DNA-engineered immunosensing platform for ultrasensitive detection of clinical protein biomarkers.

Composition engineering of short-range-ordered polyhedra in Ni-Mo-P-B metallic glass for electrochemical sensing

It is unclear whether the use of contrast enhanced (CE) CT for attenuation correction (AC) of [18F]FDG PET leads to higher quantification inaccuracies when used in high-sensitivity LAFOV systems. This project aimed to assess the clinical feasibility of CE-CT for AC in LAFOV-PET for lymphoma patients. Lymphoma patients who underwent LAFOV-[18F]FDG-PET for restaging with low dose AC-CT and diagnostic CE-CT were included in this retrospective analysis. PET images were reconstructed using ultra-high sensitivity (UHS) mode with CE-CT and AC-CT. Lesions and reference regions (liver and mediastinal blood pool (BP)) were evaluated. SUVmax of BP and the liver increased when CE-CT was used instead of AC-CT for AC (BP: median 2.41vs.2.21, p < 0.01, 8.78% intra-patient increase; liver: 3.07vs.2.87, p < 0.01, 7.86% medina intra-patient increase). Similarly, SUVmean was higher in CE-CT reconstructions (BP: 1.96vs.1.77, p < 0.01, 10.14% median intra-patient increase; liver: 2.50vs.2.32, p < 0.01, 7.54% median intra-patient increase). SUVmax of lesions showed a similar magnitude of increase (5.97vs.5.68, p < 0.01, 5.80% median intra-lesion increase). The SUV-ratio of the lesions to reference organs decreased when CE-CT instead of AC-CT was used for AC (BP: 2.79vs.2.99, p < 0.01, median per-lesion decrease - 4.90%; liver: 1.85vs.1.97, p < 0.01, median per-lesion decrease - 2.64%). The use of CE-CT for AC of LAFOV-PET in UHS mode leads to higher SUV measurements. Also, lymphoma lesions show a consistent increase in uptake. The errors in the lesions seem higher than in conventional standard axial field-of-view PETs that use CE-CT for AC. Therefore, interpretation of borderline cases warrants attention to potential errors.

ConspectusSurface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) provides a powerful spectroscopic approach for molecular identification and interfacial analysis by combining chemical specificity with ultrahigh sensitivity. While chemically synthesized nanoparticles have enabled broad use of SERS, increasing attention is being paid to how structural uniformity, aggregation behavior, and surface chemistry influence signal reproducibility, reliability, and mechanistic interpretation. In this context, plasmonic nanoarrays fabricated by template-assisted physical deposition offer a complementary and increasingly important SERS platform.This Account summarizes recent advances in SERS using nanoarrays fabricated by template-assisted evaporation. In these approaches, nanoscale geometry and hotspot distributions are predefined by the template and realized through directional deposition. These template-defined architectures enable reproducible electromagnetic enhancement, polarization-controlled excitation, and stable plasmonic responses. Moreover, physical deposition yields clean, ligand-free metal surfaces, providing a well-defined interface for probing plasmon-molecule interactions and interfacial chemical processes. Using anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) lithography as a representative platform, we illustrate how precise control over template thickness enables angle-resolved deposition and structural programmability, allowing the fabrication of dimers, trimers, and compositionally heterogeneous architectures with nanometer-scale gaps. These capabilities support advanced SERS functionalities, including efficient hotspot activation for enhanced sensitivity, selective molecular trapping, and access to interfacial processes on nonplasmonic or weakly plasmonic materials. Furthermore, integration with transparent substrates and soft supports enables liquid-phase SERS configurations and flexible sensing platforms. These liquid-phase SERS configurations improve signal stability and measurement reliability for real-time, in situ measurements, while mitigating aggregation-related issues commonly encountered in conventional SERS. Beyond molecular detection, nanoarray-based SERS provides a controlled experimental framework for mechanistic studies in plasmonic chemistry. The combination of chemically clean surfaces with nonaggregating and structurally stable architectures enables plasmon-driven interfacial processes to be examined under well-defined and reproducible conditions, and facilitates in situ, real-time tracking of reaction dynamics in liquid-phase SERS measurements. This well-controlled environment serves as a reliable physical model for investigating interfacial reaction mechanisms, allowing direct identification of key reaction intermediates and offering an effective route to resolving long-standing mechanistic debates in plasmonic chemistry.Overall, this Account underscores the value of template-fabricated plasmonic nanoarrays as a versatile SERS platform that connects sensitive detection with mechanistic insight. Looking ahead, continued advances in template engineering and deposition strategies are expected to further expand their role in well-controlled studies of light-matter interactions and interfacial physics and chemistry.

