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Scientific Highlights

This section includes a list of the highlighted IMB-CNM scientific papers published in journals included in the Science Citation Index (SCI), per year of publication.

Year
molecular_metabolism_web2
CPT1C in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus is necessary for brown fat thermogenesis activation in obesity
R. Rodríguez-Rodríguez et al.

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1C (CPT1C) is implicated in central regulation of energy homeostasis. Our aim was to investigate whether CPT1C in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) is involved in the activation of brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis in the early stages of diet-induced obesity.
Molecular Metabolism.

nature_materials_masvidal
High-resolution mapping of infraslow cortical brain activity enabled by graphene microtransistors
Eduard Masvidal-Codina et al.

The paper shows that arrays of graphene microtransistors are used to record infraslow cortical brain activity. The devices may be useful for monitoring of brain physiology.
Nature Materials volume 18, pages 280–288 (2019).

biosensing_platform
The 3D impedimetric sensors as a tool for monitoring bacterial response to antibiotics
S. Brosel-Oliu et al.

The developed microbial sensor based on interdigitated electrode array (3D-IDEA) impedimetric transducer was employed in a biosensing platform especially designed to monitor the bacterial response to the antibiotic ampicillin. To facilitate immobilization of bacteria within the trenches and prevent their deposition on top of the barriers an important novelty is the use of polyIJN-isopropylmethacrylamide) p(NIPMAM) microgels working as antifouling agents, deposited on top of the barriers by microcontact printing.
Lab. Chip, 2019, vol.19. pp. 1436 – 1447.

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Mimicking the Spike-Timing dependent plasticity in HfO2-based memristors at multiple times scales
M. Maestro-Izquierdo et al.

TiN/Ti/HfO2/W memristors have been investigated to mimic the spike-time dependent plasticity (STDP) of biological synapses at multiple time scales. For this purpose, a smart software tool has been implemented to control the instrumentation and to perform a dedicated ultra-fast pulsed characterization. Different time scales, from tens of milliseconds to hundreds of nanoseconds, have been explored to emulate the STDP learning rule in electronic synapses. The impact of such times on the synaptic weight potentiation and depression characteristics has also been discussed.
Microelectronic Engineering 215 (2019) 111014.

microfluidic
Microfluidic Modules with Integrated Solid-State Sensors for Reconfigurable Miniaturized Analysis Systems
Pablo Giménez-Gómez et al.

Modular microfluidic systems based on a new magnetic clamping approach, which enables both interconnection of microfluidic modules and reversible integration of solid-state sensors, is presented in this work. The system layout allows the easy assessment of the system fluidic performance by using optically transparent and low cost polymeric materials.
ACS Omega, 2019, 4 (4), pp 6192–6198.

0_graphical
Electric Field Gradients and Bipolar Electrochemistry effects on Neural Growth: A finite element study on immersed electroactive conducting electrode materials
Ll. Abad et al.

Implantable electrodes act with direct electrical contact although recent work has shown that electrostimulation is also possible through non-contact wireless settings, through the generation of dipoles at the borders of the material by bipolar electrochemistry. Finite element studies shown here with the same configuration that the experimental processes described, evidence voltage profiles in qualitative agreement with known bipolar effects, although with a clear difference between intercalation materials and metals. These observations may explain the differences in neural cell growth observed for various substrate material.
Electrochimica Acta

abad_physrevapp
Growth Monitoring With Submonolayer Sensitivity Via Real-Time Thermal-Conductance Measurements
P. Ferrando-Villalba et al

Growth monitoring during the early stages of vapor deposition is of prime importance to understand the growth process, the microstructure, and thus the overall layer properties. We demonstrate that phonons can be used as an extremely sensitive probe to monitor the real-time evolution of film microstructure during growth. For that purpose, a silicon nitride membrane-based sensor is fabricated to measure the in-plane thermal conductivity of thin film samples. Operating with the 3ω-Völklein method at low frequencies, the sensor shows an exceptional resolution down to Δ(κ⋅t)=0.065W/mKnm, enabling accurate measurements even in poor conductive samples.
Phys. Rev. Applied 12, 014007

figura_rser
Power module electronics in HEV/EV applications: New trends in wide ban-dgap semiconductor technologies and design aspects
A. Matallana et al.

This paper presents an in-deep review of the state of the art concerning power modules, identifying the electrical requirements for the modules and the power conversion topologies that will best suit future HEV/EV drives. Current wide band-gap (WBG) technologies such as SiC and GaN, are reviewed and, after a market analysis, the most suitable power semiconductor devices are highlighted. Among them, it can be concluded that JBS diodes and MOSFETs are the most adequate for this application, because they can substitute traditional Si FRD diodes and Si IGBTs, providing lower power losses and higher operation temperatures. The migration from Si IGBTs to the aforementioned technologies would be simpler than expected, as the same firing circuitry (with minor modifications) can be reused. The paper, also focuses on practical design aspects of the module, such as optimum WBG die parallelization, placement and ceramic substrate routing. This work has been developed in a collaboration between the Teknologia Elektronikoa Saila - Bilboko Ingenieritza Goi Eskola Teknikoa - UPV/EHU and the Power Devices and Systems Group from IMB-CNM(CSIC).
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 113, October 2019

aca_2019_cover
Impedimetric transducers based on interdigitated electrode arrays for bacterial detection
S.Brosel-Oliu et al

This review is focused on publications dealing with interdigitated electrodes as a transducer unit and different bacteria detection systems using these devices. The first part of the review deals with the impedance technique principles, paying special attention to the use of interdigitated electrodes, while the main part of this work is focused on applications ranging from bacterial growth monitoring to label-free specific bacteria detection.
A review, Anal.Chim.Acta, 2019, vol.1088, pp. 1-19

meloc
A self-calibrating and multiplexed electrochemical lab-on-a-chip for cell culture analysis and high-resolution imaging
Pablo Giménez-Gómez et al.

This paper presents a new tool that allows a self-calibrating and multiplexed electrochemical lab-on-a-chip (ME-LoC) for cell culture analysis and high-resolution imaging. The ME-LoC contains a complex network of micro-channels and micro-chambers that allow compartmentalization of the reference electrode; cell seeding and proliferation without biofouling; electrode reactivation and recalibration; and multiple analyte detection, namely glucose and hydrogen peroxide concentrations, conductivity and ORP, as a way to monitor cell metabolism. Electrochemical analysis is completed with high-resolution imaging after labelling with fluorescent dyes. For its simplicity, integration, automation, compartmentalisation and microfluidic control, thist technology is a promising alternative for in vitro testing and organ-on-a-chip development in the near future.
Lab Chip, 2020, Advance Article