Objective Cystic fibrosis (CF), caused by mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator ( CFTR ) gene, continues to present diagnostic challenges. Newborn screening and an evolving understanding of CF genetics have prompted a reconsideration of the diagnosis criteria. Study design To improve diagnosis and achieve standardized definitions worldwide, the CF Foundation convened a committee of 32 experts in CF diagnosis from 9 countries to develop clear and actionable consensus guidelines on the diagnosis of CF and to clarify diagnostic criteria and terminology for other disorders associated with CFTR mutations. An a priori threshold of ≥80% affirmative votes was required for acceptance of each recommendation statement. Results After reviewing relevant literature, the committee convened to review evidence and cases. Following the conference, consensus statements were developed by an executive subcommittee. The entire consensus committee voted and approved 27 of 28 statements, 7 of which needed revisions and a second round of voting. Conclusions It is recommended that diagnoses associated with CFTR mutations in all individuals, from newborn to adult, be established by evaluation of CFTR function with a sweat chloride test. The latest mutation classifications annotated in the Clinical and Functional Translation of CFTR project (http://www.cftr2.org/index.php) should be used to aid in diagnosis. Newborns with a high immunoreactive trypsinogen level and inconclusive CFTR functional and genetic testing may be designated CFTR - related metabolic syndrome or CF screen positive, inconclusive diagnosis; these terms are now merged and equivalent, and CFTR - related metabolic syndrome/CF screen positive, inconclusive diagnosis may be used. International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision codes for use in diagnoses associated with CFTR mutations are included.

Diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis: Consensus Guidelines from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

Miniaturization has been the driving force of scientific and technological advances over recent decades. Recently, flexibility has gained significant interest, particularly in miniaturization approaches for biomedical devices, wearable sensing technologies, and drug delivery. Flexible microfluidics is an emerging area that impacts upon a range of research areas including chemistry, electronics, biology, and medicine. Various materials with flexibility and stretchability have been used in flexible microfluidics. Flexible microchannels allow for strong fluid-structure interactions. Thus, they behave in a different way from rigid microchannels with fluid passing through them. This unique behaviour introduces new characteristics that can be deployed in microfluidic applications and functions such as valving, pumping, mixing, and separation. To date, a specialised review of flexible microfluidics that considers both the fundamentals and applications is missing in the literature. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary including: (i) Materials used for fabrication of flexible microfluidics, (ii) basics and roles of flexibility on microfluidic functions, (iii) applications of flexible microfluidics in wearable electronics and biology, and (iv) future perspectives of flexible microfluidics. The review provides researchers and engineers with an extensive and updated understanding of the principles and applications of flexible microfluidics.

Flexible Microfluidics: Fundamentals, Recent Developments, and Applications.

Electrolyte-gated transistors (EGTs), capable of transducing biological and biochemical inputs into amplified electronic signals and stably operating in aqueous environments, have emerged as fundamental building blocks in bioelectronics. In this Primer, the different EGT architectures are described with the fundamental mechanisms underpinning their functional operation, providing insight into key experiments including necessary data analysis and validation. Several organic and inorganic materials used in the EGT structures and the different fabrication approaches for an optimal experimental design are presented and compared. The functional bio-layers and/or biosystems integrated into or interfaced to EGTs, including self-organization and self-assembly strategies, are reviewed. Relevant and promising applications are discussed, including two-dimensional and three-dimensional cell monitoring, ultra-sensitive biosensors, electrophysiology, synaptic and neuromorphic bio-interfaces, prosthetics and robotics. Advantages, limitations and possible optimizations are also surveyed. Finally, current issues and future directions for further developments and applications are discussed. Electrolyte-gated transistors (EGTs) are fundamental building blocks of bioelectronics, which transduce biological inputs to electrical signals. This Primer examines the different architectures of EGTs, their mechanism of operation and practical considerations related to their wide range of applications.