Ratiometric electrochemiluminescence (ECL) sensing is an effective strategy for improving signal reliability; however, most existing systems rely on dual luminophores or multiple electrochemical processes, which inevitably increase system complexity and compromise signal coherence. Herein, a fundamentally different ratiometric ECL paradigm was established based on a single luminophore capable of simultaneously generating conventional and afterglow ECL emissions. By engineering nitrogen defect-rich carbon nitride with defect electronic states, injected electrons can be temporarily stored during pulsed excitation and gradually released to sustain light emission, even after the applied potential is removed. This afterglow ECL process introduces an intrinsically low-background, time-resolved analytical signal with an identical emissive origin to conventional ECL. Based on the synchronous modulation of these homologous signals, an intrinsically self-referenced ratiometric ECL platform with exceptional stability and ultrahigh sensitivity was constructed. As a proof of concept, the strategy was successfully employed to quantify exosomal microRNA at attomolar levels in complex biological samples. Beyond this specific application, the proposed approach also represents a general single-component ratiometric ECL framework that can be utilized to expand the analytical scope of ECL sensing into the time domain.

A novel high-entropy TiVCrMoC3Tx assisted LDI MS for serum metabolic fingerprint in rheumatoid arthritis.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering sensor of MoS2/Au@Ag film to detect the thiram residues in citrus.

A comprehensive 2D finite-element model based on COMSOL Multiphysics has been developed to investigate the pH-dependent electrochemical performance of reduced graphene oxide/copper–cuprous oxide (rGO/Cu–Cu2O) nanocomposite electrodes stabilised by a NaOH-treated porous polyvinyl alcohol/polyethylene oxide (PVA/PEO) film for non-enzymatic glucose detection in alkaline media (pH 9.12–14.09). The model couples the Nernst equation for open-circuit potential, Butler–Volmer kinetics for glucose oxidation via the Cu(ii)/Cu(iii) redox shuttle, Nernst–Planck transport for glucose and OH−, and charge conservation across the porous polymer layer. Optimal electrocatalytic activity is achieved at pH 13.03, delivering an ultrahigh sensitivity of 853.19 µA mM−1 cm−2, a stable open-circuit potential of 0.653 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), a linear range up to 10.2 mM, and a rapid response time of 2.08 s. Systematic parametric analysis reveals that decreasing PVA/PEO film thickness to ∼300 nm, reducing Cu–Cu2O nanoparticle diameter below 30 nm, and increasing rGO conductivity above 1400 S m−1 dramatically enhance both sensitivity and response speed by improving ion accessibility and electron-transfer efficiency. Model predictions are rigorously validated against experimental electrochemical impedance spectroscopy data (RMSE = 0.08), confirming predictive accuracy. The work elucidates fundamental pH–structure–performance relationships and provides quantitative design guidelines for robust, cost-effective, enzyme-free glucose sensors suitable for diabetes monitoring and wearable diagnostic platforms.

Non-ionic electronic skins offer intrinsic environmental stability, avoiding the leakage, volatility, and temperature sensitivity that limit ionic sensing systems. Yet, capacitive sensors based on electronic polarization typically exhibit low sensitivity because their dielectric modulation is confined to a single mode. Here, we introduce a dielectric-gradient, fully fiber-integrated non-ionic capacitive architecture that employs an impedance-driven enhancement mechanism. Controlled fiber deformation establishes a dual-variable dielectric network in which pressure-induced reduction of interfacial resistance and impedance releases suppressed polarization, yielding amplified capacitance far beyond that of conventional non-ionic sensors. The resulting device achieves ultrahigh sensitivity of 169.8 kPa-1 over a wide range of 20 Pa-8 MPa and maintains stable operation from -80 °C to 200 °C with less than 6% deviation. When integrated into a tactile-sensing glove and combined with machine learning, it attains 99.25% accuracy in recognizing multiple operational tools under both cryogenic and high-temperature conditions. These findings establish impedance engineering as a universal strategy for constructing high-gain, thermally robust, and reliable non-ionic electronic skins, enabling precision tactile sensing in environments previously inaccessible to flexible electronics.

