Microsystems & Nanoengineering最新文献

{"title":"Focusing and weighing microanalytes in liquid enabled by higher-order piezoelectric resonant membranes.","authors":"Jingui Qian, Wenqi Fan, Sheng Tang, Cheng Guo, Xiangyang Wang, Mengyu Huang, Guoqiang Wu, Joshua E-Y Lee","doi":"10.1038/s41378-026-01474-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-026-01474-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Micro-electromechanical-system (MEMS) resonators have been recognized as powerful tools for precision mass detection. However, achieving both flexible on-chip capture of microanalytes and high-sensitivity liquid-phase sensing remains a technical challenge. We present a fully anchored multi-modal piezoelectric resonant membrane (PRM) that utilizes self-excited bulk acoustic waves to rapidly enrich sparsely dispersed microparticles within milliliter droplets and precisely locate them at the region of highest vibrational amplitude - the most sensitive area for resonance detection. The design of higher-order resonance modes preserves acoustofluidic enrichment performance while enabling reconfigurable particle distribution patterns through modulation of the acoustic field distribution. Experimental results demonstrate that the resonant frequency shift induced by the same mass load increases with the mode order, indicating that the sensing sensitivity is proportional to the resonance order. We systematically characterized the acoustofluidic parameters and electrical measurement performance of transverse modes from (0, 0) to (4, 0). This work shows that extending the integrated actuation-and-sense approach to consider multiple modes of resonances presents a toolbox for designing such miniaturized platforms to address nanogram-level mass analysis in liquid phase.</p>","PeriodicalId":18560,"journal":{"name":"Microsystems & Nanoengineering","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149224505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A fabrication-aware vectorized generative representation for topology optimization of path-defined MEMS microstructures.","authors":"Gong-Zeng Liu, Lin-Feng Zhao, Jie Zhang, Xiang Liu, Yi-Meng Lv, Tian-Yu Geng, Zai-Fa Zhou","doi":"10.1038/s41378-026-01470-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-026-01470-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This work proposes a vectorized generative representation for fabrication-aware heuristic topology optimization of path-defined MEMS microstructures, addressing the trade-off between topological freedom and fabrication feasibility in MEMS inverse design. Pixel-level topology descriptions provide high design freedom and often require additional constraints to suppress disconnected or fabrication-incompatible layouts. Meanwhile, heuristic algorithms are attractive for non-gradient MEMS optimization, yet their efficiency depends critically on the compactness and validity of the design representation. The proposed representation addresses this limitation by mapping low-dimensional continuous design variables into connected, fabrication-compatible physical layouts, with topology evolution, boundary compatibility, linewidth modulation, spacing constraints, and geometric smoothing embedded directly into the generation process. This formulation provides a compact continuous search space in which path topology, spatial deployment, and local linewidth can be jointly explored while the prescribed fabrication constraints are maintained during decoding. Each generated layout is exported as a vector geometry for finite-element electrothermal labeling and rasterized as a morphology image for surrogate-model training, enabling rapid performance prediction during optimization. In a resistive thermal MEMS microheater used as the primary experimental validation case, infrared thermography showed that the measured temperature coefficient of variation decreased from 4.04% to 1.22%, while the ±2 °C effective isothermal area ratio increased from 34.7% to 95.6%. Finite-element results from a compliant micro-spring case demonstrated transferability: in-plane displacement increased by 30.6%, while peak von Mises stress decreased by 16.3% under matched footprint and loading. These results demonstrate the applicability of the proposed representation as a fabrication-compatible optimization interface for path-defined MEMS microstructures under distinct physical objectives.</p>","PeriodicalId":18560,"journal":{"name":"Microsystems & Nanoengineering","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149224490","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microcapillary-assisted acoustoelectric platform for selective single-cell isolation and in situ transfection.","authors":"Xuefeng Xu, Ziqiao Zhou, Guangyang Li, Jie Liang, Jianhui Wu, Jiaqi Lu, Fang Shen, Shengjun Wu, Zhi Ruan, Shurong Dong, Jikui Luo, Zhen Cao","doi":"10.1038/s41378-026-01490-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-026-01490-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Single-cell transfection technologies hold tremendous promise for precision cell and immunotherapies. However, monolithic integration of cell isolation with targeted intracellular delivery remains technically challenging, especially within complex biological matrices. Herein, we present a microcapillary-assisted acoustoelectric single-cell selective isolation and sonoporative transfection platform (μC-ASSIST), which