blood stream and exploited their cargo-delivery functionality by functionalizing the carriers with heparin-loaded nanoliposomes. Finally, in order to translate these technologies to pre-clinical trials, we have recently reported the succesful tracking of magnetically-driven micromotors in phantom, ex-vivo and in living mice with high spatial and temporal resolution employing photoacoustic imaging.

		Oliver G. Schmidt
		Member of the German Academy of Science and Engineering / Leibniz Prize winner
		Professor, Scientific Director Research Center for Materials, Architectures and Integration of Nanomembranes (MAIN)
		University of Technology Chemnitz
		Germany
		Personal homepage
Title: 4D Materials for E-skin and Microrobotic Applications
Abstract: 4D materials change their shape in time. If prepared as stimuli-responsive nanomembranes on a chip surface, they are attractive for various scientific disciplines ranging from electronic skin to microrobotic systems. This talk presents the fascinating application potential of 4D materials for soft e-skin applications [1], highly integrated microelectronic catheters [2] and medical and microelectronic microbots [3-5]. Particular attention will be paid to the challenge of on-board energy supply for autonomously acting smart dust microsystems [6-8]. [1] C. Becker, B. Bao, D. D. Karnaushenko, V. K. Kumar, B. Rivkin, Z. Li, M. Faghih, D. Karnaushenko, O. G. Schmidt, Nature Comm. 13, 2121 (2022) [2] B. Rivkin, C. Becker, B. Singh, A. Aziz, F. Akbar, A. Egunov, D. D. Karnaushenko, R. Naumann, R. Schäfer, M. Medina-Sanchez, D. Karnaushenko, O. G. Schmidt, Sci. Adv. 7, aebl5408 (2021) [3] M. Medina-Sánchez, O. G. Schmidt, Nature 545, 406 (2017) [4] V. K. Bandari, Y. Nan, D. Karnaushenko, Y. Hong, B. Sun, F. Striggow, D. D. Karnaushenko, C. Becker, M. Faghih, M. Medina-Sanchez, F. Zhu, O. G. Schmidt, Nature Electron. 3, 172 (2020) [5] C. K. Schmidt, M. Medina-Sanchez, R. J. Edmondson, O. G. Schmidt, Nature Commun. 11, 5618 (2020) [6] M. Zhu, O. G. Schmidt, Nature 589, 195 (2021) [7] Y. Lee, V. K. Bandari, Z. Li, M. Medina-Sanchez, M. F. Maitz, D. Karnaushenko, M. V. Tsurkan, D. D. Karnaushenko, O. G. Schmidt, Nature Comm. 12, 4967(2021) [8] Y. Li, M. Zhu, V. K. Bandari, D. D: Karnaushenko, D. Karnaushenko, F. Zhu, O. G. Schmidt, Adv. Energy Mater. 12, 2103641 (2022)

		Joseph B. Tracy
		Professor
		Department of Materials Science and Engineering
		North Carolina State University
		USA
		Personal homepage
Title: Magnetic Alignment for Plasmonic Control of Gold Nanorods Coated with Iron Oxide Nanoparticles
Abstract: Plasmonic nanoparticles that can be manipulated with magnetic fields are of interest for advanced optical applications, diagnostics, imaging, and therapy. Alignment of gold nanorods yields strong polarization-dependent extinction, and use of magnetic fields is appealing because they act through space and can be quickly switched. In this work, cationic polyethyleneimine-functionalized superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) are deposited on the surface of anionic gold nanorods coated with bovine serum albumin. The magnetic gold nanorods (MagGNRs) obtained through mixing maintain the distinct optical properties of plasmonic gold nanorods that are minimally perturbed by the magnetic overcoating. Magnetic alignment of MagGNRs arising from magnetic dipolar interactions on the anisotropic gold nanorod core is comprehensively characterized, including structural characterization and enhancement (suppression) of the longitudinal surface plasmon resonance and suppression (enhancement) of the transverse surface plasmon resonance for light polarized parallel (orthogonal) to the magnetic field. MagGNRs can also be driven in rotating magnetic fields to rotate at frequencies of at least 17 Hz. For suitably large gold nanorods (148 nm long) and Fe3O4 NPs (13.4 nm diameter), significant alignment is possible even in modest (<500 Oe) magnetic fields.