Understanding biological processes requires spatiotemporal mapping of proliferative and transcriptional dynamics. Current spatial transcriptomics methods capture only protein-coding transcripts and static snapshots, obscuring non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) and dynamic events. We developed SPTEdU-seq, integrating spatial total transcriptomics with 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine tracking to co-profile gene expression and proliferation dynamics. SPTEdU-seq demonstrates ultrahigh sensitivity for coding and non-coding transcripts and for splicing isoforms, with single-molecule probe design eliminating optical imaging. Applied to developing and adult mouse brains, it revealed spatial lncRNA patterns, reconstructed developmental trajectories, and enabled spatiotemporal lineage tracing. In murine ischemic stroke, it mapped regeneration dynamics and identified an Igfbp5+ astrocyte subtype within a pro-repair niche. In mouse and human renal tumors, it uncovered tumor-associated splicing and detected diagnostic 3p loss. By profiling newborn and resident cells in intact microenvironments, it unveiled previously inaccessible interaction networks. SPTEdU-seq thus establishes a powerful framework for investigating cell fate dynamics in regeneration, development, and cancer.

High-performance capacitive pressure sensors are crucial for advancing wearable electronics and human-computer interaction, yet it remains challenging to simultaneously achieve high sensitivity and a broad linear working range. To overcome the inherent sensitivity-range trade-off in conventional designs, this work reports a confined evaporation strategy to fabricate the ionic dielectric layer featuring bioinspired microstructures for capacitive sensors. The dielectric layer mimics the surface morphology of Calathea zebrina leaves and spontaneously generates randomly distributed, pinecone-like microcones with a wide size distribution. Under external pressure, these microstructures demonstrate hierarchical deformation characteristics; smaller microcones activate preferentially under low pressure, while larger structures engage progressively with increasing load. This sequential engagement mechanism nonlinearly amplifies the effective contact area with electrodes. The expanded interfacial area synergizes with the electric double-layer effect from incorporated ionic liquid, substantially enhancing sensitivity, while the graded activation of different-sized microstructures enables an extended linear operating range. The flexible BC-MB electrode incorporates Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets with bacterial cellulose to form a conductive network, enhancing stability and sensitivity. The resulting capacitive sensor with flexible BC-MB electrodes achieves remarkable performance, ultrahigh sensitivity (692.30 kPa–1), wide linear response range, ultralow detection limit (0.53 Pa), fast response/recovery (61/32 ms), and excellent cycling stability (10,000 cycles). Meanwhile, this sensor demonstrates exceptional capability in capturing subtle physiological signals, including detailed arterial pulse waveforms for cardiovascular assessment, while enabling dual-mode human-computer interaction through Morse code gesture recognition and dynamic handwriting identification. Successful integration with wireless communication systems confirms its practical implementation potential in wearable health monitoring and interactive interfaces. This work establishes a scalable microstructure-engineering approach for high-performance capacitive sensors, effectively transcending conventional material-level constraints.

Contactless human activity recognition (HAR) is a cornerstone of next-generation intelligent systems, but vision/inertial sensor-based progress is limited by reliability and privacy concerns. Monitoring subtle moisture signatures offers a smart alternative, yet constrained by either sensitive material or sensor architecture design and facing the trade-off among ultrasensitivity, rapid response, and scalable multichannel operation. We address this via a new moisture-sensing paradigm: a plasmon-amplified TiO2-nanoMXene heterojunction integrated onto a fiber-optic tip, leveraging light as an active catalyst in a self-reinforcing feedback loop. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) injects hot electrons, amplifying the built-in electric field of the heterojunction to enhance H2O polarization and boost the trace moisture adsorption. This alters dielectric constant, feeding back to SPR signals. This self-reinforcing cycle translates subtle moisture signatures into a robust optical output, enabling a new class of HAR with ultrahigh sensitivity, fast response/recovery, minimal hysteresis, and robust environmental resilience. Its transformative potential is validated through contactless finger sensing, noninvasive diaper wetness monitoring, and clinical-grade respiratory analysis.

