Beyond traditional needs of biosensors such as high sensitivity and selectivity for analyte detection, newly emerging requirements including a real-time detection ability and in-field applicability have been gradually emphasized to...

As DNA polymerases are even active at ambient temperature, there is inevitable non-specific amplification; to avoid the undesired amplification of analytes, heat activation-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR), called hot-start PCR,...

To efficiently prolong analgesic effects, we developed osmotically balanced, large unilamellar liposomes (~ 6 μm in diameter) in which highly concentrated bupivacaine (up to 30 mg/mL) was encapsulated, and their sustained bupivacaine release was highly effective in relieving postoperative pain over 24 h in a rat model. Our reverse-phase evaporation method based on non-toxic alcohol, ethanol, enabled simple and cost-effective production of bupivacaine-loaded liposomes, of which osmotic pressure was readily balanced to improve the structural stability of the enlarged unilamellar liposomes along with extension of their shelf life (> a month). The in vitro release profile verified that the release duration of the bupivacaine-loaded liposomes extended up to 6 days. For the in vivo study, male Sprague–Dawley rats were used for the incisional pain model, simulating postoperative pain, and the mechanical withdrawal threshold (MWT) was measured using a von Frey filament. Compared to the control group that received intraplantar administration of normal saline, the group of liposomal bupivacaine showed that the initially increased MWT gradually decreased up to 24 h, and importantly, the analgesic effect of the liposomal bupivacaine was maintained 6 times longer than that of bupivacaine only, proving the potential of effective long-acting anesthetics.

Living cells efflux intracellular ions for maintaining cellular life, so intravital measurements of specific ion signals are of significant importance for studying cellular functions and pharmacokinetics. In this work, de novo synthesis of artificial K+‐selective membrane and its integration with polyelectrolyte hydrogel‐based open‐junction ionic diode (OJID) is demonstrated, achieving a real‐time K+‐selective ion‐to‐ion current amplification in complex bioenvironments. By mimicking biological K+ channels and nerve impulse transmitters, in‐line K+‐binding G‐quartets are introduced across freestanding lipid bilayers by G‐specific hexylation of monolithic G‐quadruplex, and the pre‐filtered K+ flow is directly converted to amplified ionic currents by the OJID with a fast response time at 100 ms intervals. By the synergistic combination of charge repulsion, sieving, and ion recognition, the synthetic membrane allows K+ transport exclusively without water leakage; it is 250 and 17 times more permeable towards K+ than monovalent anion, Cl‐, and polyatomic cation, N‐methyl‐D‐glucamine+, respectively. The molecular recognition‐mediated ion channeling provides a 500% larger signal for K+ as compared to Li+ (0.6 times smaller than K+) despite the same valence. Using the miniaturized device, non‐invasive, direct, and real‐time K+ efflux monitoring from living cell spheroids is achieved with minimal crosstalk, specifically in identifying osmotic shock‐induced necrosis and drug‐antidote dynamics.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved