3D Hybrid Research Articles

Modeling tumor-immune interactions using hybrid spheroids and microfluidic platforms for studying tumor-associated macrophage polarization in melanoma

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), as key components of tumor microenvironment (TME), exhibit phenotypic plasticity in response to environmental cues, causing polarization into either pro-inflammatory M1 phenotypes or immunosuppressive M2 phenotypes. Although TAM has been widely studied for its crucial involvement in the initiation, progression, metastasis, and immune regulation of cancer cells, there have been limited attempts to understand how the metastatic potentials of cancer cells influence TAM polarization within TME. Here, we developed a miniaturized TME model using a 3D hybrid system composed of murine melanoma cells and macrophages, aiming to investigate interactions between cancer cells exhibiting various metastatic potentials and macrophages within TME. The increase in spheroid size within this model was associated with a reduction in cancer cell viability. Examining macrophage surface marker expression and cytokine secretion indicated the development of diverse TMEs influenced by both spheroid size and the metastatic potential of cancer cells. Furthermore, a high-throughput microfluidic platform equipped with trapping systems and hybrid spheroids was employed to simulate the tumor-immune system of complex TMEs and for comparative analysis with traditional 3D culture models. This study provides insight into TAM polarization in melanoma with different heterogeneities by modeling cancer-immune systems, which can be potentially employed for immune-oncology research, drug screening, and personalized therapy. Statement of significanceThis study presents the development of a 3D hybrid spheroid system designed to model tumor-immune interactions, providing a detailed analysis of how melanoma cell metastatic potential influences tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) polarization. By utilizing a microfluidic platform, we are able to replicate and investigate the complex tumor-immune system of the tumor microenvironments (TMEs) under continuous flow conditions. Our model holds significant potential for high-throughput drug screening and personalized medicine applications, offering a versatile tool for advancing cancer research and treatment strategies.

A 3D printing-based hybrid manufacturing method for high-strength polymeric medical implant fabrication

This paper presents a novel 3D printing-based hybrid manufacturing method to fabricate high-strength polymeric medical implants. Poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) and polyether sulfone (PES) are blended to make filament for use with the fused filament fabrication technique to print custom designed implants. After printing and annealing, PES is removed by leaching to create interconnected porous PEEK structure with suitable pore size and porosity for bone tissue ingrowth. The proposed method provides a versatile approach to fabricating medical implants that are both mechanically strong and microstructurally inducive to osseointegration. The polymeric implants are also X-ray transparent to allow post-surgery evaluations using an imaging method. An intervertebral spacer implant example is used to demonstrate the proposed fabrication method.

The Transmission of Pc 3 Waves From the Foreshock Into the Earth's Magnetosphere: 3D Global Hybrid Simulation

AbstractAlthough initially it was presumed that foreshock waves would propagate directly into the dayside magnetosphere, observational evidence for sinusoidal Pc3 waves in the downstream of quasi‐parallel shocks is scarce. The transmission of these waves from the foreshock into the magnetosphere remains uncertain. In this paper, we employ a 3D global hybrid simulation at a realistic scale to explore the generation and transmission of the dayside ULF waves under a radial interplanetary magnetic field. Our findings demonstrate that the Pc3 waves are self‐consistently generated in the foreshock region and then transmitted into the magnetosheath and magnetosphere. In the foreshock, the waves are excited at approximately 25 mHz and exhibit right‐handed helicity in the plasma frame, characterizing them as quasi‐parallel fast magnetosonic waves. In the magnetosphere, the fluctuating magnetic field is mainly parallel to the background magnetic field, which indicates the dominant wave modes are compressional. Fluctuations in the magnetosheath show a broader spectrum (10–100 mHz) compared to those in the magnetosphere and foreshock, potentially explaining the little observation of sinusoidal Pc3 waves in the magnetosheath. Additionally, only lower frequency compressional waves (below 30 mHz) are effectively transmitted into the dayside magnetosphere. Our simulation provides critical insights into the interactions between the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere.

