title: Superwettable Microchips as a Platform toward Microgravity Biosensing.
abstract: The construction of the Space Station provides a spaceflight laboratory, which enables us to accomplish tremendous short- and long-duration research such as astronomy, physics, material sciences, and life sciences in a microgravity environment. Continuous innovation and development of spaceflight laboratory prompted us to develop a facile detection approach to meet stringent requirements in a microgravity environment that traditional experimental approaches cannot reach. Here we introduce superhydrophilic microwells onto superhydrophobic substrates that are capable of capturing and transferring microdroplets, demonstrating a proof-of-concept study of a biosensing platform toward microgravity application. The capability of manipulating microdroplets originates from the capillary force of the nanoscale dendritic coating in superhydrophilic microwells. Based on theoretical modeling, capillary forces of the superhydrophilic microwells can dominate the behavior of microdroplets against the gravity. Direct naked-eye observation monitoring of daily physiological markers, such as glucose, calcium, and protein can be achieved by colorimetric tests without the requirement of heavy optical or electrical equipment, which greatly reduced the weight, and will bring a promising clue for biodetection in microgravity environments.
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing , Beijing 100083, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Tailin
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4037-2856
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing , Beijing 100083, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Wanxin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing , Beijing 100083, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jinrong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing , Beijing 100083, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yongchao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Feilong
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing , Beijing 100083, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Li-Ping
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing , Beijing 100083, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xueji
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Shutao
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2559-5181
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002118:Calcium / Q000032:analysis*; D005947:Glucose / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D018472:Hypogravity; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010316:Particle Size; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D013499:Surface Properties; D014893:Weightlessness; D017155:Wettability
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D011506:Proteins; D005947:Glucose; D002118:Calcium
keywords: biosensing; colorimetric biosensor; microgravity; superhydrophilic; superhydrophobic; superwettable microchips