Aquamarijn (Netherlands)

Circulating tumor cells (CTC) refer to cells that detach from a primary tumor or metastatic site, circulate in the peripheral blood and may form metastasis. CTC represent a 'liquid biopsy' that can be used to tailor treatment for individual patients. CTC are however rare and can only be obtained for further characterization in a small fraction of patients.

ABSTRACTIn this study, we present a new light absorption enhancement method for p‐i‐n thin film silicon solar cells using pyramidal surface structures, larger than the wavelength of visible light. Calculations show a maximum possible current enhancement of 45% compared with cells on a flat substrate. We deposited amorphous silicon (a‐Si) thin film solar cells directly onto periodically pyramidal‐structured polycarbonate (PC) substrates, which show a significant increase (30%) in short‐circuit current over reference cells deposited on flat glass substrates. The current of the cells on our pyramidal structures on PC is only slightly lower than that of cells on Asahi U‐type TCO glass (Asahi Glass Co., Tokyo, Japan), but suffer from a somewhat lower open circuit voltage and fill factor. Because the used substrates have a locally flat surface area due to the fabrication process, we believe that the current enhancement in the cells on structured PC can be increased using larger or more closely spaced pyramids, which can have a smaller flat surface area. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A thin but strong and defect free palladium-silver (Pd-Ag) alloy membrane is fabricated with a sequence of well-known thin film and micromachining techniques. A microfabrication process also creates a robust wafer-scale membrane module, which is easy to be integrated into a membrane holder to have gastight connections to the outer world. The microfabricated membranes have been tested to determine the mechanical strength, hydrogen permeability and hydrogen selectivity. The membranes have high mechanical strength and can withstand pressures up to 3 bars at room temperature. High flow rates of up to 3.6 mol H/sub 2//m/sup 2/.s have been measured with a minimal selectivity of 1500 for H/sub 2//He. The membranes survived operation at 450/spl deg/C, which is a temperature relevant for practical application in industry, for more than 1000 hours

Abstract A new composite filtration membrane having a thin filtration or sieving layer has been developed. This filtration membrane with a high pore density and a narrow pore size distribution on a macro porous support shows good separation behaviour and a high flow rate. Because of the construction method, the openings are no longer restricted to circular shapes, but can be chosen freely. In this case a microsieve with slits will be presented. The main advantage of a slit over a circular opening is the higher flow rate. In this paper a process description for manufacturing is presented and the flow rate behaviour of the membrane with slits will be compared with a membrane with circular perforations. Also results of experiments of leukocyte removal from erythrocyte concentrates with a silicon microsieve will be discussed.