DFT insight into electronic structure of quasi 2D hybrid lead iodide perovskites with linear unsaturated diamines based on hexane

This work reports on electronic structures of hybrid quasi 2D lead iodide perovskites with linear unsaturated organic diamine cations containing six carbon atoms. Based on an actual structure of 1,6-diaminium lead iodide, a series of seven compounds with organic diamines ranging from 3-hexene-1,6-diamine to 1,3,5-hexatriyne-1,6-diamine was constructed. DFT calculations reveal domains in electronic structures of all the studied 2D compounds which are probably due to quantum-size effects. Electronic band structures of the considered species with π-conjugated organic cations possess flat unoccupied energy levels just like quasi low-dimensional hybrid metal halide perovskites with aromatic organic cations do. Energies of the flat unoccupied levels are tunable via electron-withdrawing/donating substituents at carbon-carbon double bonds. Owing to a similarity between the studied compounds with π-conjugated organic cations and quasi low-dimensional hybrid metal halide perovskites with aromatic organic cations the former are expected to be luminophores.

Magnetic and electronic properties of 1D hybrid nanoobjects composed of alternating polycyclic hydrocarbon regions and double carbon chains

It has been proposed recently that 1D hybrid nanoobjects consisting of alternating double carbon chains and polycyclic carbon regions can be obtained from graphene nanoribbons of alternating width by electron irradiation. Here, based on density functional theory calculations, we show that magnetic and electronic properties of such nanoobjects can be changed dramatically by modifying the chain length and edge structure of polycyclic regions and this opens wide possibilities for spintronic applications. Nanoobjects composed of polycyclic regions with dangling bonds and even chains are found to behave as magnetic semiconductors that can generate spin-polarized currents. Band gaps of nanoobjects with odd chains change considerably upon switching between magnetic states making them promising for magnetic tunnel junctions. We also demonstrate that use of a hybrid exchange–correlation functional is important to properly describe stability of magnetic states, band gaps and synergistic effects of nanoobject components leading, for example, to magnetism in even chains.

Hybrid 3D Printing of a Nature‐Inspired Flexible Self‐Adhesive Biopatch for Multi‐Biosignal Sensing (Adv. Funct. Mater. 44/2024)

Hybrid 3D Printing of a Nature‐Inspired Flexible Self‐Adhesive Biopatch for Multi‐Biosignal Sensing (Adv. Funct. Mater. 44/2024)

Effect of Interfacial Electric Field on 2D Metal/Graphene Electrocatalysts for CO2 Reduction Reaction.

Understanding the influence of local electric fields on electrochemical reactions is crucial for designing highly selective electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction reactions (CO2RR). In this study, we provide a theoretical investigation of the effect of the local electric field induced by the negative-biased electrode and cations in the electrolyte on the energetics and reaction kinetics of CO2RR on 2D hybrid metal/graphene electrocatalysts. Our findings reveal that the electronic structures of the CO2 molecule undergo substantial modification, resulting in the increased adsorption energy of CO-2 on metal/graphene structures, thus reducing the initial barrier of the CO2RR mechanism. This field-assisted CO2RR mechanism promotes CO production while suppressing HCOOH production. Our findings highlight the potential of manipulating electric fields to tailor the pathways of CO2RR, providing new avenues designing selective electrocatalysts.

Accurate Crystal Structure Prediction of New 2D Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Perovskites.

