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  Keynote Speakers  
 

 

 

 

Jinju(Vicky) Chen

Associate Professor in Biointerface Engineering

Principal Editor of Journal of Materials Research (Springer Nature) 

Editorial Board Member of Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group) in Biological Physics

School of Engineering, Newcastle University

UK

Personal homepage

 

Title: Manufacture nanostructured antibiofilm surfaces and measure nanobiomechanics of bacteria 

Abstract: Biofilms are central to some of the most urgent global challenges across diverse fields of application, from medicine to industry to the environment and exert considerable economic and social impact. To combat biofilm growth on surfaces, chemical-based approaches using immobilization of antimicrobial agents, such as antibiotics or silver particles, can trigger antimicrobial resistance. Alternative, physical-based approaches (e.g. nanostructures) can be used, but their effects may not last due to initial adherent bacteria spreading laterally and masking surfaces within a couple of days. We have demonstrated that a multiscale surface structure can further delay biofilm formation but it is still not effective over longer periods of time. In the present work, we report an anti-biofilm surface strategy using liquid-like nanocoating where it can potentially have sustainable antibiofilm performance.
On the other hand, bacteria mechanical properties are important for bacteria to survive in harsh environment (including antibiotics). In this presentation, I will also talk about developing a combined computational modelling and theoretical modelling to simultaneously determine the bacteria envelope stiffness and turgor based on atomic force microscope nanoindentations.


 

Sonia Antoranz Contera

Professor

Clarendon Laboratory

Associate Head of the Department of Physics (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion)

University of Oxford

UK

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Title: Measuring biological “time” at the nanoscale with AFM

Abstract: The dynamic shapes of biological tissues emerge from a complex interplay of physics, chemistry and genetics, which determines--at each temporal and spatial scale--the mechanical properties that  eventually form the adaptive structures of living organisms. Shape and mechanical stability of living organisms rely on precise control in time and space of growth, which is achieved by dynamically tuning the mechanical (viscous and elastic) properties of their hierarchically built structures from the nanometer up. It is now well-established that cellular behaviour (including stem cell differentiation) crucially depends on the mechanical properties of the cells’ environment. Attention has been directed towards the importance of the stiffness of the natural (extracellular matrix, ECM) or artificial matrices where cells grow, with the purpose of either understanding mechanotransduction, or controlling the behaviour of cells in tissue engineering. While stiffness (i.e. the capacity of a material to elastically store mechanical energy) has been the focus of most experimental research, neither cells or matrices are elastic. Biological systems dissipate energy (i.e. they are viscous) and hence they do not respond to mechanical deformations instantaneously (like an ideal Hookean spring), but present different time responses at different spatial scales that characterise their responses to external stimuli. Measuring viscoelasticity (especially at the nanoscale) has remained experimentally challenging [1,2].  I will present atomic force microscopy (AFM)- based techniques developed in my lab to measure and map the nano-viscoelasticity of living organisms, cells, membranes, collagen, ECMs, and tissue engineering matrices across the spatial and temporal (from Hz to 100s of kHz) scales, and chirp-based spectroscopic techniques to assess viscoelasticity from Hz to 100s  kHz at the nano and micro scale developed in my lab. I will also present tests for assessing which viscoelasic model better fits the experimental AFM results. Our results have uncovered that extracellular matrices of both plants [3] and tumours present an almost perfect linear viscoelastic behaviour.


 

Fengzhou Fang

Professor

State Key Laboratory of Precision Measuring Technology & Instruments

Laboratory of Micro/Nano Manufacturing Technology

Tianjin University

China

Personal homepage

 

Title: High effective laser assisted ultra-precision machining of brittle materials

Abstract: Laser assisted diamond turning is a potential approach to enhance the surface quality on the hard and brittle materials and prolong the tool life. A high effective laser assisted turning (HE-LAT) method is presented in this keynote speech, which guides the laser beam refracts at rake face, cutting edge, and total reflects at flank face. The HE-LAT method possesses effectively improved laser heating efficiency and can be employed to achieve the homogeneous optical surfaces on hard and brittle materials. The nanoscale constitutive model of binderless WC has been obtained based on the high-temperature nanoindentation tests, which facilitates the workpiece thermal filed prediction cooperating with the relevant HE-LAT FEA model. The experimental results indicate that the HE-LAT method benefit eliminating the surface fluctuation effectively, thereby achieving better surface finish quality down to less 1 nm in Sa on binderless WC. The diamond local graphitization can also be prevented owing to the lower essential laser power and suppressed chip adhesion problem.


 

Laura Fumagalli

Researcher

Reader in Condensed Matter Physics 

Department of Physics & Astronomy

Researcher of the National Graphene Institute

University of Manchester

UK

Personal homepage

 

Title: Probing electric polarization on the atomic scale: from thin films and biomembranes to 2D crystals, DNA and confined water

Abstract: Electric polarization properties are fundamental physical properties that play a crucial role in a variety of phenomena. They are inherently linked to charge storage and transport. They modulate various forces (Coulomb, van der Waals, solvation and hydration) between surfaces and molecules, influencing macromolecular assembly and interactions. Dielectric characterization is an important characterization method commonly applied at large scales in both materials and life sciences, from physics and surface science to chemistry and molecular biology. Yet, for decades, probing dielectric properties on the molecular scale has remained a challenge for great difficulties in measuring an electric polarization response on such a small scale. In this talk, I will review our work in which we developed Scanning Dielectric Microscopy, a set of scanning probe microscopy methods able to quantitatively probe dielectric polarization properties on the nano- and atomic scale [1-6]. We experimentally determined the dielectric properties of a variety of nanostructures and biological samples with increasingly small size: from thin oxides and biological membranes [1,2,4,6] down to single nanoparticles and viruses [3], protein complexes [5] and confined water [8]. Noteworthy, using our methods, we resolved the dielectric constant of DNA [3,5], which is important for our understanding of DNA- protein interactions, and the dielectric constant of few water layers confined into two-dimensional (2D) nanochannels made of van der Waals (vdW) crystals [8]. I will also show our latest works on van der Waals crystals and their heterostructures [9].


