Biologics are antibodies produced by genetically engineered cells and are widely used in therapeutic applications. Examples include pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and atezolizumab (Tecentriq), both employed in cancer immunotherapy as checkpoint inhibitors to restore T-cell immune responses against tumor cells [1]–[2]. These biologics are produced by engineered cells in bioreactors, followed by extraction, filtration, purification, and separation, before being packaged into drug vials and shipped to hospitals for patient treatment. The production of monoclonal antibodies by cells is highly...
Current clinical practice for detecting low-concentration molecular biomarkers requires sending samples to centralized labs, leading to high costs and delays (Fig. 20.3.1). Recent developments in molecular diagnostics thus aim to enable point-of-care (POC) detection directly at or near the patient's location [1]–[2]. The most successful POC technology to date is the paper-based lateral-flow assay (LFA) [3]–[4]. Examples include pregnancy tests that sense progesterone and SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests. However, paper-based assays generally provide binary results or limited quantitative...
Sarika received her B.S. from UC Berkeley in 2020 and her M.S. from UC Berkeley in 2021. She is currently a PhD candidate advised by Prof. Jun-Chau Chien, Prof. Ali Niknejad, and Prof. Vladimir Stojanović. Her research involves using silicon microring resonators as ultrasound sensors in a monolithic electronics-photonics process.
BSAC is pleased to announce the recipients of the Outstanding Paper and Presentation Awards from the Fall 2025 Research Review, held on September 24.
The Industrial Advisory Board was highly impressed by the depth and quality of research presented this year. Among a field of exceptional work, the award recipients distinguished themselves through innovation, technical rigor, and clear communication.
We extend our sincere appreciation to all BSAC Researchers for sharing their groundbreaking projects - each contribution advances discovery and strengthens...
Cell deformability is a label-free biomarker with great potential for studying various cellular processes and disease states. This mechanical property provides insights into changes in the cytoskeleton, nuclear structure, and overall cell state, demonstrating significant clinical potential in cancer research, immune responses, and stem cell sorting.
The current state-of-the-art method for detecting cell deformability combines inertial microfluidics for precise cell positioning with an ultra-high-speed camera to capture the degree of cell deformation under strong fluidic pressure...
Integrating microelectronics with microfluidics, especially those implemented in silicon-based CMOS technology, has driven the next generation of in vitro diagnostics. This CMOS/microfluidics platform offers close interfaces between electronics and biological samples and tight integration of readout circuits with multi-channel microfluidics, both of which are crucial factors in achieving enhanced sensitivity and detection throughput. Importantly, conventionally bulky benchtop instruments are now being transformed into millimeter-sized form factors at low cost, making the deployment for...
Current quantum processor units (QPUs) have achieved over 1,000 qubits (e.g., IBM's Condor processor). However, scaling quantum platforms toward 1 million qubits demands breakthroughs in quantum hardware, connectivity, error correction, and system architecture. To address the scalability of quantum interconnects, Cryo-CMOS control and readout circuits have demonstrated efficacy in reducing wiring complexity, latency, and thermal loads. However, the CMOS circuits limit the active heat load to 1–2 mW/qubit, imposing a limit of approximately 1,000 qubits in state-of-the-art dilution...