Low-dimensional hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) are promising electronically active materials for light absorption and emission. The design space of HOIPs is extremely large, as a variety of organic cations can be combined with different inorganic frameworks. This not only allows for tunable electronic and mechanical properties but also necessitates the development of new tools for in silico high throughput analysis of candidate materials. In this work, we present an accurate, efficient, and widely applicable machine learning interatomic potential (MLIP) trained on 86 diverse experimentally reported HOIP materials. This MLIP was tested on 73 experimentally reported perovskite compositions and achieves a high accuracy, relative to density functional theory (DFT). We also introduce a novel random structure search algorithm designed for the crystal structure prediction of 2D HOIPs. The combination of MLIP and the structure search algorithm reliably recovers the crystal structure of 14 known 2D perovskites by specifying only the organic molecule and inorganic cation/halide. Performing this crystal structure search with ab initio methods would be computationally prohibitive but is relatively inexpensive with the MLIP. Finally, the developed procedure is used to predict the structure of a totally new HOIP with cation (cis-1,3-cyclohexanediamine). Subsequently, the new compound was synthesized and characterized, which matches the predicted structure, confirming the accuracy of our method. This capability will enable the efficient and accurate screening of thousands of combinations of organic cations and inorganic layers for further investigation.

Revealing Bipolar Photoresponse in Multiheterostructured WTe2-GaTe/ReSe2-WTe2 P-N Diode by Hybrid 2D Contact Engineering.

The van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures based on two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting materials have been thoroughly investigated with regard to practical applications. Recent studies on 2D materials have reignited attraction in the p-n junction, with promising potential for applications in both electronics and optoelectronics. 2D materials provide exceptional band structural diversity in p-n junction devices, which is rare in regular bulk semiconductors. In this article, we demonstrate a p-n diode based on multiheterostructure configuration, WTe2-GaTe-ReSe2-WTe2, where WTe2 acts as heterocontact with GaTe/ReSe2 junction. Our devices with heterocontacts of WTe2 showed excellent performance in electronic and optoelectronic characteristics as compared to contacts with basic metal electrodes. However, the highest rectification ratio was achieved up to ∼2.09 × 106 with the lowest ideality factor of ∼1.23. Moreover, the maximum change in photocurrent (Iph) is measured around 312 nA at Vds = 0.5 V. The device showed a high responsivity (R) of 4.7 × 104 m·AW-1, maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 2.49 × 104 (%), and detectivity (D*) of 2.1 × 1011 Jones at wavelength λ = 220 nm. Further, we revealed the bipolar photoresponse mechanisms in WTe2-GaTe-ReSe2-WTe2 devices due to band alignment at the interface, which can be modified by applying different gate voltages. Hence, our promising results render heterocontact engineering of the GaTe-ReSe2 heterostructured diode as an excellent candidate for next-generation optoelectronic logic and neuromorphic computing.

A numerical analysis of the rotational flow of a hybrid nanofluid past a unidirectional extending surface with velocity and thermal slip conditions

Abstract This work inspects 3D magnetohydrodynamic hybrid nanofluid flow on a permeable elongating surface. The emphasis of this paper is on the study of hybrid nanofluid flow within a rotating frame, taking into account the simultaneous impact of both thermal and velocity slip boundary conditions. The chosen base fluid is water, and the hybrid nanofluid comprises two nanoparticles Cu \text{Cu} and Al 2 O 3 {\text{Al}}_{2}{\text{O}}_{3} . The effect of the magnetic and porosity parameters is taken into account in the momentum equation. The thermal radiation, Joule heating, and heat source are considered in the energy equation. Using a similarity system, we transform the PDEs of the proposed model into ODEs, which are then solved numerically by the bvp4c technique. The magnetic field shows a dual nature on primary and secondary velocities. Enrich magnetic field decreases the primary velocity and enhances the secondary velocity. The rotation parameter has an inverse relation with both velocities. The temperature profile amplified with the escalation in heat source, magnetic field, rotation factor, and Eckert numbers. The skin friction is boosted with magnetic parameters while the Nusselt number drops.