References:
[1] Fumagalli, L., Ferrari, G., Sampietro, M. and Gomila, G. Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 243110 (2007)
[2] Fumagalli, L., Ferrari, G., Sampietro, M. and Gomila, G. Nano Lett. 9, 1604 (2009)
[3] Fumagalli, L., Esteban, D. Cuervo, A, Carrascosa, J.L., Gomila,G. Nature Mater. 11, 808 (2012)
[4] Gramse, G., Edwards, M.A., Fumagalli, L. Gomila, G. Appl. Phys. Lett 101, 213108 (2012)
[5] Cuervo, A., Dans, P.D., Carrascosa, J.L., Orozco, M., Gomila, G. and Fumagalli, L. PNAS, 111, 362 (2014)
[6] Biagi, M. C., Fabregas, R., Gramse, G., Van Der Hofstadt, M., Ju·rez, A. et al. ACS Nano 10, 280288 (2016)
[7] Dols-Perez, A., Gramse, G., CalÚ, A., Gomila, G., and Fumagalli, L. Nanoscale 7, 18327 (2015)
[8] Fumagalli, L., A. Esfandiar, R. Fabregas, S. Hu, P. Ares et al. Science 360, 1339-1342 (2018)
[9] Woods, C.R., Ares, P., Nevison-Andrews, H., Holwill, M. J., Fabregas, R., Guinea, F., Geim, A. K., Novoselov,
K. S., Walet, N. R., Fumagalli, L. Nat. Commun 12, 347 (2021).


 

Wei Gao

Professor

Fellow of the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP) 

Prize for Science and Technology from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan

Department of Finemechanics

Tohoku University

Japan

Personal homepage

 

Title: Micro/nano-metrology for nanomanufacturing

Abstract: Nanomanufacturing is playing an important role in manufacturing of not only high-end and high-value added products but also daily necessaries, with high accuracies and/or small feature sizes down to sub-micrometers or even nanometers. This presentation will first briefly overview the state-of-the-art technologies of nanomanufacturing. A discussion will be made to address the challenges to micro/nano-metrology, which is essential for quality control in nanomanufacturing. Then the presentation will focus on recent progress in micro/nano-metrology of surface forms/dimensions of the machined parts and the motions of the precision machines used in nanomanufacturing. Future trend of micro/nano-metrology will also be discussed.


 

Ricardo Garcia

Professor

 

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology

Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid 

CSIC

Spain

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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

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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

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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

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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. 


 

Tomaso Zambelli

Professor

Institute for Biomedical Engineering

Laboratory of Biosensors and Bioelectronics (LBB) 

ETH Zürich

Switzerland

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Title: FluidFM: a force-controlled pipette for single-cell mechanobiolgy and electrochemical 3D microprinting

Abstract: FluidFM is a force-controlled nanopipette, combining AFM technology and microfluidics [1]. A fluidic channel is incorporated directly in a hollow AFM cantilever. This channel ends in an aperture at the apex of the AFM tip, allowing for local dispensing of soluble molecules in air and in liquid, while retaining the inherent imaging capabilities and force feedback of an AFM system. We have demonstrated the quantitative and subcompartmental femto-picoliter injection [2] and extraction [3] from single cells in vitro. In particular, we showed the integrity of proteins and transcripts as well as versatility of molecular analyses by high-resolution TEM imaging, minute enzyme assays and qPCR of cytoplasmic and nucleoplasmic extracts from distinct or even the same cell. Relying on the preserved cell viability upon extraction, we have established Live-seq, a single-cell transcriptome profiling coupled with downstream molecular and functional analyses on the same cell at different time points [4]. On the other side, the FluidFM can be utilized for 3D additive manufacturing of metal microobjects [5].

[1] A. Meister, M. Gabi, P. Behr, P. Studer, J. Vörös, P. Niedermann, J. Bitterli, J. Polesel-Maris, M. Liley, H. Heinzelmann, T. Zambelli, Nano Lett 9:2501 (2009).
[2] O. Guillaume-Gentil, E. Potthoff, D. Ossola, P. Dörig, T. Zambelli, J.A. Vorholt, Small 9:1904 (2013).
[3] O. Guillaume-Gentil, R.V. Grindberg, R. Kooger, L. Dorwling-Carter, V. Martinez, D. Ossola, M. Pilhofer, T. Zambelli, J.A. Vorholt, Cell 166:1663 (2016).
[4] W. Chen, O. Guillaume-Gentil, C.G. Gäbelein, P.Y. Rainer, W. Saelens, V. Gardeux, A. Klaeger, R. Dainese, M. Zachara, T. Zambelli, J.A. Vorholt, B. Deplancke, Nature (2022) DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05046-9. (online on Aug 17, 2022)
[5] L. Hirt, S. Ihle, Z. Pan, L. Dorwling-Carter, A. Reiser, J.M. Wheeler, R. Spolenak, J. Vörös, T. Zambelli, Adv Mater 28:2311 (2016)


 

 

 

*The list of Keynote speakers is based on the alphabetical order of family names