This paper presents a highly sensitive CMOS-MEMS system-on-chip (SoC) for multiparameter sensing, achieved through the monolithic integration of a capacitive microcantilever array with on-chip signal processing circuitry. Fabricated in a 0.18 µm 1P6M CMOS process with an in-house developed post-CMOS technique, the SoC offers high sensitivity, compact size, and excellent resolution. In temperature sensing mode, the SoC achieves a sensitivity of 25.1 kHz/°C across a linear range of 20–100 °C, with nonlinearity below 0.3% of the full-scale span (FSS). In flow sensing mode, the frequency output follows a quadratic relationship with velocity up to 130 m/s, yielding a linearized sensitivity of 133.5 Hz/(m/s)² and a maximum sensitivity of 32.76 kHz/(m/s) at 130 m/s. Noise analysis reveals that the SoC exhibits a minimum Allan deviation of 14.8 Hz, corresponding to a minimum detectable flow velocity of 14.8 mm/s, with resolutions of 29.6 mm/s and 1.8 mm/s in the low- and high-flow regimes, respectively. Meanwhile, the temperature sensing resolution reaches 2.3 mK, while light-induced thermal tests also confirm the SoC’s ability to detect subtle temperature variations, further demonstrating its ultrahigh sensitivity. The demonstrated performance, combined with a high level of integration, positions the proposed CMOS-MEMS SoC as a promising candidate for miniaturized, high-precision sensing in environmental and biomedical applications.

Piezoresistive flexible pressure sensors have gained significant attention in medical monitoring and industrial systems owing to their high flexibility, compact form factor, and broad application prospects. However, achieving both high sensitivity and a wide detection range while maintaining low fabrication cost remains a major challenge. Herein, we report a high-performance flexible piezoresistive sensor with a coupled electrospun multilayer microstructure (CEMP), fabricated via a customized template-assisted electrospinning strategy that ensures precise control over fiber morphology and uniformity. The sensor employs CNT/TPU electrospun membranes, where CNTs form a robust conductive network and TPU enhances mechanical integrity. A dual-layer fiber-coupled structure enables multisegment linear piezoresistive response, significantly boosting sensitivity and detection range. Additionally, a porous PVP electrospun layer atop the interdigital electrodes improves interfacial bonding and structural stability through synergistic physical and chemical interactions. The resulting sensor demonstrates remarkable performance, characterized by ultrahigh sensitivity (up to 5904.6 kPa-1), a broad detection window (0-749 kPa), and outstanding long-term durability under repeated loading for over 8000 cycles. These capabilities highlight the sensor's applicability in advanced industrial and biomedical systems, paving the way for its future integration into intelligent, adaptive sensing platforms.

Raman spectroscopy is widely used to characterize two-dimensional (2D) materials, thanks to its ultrahigh sensitivity to subtle strains even at the fractional level. Although strain is commonly employed to modulate the physical properties of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), the strain-dependent evolution of Raman fingerprints is rarely explored. In this work, we systematically track the evolution of the characteristic Raman modes under varying strains in WSSe and MoSSe Janus monolayers. Owing to the heavy atomic masses of W and Mo, spin-orbit coupling (SOC) plays a crucial role in determining their physical properties and is thus systematically investigated. Raman intensity mapping reveals a dramatic enhancement driven by SOC, rendering the intensity enhancement induced by ordinary mechanical strain comparatively negligible. Furthermore, we demonstrate how the combined effects of strain and SOC effects modify the allowed optical transitions by shifting the absorption edge and how these materials can be tuned to exhibit a plasma-like optical response at specific wavelengths and strain conditions. This distinct behavior arises from the conductive properties of the materials, which are governed by the effective mass and carrier mobility, both of which are strongly influenced by SOC. These findings provide robust theoretical support for the experimental realization of strained Janus systems and offer valuable insights for the development of advanced optical characterization tools.

Abstract Recent advances in parity-time (PT) symmetry, originally proposed within the framework of quantum mechanics, have demonstrated the potential to enhance the performance of MEMS resonators. Exceptional Points (EPs) offer significant potential for sensing applications. This paper presents an electrostatic charge MEMS sensor utilizing EPs to improve sensitivity. The addition of the charge induces a tensile axial strain in the resonator, resulting in a shift in the resonant frequency. The real part of frequency splitting and charge has a linear relationship, which is different from conventional charge sensors with only a single resonator. The dynamic equations for MEMS resonators in PT symmetry under asymmetric perturbations are derived. The frequency splitting and sensitivity are analyzed in detail across different phases. Theoretical analysis and simulations demonstrate that, near EPs, the frequency splitting exhibits a square-root dependence on the perturbation strength under asymmetric perturbations, which significantly enhances the sensitivity to small perturbations. The finding facilitates the design of MEMS resonant sensors with ultra-high sensitivity.