3D organic-inorganic hybrid based on Strandberg-type cluster of [(PIIIO3)2Mo5O15]6−: Synthesis, crystal structure and electrochemical properties

The rational design of crystalline materials coupled with polyoxometalate as electrocatalyst is an effective strategy for the sensitive electrochemical detection of H2O2. Here, a new organic-inorganic hybrid, H2(NH4)3[Him][(PIIIO3)2Mo5O15]·4H2O (1) (im=imidazole), was isolated by a one-pot self-assembly strategy. Structural analysis indicates that compound 1 adopts a three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular structure based on the Strandberg-type [(PIIIO3)2Mo5O15]6− clusters linked with protonated [Him]+ cations via hydrogen bond interactions. Electrochemical studies reveal that compound 1 exhibits the multi-electron redox processes ascribed to MoVI centers, and has good electrocatalytic activity in the reduction of H2O2. By utilizing compound 1 as electrode material, the designed electrode showed excellent electrochemical performance towards H2O2 detection, including a wide linear range (50–450 μM), high sensitivity of 0.085 μA·μM−1 and a low detection limit of 3.52 μM, as well as good selectivity and stability.

Vertically Stacked Broadband GNIF‐MoS2/p‐Ge Photodetector for Dark Current Suppression, High Photoresponse, and Ultrafast Transient Response

AbstractThe proposed model structure, featuring a gold (Au) nano‐island film (GNIF) integrated with a vertically stacked van der Waals heterojunction and offering an elegant platform for high‐performance, efficient, and sensitive photodetection across a broad spectral range, is designated as GNIF‐MoS₂/p‐Ge(MoS2 = Molybdenum disulfide, p‐Ge = p type germanium). The GNIF is fabricated via ultrathin film deposition, based on the surface dewetting properties of MoS2. The as‐fabricated photodetector (PD), offering ≈20 times reduction in dark current and characterized by wavelength‐dependent high responsivity (R(λ)), photoconductive gain (G(λ)), and detectivity (D(λ)), respond to a broad spectral range from visible light (400 nm) to short wave infrared (SWIR) (1600 nm). The ultrahigh transient response (τr) is found to be ≈2.5 and 16 µs for the 470 (visible light) and 1550 (SWIR) nm wavelengths, respectively, resulting in 3‐dB bandwidths of up to ≈48 kHz, which is considered high for such devices. To understand the inherent mechanisms of broadband detection and the high photoresponse and ultrafast transient response of PDs, a meticulous investigation is conducted on the wavelength‐dependent behaviors, depletion width changes, and material properties. The results provide valuable insights and a basis for the construction of suitable PDs based on nanometer‐thin metal films, 2D semiconductors, and a 3D hybrid structure.

DFEDC: Dual fusion with enhanced deformable convolution for medical image segmentation

Considering the complexity of lesion regions in medical images, current researches relying on CNNs typically employ large-kernel convolutions to expand the receptive field and enhance segmentation quality. However, these convolution methods are hindered by substantial computational requirements and limited capacity to extract contextual and multi-scale information, making it challenging to efficiently segment complex regions. To address this issue, we propose a dual fusion with enhanced deformable convolution network, namely DFEDC, which dynamically adjusts the receptive field and simultaneously integrates multi-scale feature information to effectively segment complex lesion areas and process boundaries. Firstly, we combine global channel and spatial fusion in a serial way, which integrates and reuses global channel attention and fully connected layers to achieve lightweight extraction of channel and spatial information. Additionally, we design a structured deformable convolution (SDC) that structures deformable convolution with inceptions and large kernel attention, and enhances the learning of offsets through parallel fusion to efficiently extract multi-scale feature information. To compensate for the loss of spatial information of SDC, we introduce a hybrid 2D and 3D feature extraction module to transform feature extraction from a single dimension to a fusion of 2D and 3D. Extensive experimental results on the Synapse, ACDC, and ISIC-2018 datasets demonstrate that our proposed DFEDC achieves superior results.

