Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) typically requires painful blood drawn from patients. We propose a painless and minimally-invasive alternative for TDM using hollow microneedles suitable to extract extremely small volumes (<1 nL) of interstitial fluid to measure drug concentrations. The inner lumen of a microneedle is functionalized to be used as a micro-reactor during sample collection to trap and bind target drug candidates during extraction, without requirements of sample transfer. An optofluidic device is integrated with this microneedle to rapidly quantify drug analytes with high sensitivity using a straightforward absorbance scheme. Vancomycin is currently detected by using volumes ranging between 50–100 μL with a limit of detection (LoD) of 1.35 μM. The proposed microneedle-optofluidic biosensor can detect vancomycin with a sample volume of 0.6 nL and a LoD of <100 nM, validating this painless point of care system with significant potential to reduce healthcare costs and patients suffering.

To assist the transition of 3D bioprinting technology from simple lab-based tissue fabrication, to fully functional and implantable organs, the technology must not only provide shape control, but also functional control.

Cells are able to perceive complex mechanical cues from their microenvironment, which in turn influences their development. Although the understanding of these intricate mechanotransductive signals is evolving, the precise roles of substrate microtopography in directing cell fate is still poorly understood. Here, UV nanoimprint lithography is used to generate micropillar arrays ranging from 1 to 10 µm in height, width, and spacing to investigate the impact of microtopography on mechanotransduction. Using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) as a model, stark pattern‐specific changes in nuclear architecture, lamin A/C accumulation, chromatin positioning, and DNA methyltransferase expression, are demonstrated. MSC osteogenesis is also enhanced specifically on micropillars with 5 µm width/spacing and 5 µm height. Intriguingly, the highest degree of osteogenesis correlates with patterns that stimulated maximal nuclear deformation which is shown to be dependent on myosin‐II‐generated tension. The outcomes determine new insights into nuclear mechanotransduction by demonstrating that force transmission across the nuclear envelope can be modulated by substrate topography, and that this can alter chromatin organisation and impact upon cell fate. These findings have potential to inform the development of microstructured cell culture substrates that can direct cell mechanotransduction and fate for therapeutic applications in both research and clinical sectors.

We present the first experimental realization of a light spectral filter based on the spatial adiabatic passage technique. We demonstrate that a fully integrable CMOS-compatible system of three coupled identical total internal reflection silicon oxide waveguides with variable separation along their propagation direction can be used simultaneously as a low- and high-pass spectral filter within the visible range of wavelengths. Light is injected into the right waveguide, and after propagating along the system, long wavelengths are transferred into the left output, whereas short wavelengths propagate to the right and central outputs. The stopband reaches values up to −11 dB for the left output and approximately −20 dB for the right plus central outputs. The passband values are close to 0 dB for both cases. We also demonstrate that the filtering characteristics of the device can be controlled by modifying the parameter values, which define the geometry of the triple-waveguide system. However, the general filtering behavior of the system does not critically depend on technological variations. Thus, the spatial adiabatic passage filtering approach constitutes an alternative to other integrated filtering devices, such as interference or absorbance-based filters.

A moiré is an interference pattern that appears when two different periodic structures are overlaid. The image created is extremely sensitive to small variations in the original layers and is thus very interesting for anti-counterfeit protection. We present a microfabricated 1D moiré enabling complex high-resolution patterns as a significantly improved security feature that cannot be reproduced using standard printing methods. Furthermore, we demonstrate, theoretically and experimentally, that a microscopic deviation from the original design results in a macroscopic variation in the moiré that is clearly visible to the naked eye. The record resolution achieved in the elements fabricated and the increased design freedom, make these high-resolution moirés excellent candidates for a variety of visually appealing security applications.