With atomic-layer-deposition grown zinc oxide as the electron selective layer, we developed plastic substrate compatible processing for organic photovoltaic devices and demonstrated flexible inverted organic solar cells on poly(ethylene naphthalate) with a power conversion efficiency of 4.18%.

Quantitative point-of-care (POC) devices are the next generation for serological disease diagnosis. Whilst pathogen serology is typically performed by centralized laboratories using Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA), faster on-site diagnosis would infer improved disease management and treatment decisions. Using the model pathogen Bovine Herpes Virus-1 (BHV-1) this study employs an extended-gate field-effect transistor (FET) for direct potentiometric serological diagnosis. BHV-1 is a major viral pathogen of Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD), the leading cause of economic loss ($2 billion annually in the US only) to the cattle and dairy industry. To demonstrate the sensor capabilities as a diagnostic tool, BHV-1 viral protein gE was expressed and immobilized on the sensor surface to serve as a capture antigen for a BHV-1-specific antibody (anti-gE), produced in cattle in response to viral infection. The gE-coated immunosensor was shown to be highly sensitive and selective to anti-gE present in commercially available anti-BHV-1 antiserum and in real serum samples from cattle with results being in excellent agreement with Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) and ELISA. The FET sensor is significantly faster than ELISA (<10 min), a crucial factor for successful disease intervention. This sensor technology is versatile, amenable to multiplexing, easily integrated to POC devices, and has the potential to impact a wide range of human and animal diseases.

A novel approach for a piezoelectric generator is presented. By coating ZnO on carbon nanotubes, the piezoelectric properties of ZnO are integrated with the structure flexibility and enhanced conductivity of carbon nanotubes. With suitable arrangement, the devices generate high voltage and current signals.

Because of its well-defined surface configuration and creative chemical structure, an alkanethiol self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on gold is a model surface for a blood compatibility investigation. In this study two laboratory-synthesized long-chain alkanethiols, HS(CH(2))(10)PO(3)-(C(2)H(5))(2) and HS(CH(2))(10)PO(3)H(2), were employed for the direct preparation of SAMs with nonionic and ionic functional groups. Various instrumental analyses confirmed the high purity of the phosphonate ester and phosphonic acid terminated alkanethiols. The surface characterization results showed the -PO(3)H(2) terminated SAM was more hydrophilic than the -PO(3)(C(2)H(5))(2) one. Higher hysteresis values for the -PO(3)(C(2)H(5))(2) and -PO(3)H(2) terminated SAMs were noted, which were possibly due to the steric hindrance of the bulky terminal groups. In addition, the O(2) plasma + EtOH-rinse pretreated Au sample was hydrophilic because of the residual gold oxide on the surface. This finding was supported by electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) as well. The ESCA analysis also indicated bulky and polar terminal groups [-PO(3)(C(2)H(5))(2) and -PO(3)H(2)] were situated in the outermost layer of its monolayer. The platelet reactivity on the SAM with the nonionic group -PO(3)(C(2)H(5))(2) was less than those of the ionic terminated SAMs -COOH and -PO(3)H(2). The O(2) plasma + EtOH-rinse pretreated gold substrate exhibited the least platelet-activating surface among the different pretreated Au substrates studied.

We demonstrated that inorganic but not organic germanium compounds exerted radiosensitizing effect in cells. Nanometer-sized germanium particles were fabricated and were able to enhance the radiosensitivity of cells. Confounding effect may occur when comet assay is used to estimate the level of DNA damage in the presence of germanium nanoparticles.