Sol-Gel Relative Humidity Sensors: Impact of Electrode Geometry on Performance in Soil Suction Measurements

This paper describes the experimental procedure followed to fabricate and validate sol-gel based RH sensors which will be incorporated in soil specimens for standard laboratorial tests. It is the first time such sensors were used for soil suction measurement. They are microfabricated relative humidity sensors (footprint area 11,000 μm × 22,000 μm) operating based on changes in electrical resistivity detected by a cerium doped silica titania film deposited using a sol-gel technique. Their design required gathering experts in several engineering specialties. The working principle of the sensors is based on water vapour equilibrium between the air in the soil and in the sol-gel pores, due to the contact between the two porous materials. The spacing between interdigitated aluminium electrodes was optimized to improve the sensing properties of the sol-gel. The calibration of the different prototypes was done against compacted clay, varying the spacing between 100 and 700 μm. The sensors were also incorporated in soil samples for suction measurement during wetting and drying paths. They were validated by comparing the readings with those from a water dew point potentiometer. From this study it was possible to determine the optimum electrodes spacing of 200 μm. Error was explained by sol-gel heterogeneity effect and by the resolution of the sensing area provided by the electrodes spacing. When comparing with other sensors operating inside soil specimens in standard laboratorial tests, these sol-gel sensors extend the operation range available with the alternative technologies: while conventional tensiometers measure suction ranges from 0 to 1.8 MPa, our sensors demonstrate good results between 1 to 10 MPa (and higher).

A 96-wells fluidic system for high-throughput screenings under laminar high wall shear stress conditions

The ability of endothelial cells to respond to blood flow is fundamental for the correct formation and maintenance of a functional and hierarchically organized vascular network.Defective flow responses,in particular related to high flow conditions,have been associated with atherosclerosis,stroke,arteriovenous malformations,and neurodegenerative diseases.Yet,the molecular mechanisms involved in high flow response are still poorly understood.Here,we described the development and validation of a 96-wells fluidic system,with interchangeable cell culture and fluidics,to perform high-throughput screenings under laminar high-flow conditions.We demonstrated that endothelial cells in our newly developed 96-wells fluidic system respond to fluid flow-induced shear stress by aligning along the flow direction and increasing the levels of KLF2 and KLF4.We further demonstrate that our 96-wells fluidic system allows for efficient gene knock-down compatible with automated liquid handling for high-throughput screening platforms.Overall,we propose that this modular 96-well fluidic system is an excellent platform to perform genome-wide and/or drug screenings to identify the molecular mechanisms involved in the responses of endothelial cells to high wall shear stress.