seamlessly sequences microcapillary-assisted dielectrophoresis (μC-DEP) for deterministic single-cell trapping with high-frequency surface acoustic waves (SAWs) for transient membrane poration within a unified workflow. We demonstrate the label-free, high-efficiency extraction of human non-small cell lung cancer (A549) cells from a complex white blood cell (WBC) background with a capture efficiency of 95%. Furthermore, we validate the highly efficient, contact-free intracellular delivery of diverse cargoes ranging from small dyes (PI) to functional small interfering RNA (siRNA) and large plasmid DNA (mRFP-C3), maintaining a high cell viability of 83.7% alongside a 78.1% transfection efficiency. Crucially, the targeted delivery of siBcl-xL significantly suppressed target mRNA expression and profoundly inhibited tumor cell motility. By circumventing off-target effects and cumbersome manual handling, the μC-ASSIST platform establishes a highly versatile, streamlined paradigm for precision single-cell engineering, holding immense potential for advancing functional genomics and next-generation gene therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":18560,"journal":{"name":"Microsystems & Nanoengineering","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149224456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Towards advanced motion control systems for micro-scale magnetic drillers inside viscoelastic media.","authors":"Emmett Z Freeman, Pranjal Chatterjee, Tony H Wang, Kimberly Hoang, Azadeh Ansari","doi":"10.1038/s41378-026-01464-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41378-026-01464-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microrobotic systems have the potential to reach regions of the body with significantly less invasiveness than conventional surgical tools. However, control over clinically relevant workspaces remains challenging due to limitations in magnetic field and robotic trajectory control. Here, we present a planar eight-solenoid magnetic field generator (MFG) that enables programmable velocity and heading of a 250 × 250 × 1250 µm³ microscale driller through continuous field reorientation within a workspace of 20 × 20 × 20 cm³. The microscale driller achieved velocities up to 155 µm/s in 0.6 weight percent agarose gel, which mimics the mechanical properties of brain tissue, and executed turns beyond 90° with angular errors below 3°. These results demonstrate a scalable platform for precise and remote control of magnetically embedded microdevices, and support future development of minimally invasive systems for applications such as targeted therapeutic delivery and microsurgery.</p>","PeriodicalId":18560,"journal":{"name":"Microsystems & Nanoengineering","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149224470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Monolithically integrated four-channel optoelectronic wind sensor with a mushroom-shaped sensitive structure.","authors":"Shen Li, Meixin Lu, Yiqun Yan, Anxu Wang, Yizhou Ye, Shu Wan, Xuefeng He, Yunhao Peng, Lili Gao, Yongjin Wang, Jiabin Yan","doi":"10.1038/s41378-026-01441-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41378-026-01441-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper presents a novel wind sensor based on a monolithically integrated four-channel optoelectronic chip and a mushroom-shaped sensitive structure. The four-channel optoelectronic chip consists of a centrally positioned light-emitting diode (LED) surrounded by four symmetrically arranged photodetectors (PDs). By employing monolithic integrated manufacturing technology, the consistency among the four PDs is significantly enhanced, thereby ensuring the overall symmetry of the sensor. In addition, an environmentally robust mushroom-shaped wind-sensitive structure is designed to interact with airflow while packaging the optoelectronic chip, providing reliable protection against outdoor environmental conditions. The manufactured sensor is subsequently installed in a wind tunnel for a series of measurements. The results demonstrate the capability of the sensor to monitor wind speeds ranging from 0 to 18 m/s and wind direction from 0 to 360°. This innovative design paves the way for advancements in wind-sensing devices, positioning it as a promising candidate for practical applications across various fields.</p>","PeriodicalId":18560,"journal":{"name":"Microsystems & Nanoengineering","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13672800/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149195300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Magnetized joystick with dual-anisotropy for high-capacity wearable human-machine interactions.","authors":"Yuanzhe Liang, Ming Lei, Biao Qi, Yingyi Zhang, Ziyi Dai, Dan Fang, Jinbo Wu, Jianyi Luo, Bingpu Zhou","doi":"10.1038/s41378-026-01459-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41378-026-01459-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>One of the urgent demands for flexible and wearable sensors is to achieve single-channel, less-sensor, and multi-output for effective communications. However, expansion of signal capacity on a single interface often requires sensor arrays, which significantly increases the complexity in electrode layout and multiple device design. In this work, we developed a flexible magnetized joystick (FMJ) with structurally induced eigenfrequency anisotropy by applying