3D hybrid fluid-particle jet simulations and the importance of synchrotron radiative losses

Relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei are known for their exceptional energy output, and imaging the synthetic synchrotron emission of numerical jet simulations is essential for a comparison with observed jet polarization emission. Through the use of 3D hybrid fluid-particle jet simulations (with the PLUTO code), we overcome some of the commonly made assumptions in relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) simulations by using non-thermal particle attributes to account for the resulting synchrotron radiation. Polarized radiative transfer and ray-tracing (via the RADMC-3D code) highlight the differences in total intensity maps when (i) the jet is simulated purely with the RMHD approach, (ii) a jet tracer is considered in the RMHD approach, and (iii) a hybrid fluid-particle approach is used. The resulting emission maps were compared to the example of the radio galaxy Centaurus A. We applied the Lagrangian particle module implemented in the latest version of the PLUTO code. This new module contains a state-of-the-art algorithm for modeling diffusive shock acceleration and for accounting for radiative losses in RMHD jet simulations. The module implements the physical postulates missing in RMHD jet simulations by accounting for a cooled ambient medium and strengthening the central jet emission. We find a distinction between the innermost structure of the jet and the back-flowing material by mimicking the radio emission of the Seyfert II radio galaxy Centaurus\,A when considering an edge-brightened jet with an underlying purely toroidal magnetic field. We demonstrate the necessity of synchrotron cooling as well as the improvements gained when directly accounting for non-thermal synchrotron radiation via non-thermal particles.

Couple-close construction of non-classical boron cluster-phosphonium conjugates

Heteropolycyclic molecular systems, which are essential components in the fields of materials and pharmacology, frequently consist of 2D extended organic aromatic rings. Here, we introduce a type of inorganic-organic hybrid 3D conjugates by merging an aromatic boron cluster with a phosphine and a π-conjugated unit. To achieve this, a couple-close synthetic strategy via B–H activation of nido-carboranes with alkynes has been developed, which leads to diverse boron cluster-extended phosphoniums in a twisted structure with high yields under mild conditions. Experimental and theoretical results reveal that the fusion between the boron cluster and the formed borophosphonium heterocycle facilitates electron delocalization throughout the structure. The unusual framework demonstrates distinct properties from bare boron clusters and pure aromatic ring-extended counterparts, such as improved thermal/chemical stability and photophysical properties. Thus, the boron cluster-based 3D conjugates expand the library of aromatic-based heterocyclics, showcasing great potential in functional materials.

Near‐Full‐Spectrum Emission Realized in a Single Lead Halide Perovskite across the Visible‐Light Region

AbstractThe engineering of tunable photoluminescence (PL) in single materials with a full‐spectrum emission represents a highly coveted objective but poses a formidable challenge. In this context, the realization of near‐full‐spectrum PL emission, spanning the visible light range from 424 to 620 nm, in a single‐component two‐dimensional (2D) hybrid lead halide perovskite, (ETA)2PbBr4 (ETA+=(HO)(CH2)2NH3+), is reported, achieved through high‐pressure treatment. A pressure‐induced phase transition occurs upon compression, transforming the crystal structure from an orthorhombic phase under ambient conditions to a monoclinic structure at high pressure. This phase transition driven by the adaptive and dynamic configuration changes of organic amine cations enables an effective and continuous narrowing of the band gap in this halide crystal. The hydrogen bonding interactions between inorganic layers and organic amine cations (N−H⋅⋅⋅Br and O−H⋅⋅⋅Br hydrogen bonds) efficiently modulate the organic amine cations penetration and the octahedral distortion. Consequently, this phenomenon induces a phase transition and results in red‐shifted PL emissions, leading to the near‐full‐spectrum emission. This work opens a possibility for achieving wide PL emissions with coverage across the visible light spectrum by employing high pressure in single halide perovskites.

Transition Metal‐Derived 2D Layered Perovskites: A Promising Alternative to Pb in Photovoltaic Systems

AbstractThe high sensitivity of 3D perovskites toward air and moisture hampers their commercialization due to material decomposition. Introducing their 2D counterparts may provide a remedy to these stability issues, as hydrophobic bulky organic cations can resist direct contact of [ sheets with moisture in the air. In addition to air and water stability, 2D perovskites offer tunable optoelectronic properties through structural modulation, similar to their 3D counterparts. In this study, six different transition metal (TM)‐based 2D hybrid halide perovskites are designed: , , , , , and as alternatives for Pb‐based perovskites. Analysis of structural and thermodynamic parameters demonstrate that these designed perovskite materials can form structurally and thermodynamically stable compounds. Additionally, optical properties analysis reveals that the intended compounds exhibit absorption maxima in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Among the designed compounds, shows a promising power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.63%. Thus, these designed 2D perovskite materials hold potential as substitutes for conventional 3D materials in photovoltaic applications.

