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Isolation of acute myeloid leukemia blasts from blood using a microfluidic device
Publication . Teixeira, Alexandra; Sousa-Silva, Maria; Chícharo, Alexandre; Oliveira, Kevin; Moura, André; Carneiro, Adriana; Piairo, Paulina; Águas, Hugo; Sampaio-Marques, Belém; Castro, Isabel; Mariz, José; Ludovico, Paula; Abalde-Cela, Sara; Diéguez, Lorena; DCM - Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais; CENIMAT-i3N - Centro de Investigação de Materiais (Lab. Associado I3N); UNINOVA-Instituto de Desenvolvimento de Novas Tecnologias; RSC - Royal Society of Chemistry
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common form of acute leukemia in adults and associated with poor prognosis. Unfortunately, most of the patients that achieve clinical complete remission after the treatment will ultimately relapse due to the persistence of minimal residual disease (MRD), that is not measurable using conventional technologies in the clinic. Microfluidics is a potential tool to improve the diagnosis by providing early detection of MRD. Herein, different designs of microfluidic devices were developed to promote lateral and vertical mixing of cells in microchannels to increase the contact area of the cells of interest with the inner surface of the device. Possible interactions between the cells and the surface were studied using fluid simulations. For the isolation of leukemic blasts, a positive selection strategy was used, targeting the cells of interest using a panel of specific biomarkers expressed in immature and aberrant blasts. Finally, once the optimisation was complete, the best conditions were used to process patient samples for downstream analysis and benchmarking, including phenotypic and genetic characterisation. The potential of these microfluidic devices to isolate and detect AML blasts may be exploited for the monitoring of AML patients at different stages of the disease.
Development of a Plasmonic Light Management Architecture Integrated within an Interface Passivation Scheme for Ultrathin Solar Cells
Publication . Oliveira, António J. N.; Teixeira, Jennifer P.; Relvas, Maria S.; Teixeira, Alexandra; Violas, André F.; Oliveira, Kevin; Abalde-Cela, Sara; Diéguez, Lorena; Cortinhal, Mariana D.; Barquinha, Pedro M. C.; Edoff, Marika; Fernandes, Paulo A.; Correia, Maria Rosário P.; Salomé, Pedro M. P.; CENIMAT-i3N - Centro de Investigação de Materiais (Lab. Associado I3N); DCM - Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais; UNINOVA-Instituto de Desenvolvimento de Novas Tecnologias; Wiley
In response to climate and resource challenges, the transition to a renewable and decentralized energy system is imperative. Ultrathin Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS)-based solar cells are compatible with such transition due to their low material usage and improved production throughput. Despite the benchmark efficiency of CIGS technology, ultrathin configurations face efficiency drops arising from increased rear interface recombination and incomplete light absorption. Dielectric passivation schemes address rear interface recombination, but achieving simultaneous electrical and optical gains is crucial for thinning down the absorber. Plasmonic nanoparticles emerge as a solution, enhancing light interaction through resonant scattering. In the proposed architecture, the nanoparticles are encapsulated within a dielectric rear passivation layer, combining effective passivation and light trapping. A controlled deposition and encapsulation of individualized nanoparticles is achieved by an optimized process flow using microfluidic devices and nanoimprint lithography. With the developed plasmonic and passivated architecture, a 3.7 mA cm−2 short-circuit current density and a 23 mV open-circuit voltage improvements are obtained, leading to an almost 2% increase in light-to-power conversion efficiency compared to a reference device. This work showcases the developed architecture potential to tackle the electrical and optical downfalls arising from the absorber thickness reduction, contributing to the dissemination of ultrathin technology.
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Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
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POR_NORTE
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SFRH/BD/148091/2019