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Electrolyte-gated transistors for enhanced performance bioelectronics

Sweat is a promising, yet relatively unexplored biofluid containing biochemical information that offers broad insights into the underlying dynamic metabolic activity of the human body. The rich composition of electrolytes, metabolites, hormones, proteins, nucleic acids, micronutrients, and exogenous agents found in sweat dynamically vary in response to the state of health, stress, and diet. Emerging classes of skin-interfaced wearable sensors offer powerful capabilities for the real-time, continuous analysis of sweat produced by the eccrine glands in a manner suitable for use in athletics, consumer wellness, military, and healthcare industries. This perspective examines the rapid and continuous progress of wearable sweat sensors through the most advanced embodiments that address the fundamental challenges currently restricting widespread deployment. It concludes with a discussion of efforts to expand the overall utility of wearable sweat sensors and opportunities for commercialization, in which advances in biochemical sensor technologies will be critically important.

Recent progress, challenges, and opportunities for wearable biochemical sensors for sweat analysis.

Implantable neural microsensors have significantly advanced neuroscience research, but the geometry of most probes is limited by the fabrication methods Therefore, new methods are needed for batch-manufacturing with high reproducibility Herein, a novel method is developed using two-photon nanolithography followed by pyrolysis for fabrication of free-standing microelectrodes with a carbon electroactive surface 3D-printed spherical and conical electrodes were characterized with slow scan cyclic voltammetry (CV) With fast-scan CV, the electrodes showed low dopamine LODs of 11±1 nm (sphere) and 10±2 nm (cone), high sensitivity to multiple neurochemicals, and high reproducibility Spherical microelectrodes were used to detect dopamine in a brain slice and in vivo, demonstrating they are robust enough for tissue implantation This work is the first demonstration of 3D-printing of free-standing carbon electrodes; and the method is promising for batch fabrication of customized, implantable neural sensors

3D-Printed Carbon Electrodes for Neurotransmitter Detection.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that modulates arousal and motivation in humans and animals. It plays a central role in the brain “reward” system. Its dysregulation is involved in several debilitating disorders such as addiction, depression, Parkinson’s disease, and schizophrenia. Dopamine neurotransmission and its reuptake in extracellular space takes place with millisecond temporal and nanometer spatial resolution. Novel nanoscale electrodes are needed with superior sensitivity and improved spatial resolution to gain an improved understanding of dopamine dysregulation. We report on a scalable fabrication of dopamine neurochemical probes of a nanostructured glassy carbon that is smaller than any existing dopamine sensor and arrays of more than 6000 nanorod probes. We also report on the electrochemical dopamine sensing of the glassy carbon nanorod electrode. Compared with a carbon fiber, the nanostructured glassy carbon nanorods provide about 2× higher sensitivity per unit area for dopamine sensing and mor...

Scalable Nanostructured Carbon Electrode Arrays for Enhanced Dopamine Detection

Surface PEDOT:Nafion Coatings for Enhanced Dopamine, Serotonin and Adenosine Sensing

Real‐Time Multi‐Ion Detection in the Sweat Concentration Range Enabled by Flexible, Printed, and Microfluidics‐Integrated Organic Transistor Arrays

Printed Iontophoretic-Integrated Wearable Microfluidic Sweat-Sensing Patch for On-Demand Point-Of-Care Sweat Analysis

https://zenodo.org/record/6783489/files/accepted%20manuscript.pdf

Silvia Demuru

Papers

Scalable Nanostructured Carbon Electrode Arrays for Enhanced Dopamine Detection

Surface PEDOT:Nafion Coatings for Enhanced Dopamine, Serotonin and Adenosine Sensing

Real‐Time Multi‐Ion Detection in the Sweat Concentration Range Enabled by Flexible, Printed, and Microfluidics‐Integrated Organic Transistor Arrays

Printed Iontophoretic-Integrated Wearable Microfluidic Sweat-Sensing Patch for On-Demand Point-Of-Care Sweat Analysis

All-Inkjet-Printed Graphene-Gated Organic Electrochemical Transistors on Polymeric Foil as Highly Sensitive Enzymatic Biosensors