3D‐Printed Cathodes of LiMn1−xFexPO4 Nanocrystals Achieve Both Ultrahigh Rate and High Capacity for Advanced Lithium‐Ion Battery

A 3D‐printing technology and printed 3D lithium‐ion batteries (3D‐printed LIBs) based on LiMn_0.21Fe_0.79PO₄@C (LMFP) nanocrystal cathodes are developed to achieve both ultrahigh rate and high capacity. Coin cells with 3D‐printed cathodes show impressive electrochemical performance: a capacity of 108.45 mAh g^?1 at 100 C and a reversible capacity of 150.21 mAh g^?1 at 10 C after 1000 cycles. In combination with simulation using a pseudo 2D hidden Markov model and experimental data of 3D‐printed and traditional electrodes, for the first time deep insight into how to achieve the ultrahigh rate performance for a cathode with LMFP nanocrystals is obtained. It is estimated that the Li‐ion diffusion in LMFP nanocrystal is not the rate‐limitation step for the rate to 100 C, however, that the electrolyte diffusion factors, such as solution intrinsic diffusion coefficient, efficiency porosity, and electrode thickness, will dominate ultrahigh rate performance of the cathode. Furthermore, the calculations indicate that the above factors play important roles in the equivalent diffusion coefficient with the electrode beyond a certain thickness, which determines the whole kinetic process in LIBs. This fundamental study should provide helpful guidance for future design of LIBs with superior electrochemical performance.     

Emerging 3D‐Printed Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices: A Critical Review

Three‐dimensional (3D) printing, a layer‐by‐layer deposition technology, has a revolutionary role in a broad range of applications. As an emerging advanced fabrication technology, it has drawn growing interest in the field of electrochemical energy storage because of its inherent advantages including the freeform construction and controllable 3D structural prototyping. This article focuses on the topic of 3D‐printed electrochemical energy storage devices (EESDs), which bridge advanced electrochemical energy storage and future additive manufacturing. Basic 3D printing systems and material considerations are described to provide a fundamental understanding of printing technologies for the fabrication of EESDs. The performance metrics of 3D‐printed EESDs are then given and the related performance optimization strategies are discussed. Next, the recent advances of 3D‐printed EESDs, including sandwich‐type and in‐plane architectures, are summarized. Conclusions and future perspectives with some unique challenges and important directions are then discussed. It can be expected that, with the help of 3D printing technology, the development of advanced electrochemical energy storage systems will be greatly promoted.     

Synergistic action of fibroblast growth factor-2 and transforming growth factor-beta1 enhances bioprinted human neocartilage formation

Bioprinting as a promising but unexplored approach for cartilage tissue engineering has the advantages of high throughput, digital control, and highly accurate placement of cells and biomaterial scaffold to the targeted 3D locations with simultaneous polymerization. This study tested feasibility of using bioprinting for cartilage engineering and examined the influence of cell density, growth, and differentiation factors. Human articular chondrocytes were printed at various densities, stimulated transiently with growth factors and subsequently with chondrogenic factors. Samples were cultured for up to 4 weeks to evaluate cell proliferation and viability, mechanical properties, mass swelling ratio, water content, gene expression, ECM production, DNA content, and histology. Bioprinted samples treated with FGF-2/TGF-β1 had the best chondrogenic properties among all groups apparently due to synergistic stimulation of cell proliferation and chondrogenic phenotype. ECM production per chondrocyte in low cell density was much higher than that in high cell seeding density. This finding was also verified by mechanical testing and histology. In conclusion, cell seeding density that is feasible for bioprinting also appears optimal for human neocartilage formation when combined with appropriate growth and differentiation factors.     

健康儿童与发育不佳儿童肠道菌群结构的比较研究

目的对健康儿童与发育不佳(FTT)儿童肠道中微生物区系的ERIC-PCR指纹图谱异同进行研究。方法根据美国疾病预防控制中心(CDC)对儿童生长发育的评价指标对某幼儿园200例4～6岁儿童进行评价,筛选出16例健康儿童和13例FTT儿童,每周1次连续3周跟踪取样,提取粪便样品中细菌总DNA,获得其ERIC-PCR指纹图谱,再将其中一个样品的ERIC-PCR产物作为混合探针通过杂交对指纹图谱上DNA条带序列的异同进一步比较。结果同一个体的肠道菌群结构在取样期间稳定性较好;虽然健康儿童间的肠道菌群结构也有一定差异,但它们却有着共同的结构特征;而健康儿童与FTT儿童的肠道菌群结构差异较大。结论儿童发育状况与肠道菌群结构有一定的关系。     

Printing of protein microarrays via a capillary-free fluid jetting mechanism

Current proteomics experiments rely upon printing techniques such as ink jet, pin, or quill arrayers that were developed for the creation of cDNA microarrays. These techniques often do not meet the requirements needed for successful spotting of proteins to perform high-throughput, array-based proteomic profiling. Biological laser printing (BioLP) is a spotting technology that does not rely on solid pins, quill pins, or capillary-based fluidics. The non-contact mechanism of BioLP utilizes a focused laser pulse to transfer protein solutions, thereby eliminating the potential for orifice clogging, air bubbles, and unnecessary volume loss potentially encountered in commercially available spotting technologies. The speed and spot-to-spot reproducibility of BioLP is comparable to other techniques, while the minimum spot diameter and volume per printed droplet is significantly less at 30 microm and approximately 500 fL, respectively. The transfer of fluid by BioLP occurs through a fluid jetting mechanism, as observed by high-speed images of the printing process. Arraying a solution of BSA with subsequent immunodetection demonstrates the reproducible spotting of protein in an array format with CVs of <3%. Printing of the enzyme alkaline phosphatase followed by a positive reaction with a colorimetric substrate demonstrates that functional protein can be spotted using this laser-based printer.     