Inspired by the otolith structure in biology, an ultraminiature otolith-inspired microcantilever sensor was presented and applied to micro-vibration sensing and vibration mode analysis. By imitating the grafting and transfer processes in phytology, the fabrication method proposed for the first time, to our knowledge, can realize a micron-scale functionalized cantilever using only a common ultraviolet laser. The sensor is tiny in size and has an ultra-high sensitivity of 7123 mV/ g . Due to its outstanding performance, this structure enables the perception of minute vibrations and detailed recognition. Combining the recognition ability of the sensor with the simplest actions of tapping and patting, an ordinary desktop can be transformed into a Morse code transmitter that is workable on the entire area. Furthermore, by integrating the sensor with time-frequency analysis and machine learning techniques, it is possible to classify and identify multiple vibration modes occurring on the ground. The ultraminiature vibration sensor, as well as the fabrication method, provides a novel solution for low-cost and high-performance optical micro-nano probes.

Expression of Concern: Enhanced surface plasmon resonance biosensor with graphene-black phosphorus heterostructure for ultra-high sensitivity refractive index detection with machine learning for behaviour prediction

Flexible microsensors featuring miniature dimensions (< 100 μm), superior sensitivity [Gauge factor (GF) > 103], and phenomenal environmental stability (> 104 uses) have been broadly applied in modern soft electronics such as implantable health monitoring and soft robotics. However, it is quite challenging to integrate these distinguished features in a microdevice considering the extremely limited space for the complicated fabrication and complex functionalities. Inspired by microscale sensing systems in arthropods, this work presents a unique crack-helix soft microsensor (CHMS) within a single polymer microfiber. This microdevice successfully combines the structural advantages of both slit and hair sensors in arthropods through convenient depositing a thin layer (thickness: 2.5 μm) of biphasic liquid metals on a single microfiber (diameter: 80 μm). The microsensor presents unique frequency detection capability as arthropods (resolution: 0.01 Hz, > 1,088 Hz), ultrahigh sensitivity (GF > 2,711 ± 119), astonishing detection limit (0.05% strain and 0.2 mN), and excellent sensing durability (over 50,000 cycles), which are among the best of currently reported soft sensors. Furthermore, analogous to natural arthropods, CHMS shows different multifunctional environmental perception capability to precisely recognize subtle vibration under water or ground (amplitude < 70 μm) and extremely rarefied airflow (ultralow mass flux: 2.2 × 10-4 g/s·cm2).

Molecular counting technologies have greatly advanced biochemical analysis with ultrahigh sensitivity, excellent accuracy, and intuitive readouts. However, current methods remain limited by complex and time-consuming procedures, complicated data acquisition or analysis, or restricted multiplexing capabilities. Herein, we report an icosahedral DNA nanoprobe (IDNP)-mediated nanoflow cytometry (nFCM) assay platform that enables simple and rapid (approximately 30 min per sample) quantification of diverse biochemical analytes by bridging target recognition with direct molecular counting. The IDNP functioned as a "nano-signal converter", transforming nFCM-undetectable small-sized analytes into detectable IDNP-derived nanosignals, thereby allowing the molecular counting of these target analytes using nFCM. This developed IDNP-mediated nFCM assay platform successfully quantified multiple analytes, including miR-21, thrombin, and Pb2+, with results highly consistent with conventional methods (qPCR, ELISA, and ICP-MS, respectively). Furthermore, the platform was extended to achieve site-specific m6A quantification, revealing upregulated methylation at specific sites of CDCP1 mRNA in bladder cancer cells and let-7a-5p miRNA in colorectal cancer cells compared with normal epithelial cells. Overall, this IDNP-mediated nFCM assay platform provides a powerful and versatile approach for rapid, simple, and multiplexed biochemical analysis, showing broad potential in biomedical and clinical applications.