		Fujun Wang
		Professor
		School of Mechanical Engineering
		Tianjin University
		China
		Personal homepage
Title: Micro-nano manufacturing based on micro-nano manipulation and assembly
Abstract: In recent years, the application of micro-nano devices/systems has become more and more extensive in the fields of micro-electronics, communication, biomedicine and advanced manufacturing, and it is developing towards high performance, high integration, miniaturization and complexity. Complex micro-devices usually have a three-dimensional structure and are composed of heterogeneous, easy-deformed, and cross-scale microparts, which challenges greatly in their precision manufacturing techniques. This report will present our work on micro-transfer and micro-assembly for micro-device manufacturing. Firstly, the deterministic micro-transfer method and mechanism of flexible devices have been presented, and the micro-stamp structure and the precise micro-transfer positioning system have been designed. Then, research on key technologies related to micro-assembly robots based on the Cartesian coordinate system and the combination of serial robots and micro-positioning stage has been carried out, including the design and control of precision positioning systems, the design and control of micro-manipulators, and micro-assembly experiments.

		Qingsong Xu
		Professor
		Department of Electromechanical Engineering Faculty of Science and Technology
		University of Macau
		China
		Personal homepage
Title: Development of High-Throughput Robotic Bio-Microinjection Systems
Abstract: Bio-microinjection is the process of injecting extraneous materials into a biological sample, such as cells, embryos, larvae, and so on. As compared to biological cells, which exhibit a relatively regular spherical shape, biological larvae such as zebrafish larvae are more challenging to be automatically injected in batch. Microinjection of zebrafish larvae is now conducted manually and no automated machine is available in the market for such operation. Recently, we have developed the first high-throughput bio-microinjection robotic system for batch injection of biological samples including both zebrafish larvae and embryos. The superior performance of the developed robotic system over skilled human operator in terms of speed, consistency, and survival rate of the microinjection has been verified by experimental investigations. In this talk, the key technologies to develop a high-throughput robotic bio-microinjection system with high accuracy and safety of operation will be presented. Both automated and haptics-based teleoperated robotic bio-microinjection systems will be demonstrated. The future work on relevant research topics will be discussed.

		Xin Zhao
		Professor, Member, IEEE
		Institute of Robotics and Automatic Information System Tianjin Key Laboratory of Intelligent Robotics
		Nankai University
		China
		Personal homepage
Title: Minimum Damage oriented Automatic SCNT and its application in Animal Cloning
Abstract: The somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), also known as animal clone, is one of most complex and challenging cell manipulation tasks. The SCNT involves multiple manipulation procedures, such as oocyte rotation, penetration, enucleation, and somatic cell injection, and inevitably causes intracellular damage to  recipient oocytes during manipulation, resulting in only around 1-2% of reconstructed embryos developed into live cloned animals. The low success rate is considered to be the major limitation of extensive applications of the cloning technique. This study aims to increase development potential of reconstructed embryos by automatic SCNT. The main approach is to reduce the mechanical harm to oocyte and lost cytoplasm of oocyte through Robotic SCNT technique.  In this talk, the automated polar body detection and nuclei visualization techniques were developed to perform precise enucleation through reducing the amount of lost cytoplasm in enucleation. Then, a robotic SCNT system was established and applied to pig cloning. We did thousands of robotic SCNT operations, and the blastocyst rate was improved from 10% (manual SCNT) to 27.5%(automatic SCNT). Two groups of reconstructed embryos were transferred to surrogate pigs, 24 cloned pigs were obtained at last.