laser cutting process to a raw magnetized cubic. Using an eigenfrequency-polarity dual-anisotropy addressing method, we show that single FMJ can achieve four identifiable outputs based on the direction of in-plane mechanical inputs. According to the cantilever beam model, the eigenfrequency library can be expanded by adjusting cutting parameters, dimensions, and material properties, laying the foundation for further expanding signal capacity through the combination of multiple FMJs. The advantages of FMJs in terms of high capacity and multi-functionality are demonstrated through a range of human-machine interaction (HMI) applications, including game control, PowerPoint slides, robot car control, and a fingertip calculator. The increased signal requirement would not impose the complexity of electrical connection thanks to the interference-free parallel design of the electrodes. We expect that the development strategy will provide valuable insights for further advancement of high-capacity wearable HMI.</p>","PeriodicalId":18560,"journal":{"name":"Microsystems & Nanoengineering","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13669367/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149181808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Acoustically driven micro/nanobubbles: from fundamental mechanisms to biomedical applications.","authors":"Jiaxin Wu, Tatsuo Arai, Chenhao Bai, Changsheng Li, Xingguang Duan, Toshio Fukuda, Xiaoming Liu","doi":"10.1038/s41378-026-01444-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41378-026-01444-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Acoustically driven micro/nanobubbles, as a bridge between macroscopic acoustic fields and microscopic biological machinery, have shown considerable promise due to their non-contact actuation, tunable mechanical responses, and favorable biocompatibility. Recent advances in bubble formulation and acoustic control have further expanded their capabilities, enabling targeted membrane permeabilization, enhanced molecular transport, and precise manipulation at the microscale. In this review, we summarize the fundamental mechanisms linking bubble dynamics to biologically relevant effects under ultrasound and establish quantitative design criteria that govern the coupling between acoustic parameters, bubble behavior, and therapeutic performance. We then organize biomedical applications across scales, spanning single-cell manipulation, tissue-level barrier modulation, and organ-scale imaging and therapeutic interventions. Particular attention is given to how acoustic modes and bubble configurations translate into measurable performance metrics, as well as the limitations that constrain reproducibility and safety in complex biological environments. Finally, we discuss key challenges for practical translation from an engineering perspective and propose strategies for improving controllability, standardization, and system integration. By providing a framework to overcome the inherent randomness of bubble-acoustic interactions in clinical translation, this review outlines a roadmap toward reliable and programmable mechano-bio platforms for closed-loop, patient-adaptive interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":18560,"journal":{"name":"Microsystems & Nanoengineering","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13669364/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149181770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reconfigurable acoustic tweezers based on a programmable droplet array.","authors":"Zhen Wang, Menglei Zhao, Kangfu Chen, Yao Lu, Haopu Wang, Zongliang Guo, Zonghao Li, Meiyi Zhou, Huiliang Cao, Kaiqiang Cao, Xiaoyi Wang, Rongxin Fu, Hang Li, Zhichao Ma, Jiafang Li, Huikai Xie, Shuailong Zhang","doi":"10.1038/s41378-026-01458-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41378-026-01458-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Conventional acoustic manipulation relies on either direct acoustic radiation force acting on particles or indirect methods using acoustic streaming generated by acoustic pressure fields to manipulate particles. While acoustic devices generating standing waves can create patterned arrangements of particles and cells, these methods are typically limited to producing regular arrays in static configurations. This study introduces a dynamic acoustic field modulation method to overcome these limitations, significantly enhancing manipulation flexibility. Crucially, the propagation of acoustic energy varies substantially at liquid-solid interfaces or gas-solid interfaces due to differences in acoustic impedance matching. To exploit this, we use a digital microfluidic chip (DMF) to manipulate droplets and generate a programmable droplet array via the electrowetting-on-dielectric effect. By utilizing the programmable droplet array, we dynamically alter the spatial distribution of the acoustic field from a bulk acoustic wave (BAW) device in real time and demonstrate this technique's capability for capturing and manipulating particles on demand. We believe this is a unique method to create acoustic tweezers with great flexibility and reconfigurability, which holds promising potential for advanced applications in micromanipulation, micro-assembly, and beyond.