PLGA/hydrogel biopapers as a stackable substrate for printing HUVEC networks via BioLP

Two major challenges in tissue engineering are mimicking the native cell-cell arrangements of tissues and maintaining viability of three-dimension (3D) tissues thicker than 300 μm. Cell printing and prevascularization of engineered tissues are promising approaches to meet these challenges. However, the printing technologies used in biofabrication must balance the competing parameters of resolution, speed, and volume, which limit the resolution of thicker 3D structures. We suggest that high-resolution conformal printing techniques can be used to print 2D patterns of vascular cells onto biopaper substrates which can then be stacked to form a thicker tissue construct. Towards this end we created 1 cm × 1 cm × 300 μm biopapers to be used as the transferable, stackable substrate for cell printing. 3.6% w/v poly-lactide-co-glycolide was dissolved in chloroform and poured into molds filled with NaCl crystals. The salt was removed with DI water and the scaffolds were dried and loaded with a Collagen Type I or Matrigel. SEM of the biopapers showed extensive porosity and gel loading throughout. Biological laser printing (BioLP) was used to deposit human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in a simple intersecting pattern to the surface of the biopapers. The cells differentiated and stretched to form networks preserving the printed pattern. In a separate experiment to demonstrate "stackability," individual biopapers were randomly seeded with HUVECs and cultured for 1 day. The mechanically stable and viable biopapers were then stacked and cultured for 4 days. Three-dimensional confocal microscopy showed cell infiltration and survival in the compound multilayer constructs. These results demonstrate the feasibility of stackable "biopapers" as a scaffold to build 3D vascularized tissues with a 2D cell-printing technique.     

Cooperative activity of multiple upper layer proteins for thalamocortical axon growth

During development, sensory thalamocortical (TC) axons grow into the neocortex and terminate primarily in layer 4. To study the molecular mechanism that underlies lamina-specific TC axon termination, we investigated the responsiveness of TC axons to ephrin-A5, semaphorin-7A (Sema7A) and kit ligand (KL), which are expressed in the upper layers of the developing cortex. Dissociated cells of the dorsal thalamus from embryonic rat brain were cultured on dishes that were coated with preclustered Fc-tagged extracellular domains of these molecules. Each protein was found to promote TC axon growth in a dose-dependent fashion of a bell-shaped curve. Any combination of the three proteins showed a cooperative effect in lower concentrations but not in higher concentrations, suggesting that their growth-promoting activities act in a common pathway. The effect of spatial distributions of these proteins was further tested on a filter membrane, in which these proteins were printed at a size that recapitulates the scale of laminar thickness in vivo, using a novel protein-printing technique, Simple-To-mAke Micropore Protein-Printing (STAMP2) method. The results demonstrated that TC axons grew massively on the laminin-coated region but were prevented from invading the adjacent ephrin-A5-printed region, suggesting that TC axons detect relative differences in the growth effect between these regions. Moreover, the inhibitory action of ephrin-A5 was enhanced by copresence with KL and Sema7A. Together, these results suggest that the lamina-specific TC axon targeting mechanism involves growth-inhibitory activity by multiple molecules in the upper layers and detection in the molecular environments between the upper and deep layers.     

Micro-masonry for 3D Additive Micromanufacturing

Transfer printing is a method to transfer solid micro/nanoscale materials (herein called ‘inks’) from a substrate where they are generated to a different substrate by utilizing elastomeric stamps. Transfer printing enables the integration of heterogeneous materials to fabricate unexampled structures or functional systems that are found in recent advanced devices such as flexible and stretchable solar cells and LED arrays. While transfer printing exhibits unique features in material assembly capability, the use of adhesive layers or the surface modification such as deposition of self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on substrates for enhancing printing processes hinders its wide adaptation in microassembly of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) structures and devices. To overcome this shortcoming, we developed an advanced mode of transfer printing which deterministically assembles individual microscale objects solely through controlling surface contact area without any surface alteration. The absence of an adhesive layer or other modification and the subsequent material bonding processes ensure not only mechanical bonding, but also thermal and electrical connection between assembled materials, which further opens various applications in adaptation in building unusual MEMS devices.     

A Wireless Triboelectric Nanogenerator

A new “wireless” paradigm for harvesting mechanical energy via a 3D‐printed wireless triboelectric nanogenerator (W‐TENG) comprised of an ecofriendly graphene polylactic acid (gPLA) nanocomposite and Teflon is demonstrated. The W‐TENG generates very high output voltages >2 kV with a strong electric field that enables the wireless transmission of harvested energy over a distance of 3 m. The W‐TENG exhibited an instantaneous peak power up to 70 mW that could be wirelessly transmitted for storage into a capacitor obviating the need for hard‐wiring or additional circuitry. Furthermore, the use of W‐TENG for wireless and secure actuation of smart‐home applications such as smart tint windows, temperature sensors, liquid crystal displays, and security alarms either with a single or a specific user‐defined passcode of mechanical pulses (e.g., Fibonacci sequence) is demonstrated. The scalable additive manufacturing approach for gPLA‐based W‐TENGs, along with their high electrical output and unprecedented wireless applications, is poised for revolutionizing the present mechanical energy harvesting technologies.