In recent years there has been an explosion of methods for encapsulating cells in droplets. This review examines the state-of-the-art, including methods for active encapsulation.

This review presents the fundamentals of different active methods for sorting droplets in microfluidics.

The extraordinary properties of layered graphene and its successful applications in electronics, sensors, and energy devices have inspired and renewed interest in other two-dimensional (2D) layered materials. Particularly, a semiconducting analogue of graphene, molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), has attracted huge attention in the last few years. With efforts in exfoliation and synthetic techniques, atomically thin films of MoS₂ (single- and few-layer) have been recently prepared and characterized. 2D MoS₂ nanosheets have properties that are distinct and complementary to those of graphene, making it more appealing for various applications. Unlike graphene with an indirect bandgap, the direct bandgap of single-layer MoS₂ results in better semiconductor behavior as well as photoluminescence, suggesting its great suitability for electronic and optoelectronic applications. Compared to their applications in energy storage and optoelectronic devices, the use of MoS₂ nanosheets as a sensing platform, especially for biosensing, is still largely unexplored. Here, we present a review of the preparation of 2D atomically thin MoS₂ nanosheets, with an emphasis on their use in various sensing applications.

Continuous manipulation of nanoparticles using micro-vortex generated by a highly focused, high frequency surface acoustic wave (SAW) beam.

We demonstrate the use of a highly focused surface acoustic wave (SAW) with an effective region only ~25 μm wide for precise manipulation on the single-particle level.