</p>","PeriodicalId":18560,"journal":{"name":"Microsystems & Nanoengineering","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13669388/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149181727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Curvature-driven passive mixing in three-dimensional conical helix micromixers.","authors":"İsmail Bütün, Tunahan Parlayıcı, Süleyman Çelik, Erchan Aptoula, Ali Koşar","doi":"10.1038/s41378-026-01461-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41378-026-01461-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Passive microfluidic mixing is fundamentally constrained by the dominance of laminar flow, a limitation commonly addressed using embedded obstacles or surface modifications, often at the cost of increased fabrication complexity and hydraulic resistance. Here, we introduce a conical helix micromixer (CHM) that combines circular and helical microchannel topologies into a monolithic geometry capable of passively generating progressively intensified Dean vortices through continuously varying curvature. This curvature-driven mechanism induces strong transverse transport and achieves  a mixing index (MI) > 95% in the first turn of the CHM across varying flow rates (1-2500 µL min^-1) without requiring any internal roughness structures or external energy inputs, as validated by field-based mixing simulations. A central methodological contribution is a reduced-order planar representation of the full three-dimensional (3D) CHM geometry for flow-field analysis and optimization. Direct geometrical validation against the original 3D conical-helix centreline demonstrated projection-induced deviations below 2% across all investigated configurations, with most cases remaining below 1%, confirming that the planar representation preserves the dominant geometric characteristics of the true 3D flow path with negligible loss of fidelity. This reduced-order strategy lowered computational costs by approximately an order of magnitude, while preserving a strong correlation with full 3D field-based calculations across the investigated ranges of Reynolds numbers. Geometric and flow parameters were systematically explored using a Taguchi framework, while gradient-boosted machine-learning models were employed as mechanistic analytical tools to quantify parameter sensitivity. Both analyses consistently identified the inlet curvature radius as the dominant design variable governing Dean vortex onset and mixing-length compression, with tighter curvature significantly accelerating the development of transverse mixing. The results prove that controlled curvature modulation alone can function as an efficient passive mixing engine, providing a compact, fabrication-ready platform for microreactor synthesis, point-of-care diagnostics, and scalable lab-on-a-chip applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":18560,"journal":{"name":"Microsystems & Nanoengineering","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13669361/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149181747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Scalable low-thermal-budget fabrication of suspended silicon nanowire devices.","authors":"Basit Ali, Arda Deniz Yalcinkaya, Cagri Arslan, Umut Kerimzade, Burhanettin Erdem Alaca","doi":"10.1038/s41378-026-01467-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41378-026-01467-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Silicon nanowires (Si NWs) are versatile one-dimensional building blocks for gas and biochemical sensors, MEMS/NEMS physical transduction platforms, and integrated electronic devices because of their high surface-to-volume ratios and compatibility with semiconductor processing. A key limitation of conventional top-down fabrication is its reliance on furnace-based high-temperature steps, such as thermal oxidation and LPCVD, which can induce residual stress and constrain post-CMOS integration because of thermal-budget limits above 400 °C. Here, we present a furnace-free, low-thermal-budget fabrication approach for suspended Si NWs with a maximum process temperature of 180 °C. The process forms suspended Si NWs at the top surface of both bulk Si substrates and SOI substrates with a 2 µm device layer. The method defines a nanoscale Si surface protrusion and uses a conformal Cr sidewall coating to preserve linewidth during DRIE release. The process yields suspended Si NWs with critical dimensions down to 50 nm, aspect ratios of up to 100, and array pitches of 5 µm, while supporting integration into junctionless field-effect transistor architectures. Electrical measurements confirm ohmic behavior in two-terminal NW devices and demonstrate depletion-mode current modulation in side-gated junctionless FETs, with a threshold voltage of 24 V and approximately 40× current modulation. After nominal 2 nm Pd functionalization, single-NW devices exhibit repeatable 1% H₂ sensing, producing near-complete current suppression of the p-type NW channel at sub-10 nW operating power. By eliminating furnace-based processing, the approach supports post-CMOS-compatible integration, avoids high-temperature stress-inducing process steps, and establishes a scalable platform for suspended Si NW devices.</p>","PeriodicalId":18560,"journal":{"name":"Microsystems & Nanoengineering","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.1,"publicationDate":"2026-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13658245/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149171653","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}