A fluorescence-based device was developed for immunosuppressants. A measuring chip with ten parallel microchannels allows the simultaneous detection of more than one analyte with replicate measurements. The device is equipped with a microfluidic circuitry, which handles the sample mixing with necessary chemicals using an additional chip and its pumping into the measuring chip, and with integrated thin-film amorphous silicon photodiodes for the fluorescence detection. Submicrometric fluorescent magnetic particles are used to improve the efficiency of the assay. Results on the measurements of mycophenolic acid and cyclosporine A in both spiked solutions and microdialysate samples from patient blood are reported.
A novel therapeutic drug monitoring point of care testing (POCT) optical device for the detection of immunosuppressants in transplanted patients was designed and tested, with the body interface constituted by an intravascular microdialysis catheter (MicroEye®) which provides the dialysate as clinical sample. An optical biochip with 10 microchannels, based on total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF), enables the frequent measurement of immunosuppressants. Heterogeneous competitive immunoassays for the detection of mycophenolic acid, tacrolimus and cyclosporine A are implemented on the different microchannels, with the derivative of the immunosuppressants immobilised on the bottom part of the micro-channels.
Silicon nitride alloys emit photoluminescence all over the visible range. Recent studies ascribed this luminescence to
quantum-size effects within silicon nanocrystals that were either shown or assumed to form inside the silicon nitride
matrix; luminescence of the matrix itself was ignored. Observing the same luminescence without the presence of silicon
nanocrystals, our work identifies the silicon nitride matrix itself to be responsible for the photoluminescence. In contrast
to the silicon nanocrystal approach, the applied band tail luminescence model explains all aspects of the luminescence.
We conclude that silicon nitride is an inappropriate matrix for investigating photoluminescence from silicon nanocrystals.
The monolithically integrated series connection of single solar cell stripes into complete photovoltaic (PV) modules is
one of the key advantages of thin film PV technologies. Instead of the well established laser scribing for series
connection, this contribution focuses on a novel in situ series connection technology, without breaking the vacuum
during module manufacturing, and without the need of costly laser-scribing equipment. Metallic wires or other filaments
aligned along the slightly bent substrate, sequentially pattern the solar cell layers for implementing the monolithic series
connection, simultaneously with the consecutive evaporation, plasma deposition, and sputtering of the semiconductor
and contact layers. In addition to a proof of concept by flexible PV modules, this paper for the first time investigates
wire-shading on rigid glass substrates and by multiple adjacent filaments. The results of these studies demonstrate that
the in situ series connection is a promising candidate for competing with laser scribing, not only in roll-to-roll production
of flexible PV modules, but also in batch or inline processing of standard large-area glass plates. Applying the novel in
situ series connection to a laboratory-scale solar cell process, yields 40 cm2 sized PV modules, consisting of ten single
junction amorphous silicon n-i-p cells on a flexible polymer foil. The modules' total area efficiency of 3 % is close to the
non-optimized efficiency of reference cells of 3.3 %. Wire-shading with wire diameters down to 50 μm proves successful,
and thereby projects total interconnection losses F < 5 %, whereas the first experimental modules exhibit F = 15 %.
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