Silver-π Interaction: A Diverse Approach to Hybrid Material and Its Efficacy in Electrocatalytic Reduction of Nitrate to Ammonia.

Inspired by the intriguing nature of the metal-π interaction in organometallic chemistry, a novel 1D hybrid material has been designed. Herein, a functionalized tellurium allyl macrocycle (TAM) acts as a molecular building block and is knit together via silver-π interaction to obtain Ag-TAM. Ag is coordinated to two allyl groups and a phenyl ring in η2 mode. Instead of the conventional polymerization strategy, a metal-π interaction is employed to interlink macrocycles. TAM and Ag-TAM showed electrocatalytic capability for the conversion of nitrate to ammonia. Ag-TAM showed an NH3 yield rate 2-fold greater than TAM with a high faradaic efficiency of 94.6% with good durability, proving that interlinking of macrocycles via metal-π interaction improves the catalytic activity. Detailed periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations unveil novel mechanistic insights, suggesting cooperative catalysis between neighboring Ag sites and contributing to the enhanced efficiency.

Three-dimensional compact multi-resolution weighted essentially non-oscillatory reconstruction under the Arbitrary Lagrange–Euler framework

A third-order compact multi-resolution weighted essentially non-oscillatory (CMR-WENO) reconstruction method for three-dimensional (3D) hybrid unstructured grids is developed using the Arbitrary Lagrange–Euler framework. The finite volume method is used to discretize the governing equations, and some turbulent and moving boundary problems are simulated. Only one compact center stencil comprising the neighboring cells of each control cell is required to construct the polynomials in the algorithm. As a result, the number of stencils and stencil cells is significantly reduced when compared with the traditional WENO scheme. This simplifies the code and improves the robustness of the algorithm. By ensuring the cell average and first-order derivatives are consistent with that in stencil cells an over-determined system of equations can be used to reconstruct the polynomials. This system can then be solved using the compact least squares method to avoid an ill-conditioned coefficient matrix. Furthermore, a coupled implicit iteration strategy is used to solve for the unknown coefficients, so no extra determination is required for the derivatives of each control cell. The final interpolation function for discontinuities in the flow field is obtained using CMR-WENO to nonlinearly combine polynomials of different orders, which further improves the stability of the algorithm. The CMR-WENO can be implemented on 3D hybrid unstructured grids and can be used to simulate complex problems such as those involving turbulence and moving boundaries. Finally, the algorithm presented here is verified to be third-order accurate and to exhibit good robustness when used on several representative numerical examples.

Energy harvesting and human motion sensing of a 2D piezoelectric hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite

Two-dimensional (2D) hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) have garnered plentiful attention as a result of their exceptional structural flexibility and multiple applications. In this study, we present a 2D HOIP (CHA)2PbBr4 (CHA = cyclohexylamine), for its potential applications in piezoelectricity, such as strain energy sensing and harvesting. Flexible composite films of (CHA)2PbBr4/PDMS (PDMS = polydimethylsiloxane) with a sequence of weight ratios (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 wt %) of (CHA)2PbBr4 were fabricated to analyze the energy harvesting properties. Experimental results demonstrated that a device with 15% composition exhibited the most optimized performance in energy harvesting, producing a peak magnitude of output voltage of 11.6 V, a short-circuit current of 0.38 µA, and a power density of 6.77 µW/cm2, along with notable stability exceeding 4000 cycles. Furthermore, this device exhibited high sensitivity in monitoring many varieties of human movements, such as finger bending and tapping, elbow bending, and gentle foot stamping. The findings of this study indicate that this 2D HOIP holds significant potential for use in flexible sensing and intelligent wearable devices.