Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Sonal Fande, Khairunnisa Amreen, D. Sriram, Sanket Goel
Summary: A microfluidic-based electrochemical device was developed for fast and sensitive detection of Escherichia coli. The device enables incubator-free bacterial culturing in ambient atmosphere and simultaneous monitoring and detection of bacterial growth using electrochemical methods. The device showed high sensitivity and quantification limit, and was successfully used to monitor bacterial growth in real samples.
ANALYTICA CHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Claude Meffan, Julian Menges, Daniel Mak, Fabian Dolamore, Conan Fee, Volker Nock, Renwick C. J. Dobson
Summary: A novel capillary-action microfluidic viscometer has been developed to measure the relative viscosity of a sample compared to a control liquid. The device utilizes capillary action circuits and capillaric Field Effect Transistors to transform the viscosity into a readable bar-graph format without any external instrumentation. The device shows accurate and consistent measurements within 2% of relative viscosity in less than 5 minutes using polyethylene glycol solutions as samples.
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS A-PHYSICAL
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Xinyang Li, Yixin Li, Yiliang Zhou, Jiamin Wu, Zhifeng Zhao, Jiaqi Fan, Fei Deng, Zhaofa Wu, Guihua Xiao, Jing He, Yuanlong Zhang, Guoxun Zhang, Xiaowan Hu, Xingye Chen, Yi Zhang, Hui Qiao, Hao Xie, Yulong Li, Haoqian Wang, Lu Fang, Qionghai Dai
Summary: DeepCAD-RT is a real-time denoising method for fluorescence time-lapse images, which uses self-supervised deep learning for noise suppression. Compared to traditional methods, DeepCAD-RT significantly reduces the number of network parameters, memory consumption, and processing time, and achieves high imaging signal-to-noise ratio with one-tenth of the photons. In various photon-limited experiments, DeepCAD-RT demonstrates its utility in morphological and functional interrogation of biological dynamics.
NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Nafiseh Rafiei, Mohammadamir G. Moghadam, Aaron Au, Romario Regeenes, Subbulakshmi Chidambaram, Tao Liang, Yufeng Wang, Christopher M. Yip, Herbert Gaisano, Jonathan Rocheleau
Summary: This article introduces a versatile microfluidic device for 3D fluorescence imaging of mouse or human pancreas PCTs, positioning them within a chamber with tall channels for media exchange. The device localizes shear stress to small regions on tissue surfaces and allows for controlled media exchange at lower flowrates than conventional chambers. It enables high-resolution imaging of immunofluorescently labeled PCTs on a confocal and with a large field of view on a SPIM without compromising image quality.
Article
Polymer Science
Gulsim Kulsharova, Akbota Kurmangaliyeva, Elvira Darbayeva, Luis Rojas-Solorzano, Galiya Toxeitova
Summary: The study introduces a hybrid COC-PDMS microfluidic chip for successfully culturing Huh7 hepatoma cell line, showing potential for developing liver-on-a-chip platforms.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Reverson Fernandes Quero, Gessica Domingos da Silveira, Jose Alberto Fracassi da Silva, Dosil Pereira de Jesus
Summary: This study systematically investigates how to enhance the potential of FDM 3D printers for fabricating transparent microfluidic devices, achieving good results through adjustments of parameters and printing characteristics.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Agnieszka Krakos (Podwin), Joanna Jarosz, Patrycja Sniadek, Mateusz Psurski, Adrianna Graja, Marcin Bialas, Ewa Oliszewska, Joanna Wietrzyk, Rafal Walczak, Jan Dziuban
Summary: This paper presents a lab-on-chip platform for the long-term cultivation of human cancer cells, which meets the requirements of CubeSat biological missions. Cancer cell lines UM-UC-3 and RT 112 were cultured on the chip for up to 50 days, showing successful results and providing a basis for further testing in terrestrial and space conditions.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Yu-Shih Chen, Tzu-Wei Lo, Hong-Yuan Huang, Lien-Min Li, Yi-Wen Wang, Da-Jeng Yao, Wen-Syang Hsu, Cheng-Hsien Liu
Summary: The combination of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and microfluidic technology offers a promising solution to infertility by enhancing the success rate of IVF and accelerating embryo growth and development. By utilizing a microfluidic embryo lab chip for co-cultivation, researchers observed faster embryo growth rates and higher blastocyst development rates compared to traditional culture methods.
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Mengshuang Wang, Mengni Zhu, Zhenjie Zhao, Xin Li, Jie Zhang
Summary: The wound healing process involves communication between different cellular factors, and the radio frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) has been used to accelerate this process. A novel electromagnetic exposure system integrated with a microfluidic chip was developed to study the cellular response to exposure. The system achieved precise and high-throughput detection of the RF-EMF-induced cytoskeletal reorganization in vitro.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Haitao Tang, Sibo Liu, Zhaohui Fang, Ze Yang, Zhenzhen Cui, Hongyu Lv, Peng Zhang, Dawei Wang, Feng Zhao, Jianbei Qiu, Xue Yu, Xuhui Xu
Summary: This study utilizes Ba2LaF7:Tb3+ nanocrystals to achieve high-resolution X-ray imaging and demonstrates excellent optical storage capability. This method can simplify X-ray imaging systems.
ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhiwei Ye, Wei Yang, Ying Zheng, Shujing Wang, Xiaodong Zhang, Haibo Yu, Shuangshuang Li, Chunxiong Luo, Xiaojun Peng, Yi Xiao
Summary: In this study, a new membrane probe and microfluidic platform were developed to enable synchronous use of super-resolution imaging and single-molecule tracking. This method allows high-throughput observation and analysis of the ultrastructural and dynamic details of living red blood cell membranes, providing new perspectives for future disease diagnostics.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Xingye Liu, Xiaohong Chen, Min Bai, Yangkang Chen
Summary: Seismic image registration is crucial for the joint interpretation of multivintage seismic images in time-lapse reservoir monitoring. The method of high-resolution time-shift analysis spectrum can help with manual and automatic picking, improving registration accuracy.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Husamelden Elkawad, Yangyang Xu, Mei Tian, Chenyang Jin, Hong Zhang, Kaiwu Yu, Qinggang He
Summary: This article discusses the application of microfluidic devices in the production of PET tracers. Compared to traditional methods, microfluidic devices can efficiently produce PET tracers with shorter production time, higher yields, lower reagent consumption, higher molar activity, and faster purification. The article analyzes the current microfluidic synthesis devices, classifying them into continuous-flow, batch-flow, and droplet-based microreactors based on their reaction volume. Finally, the article outlines the future applications of this technology, highlighting the potential for a flexible, miniature, fully automated radiochemical microfluidic platform to provide simpler and cheaper molecular imaging procedures and enable precision medicine.
CHEMISTRY-AN ASIAN JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Romain Fernandez, Cedric Moisy
Summary: The increasing interest in biomedical 3D imaging devices from animal and plant research communities has led to new research topics. Combining outputs from imaging devices such as X-ray CT and MRI scans allows non-destructive observation of tissue anatomy, structure, and function in time-lapse multimodal imaging experiments.
Living samples cannot remain in these devices for long periods, leading to variations in shape, position, and orientation in the acquired images. A preprocessing step of 3D registration is required to address these variations before analysis. Fijiyama, a Fiji plugin built upon biomedical registration algorithms, aims to facilitate automatic alignment of 3D images for non-specialists.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Charlotte Parent, Patricia Laurent, Charles-Elie Goujon, Xavier Mermet, Armelle Keiser, Francois Boizot, Raymond Charles, Lucas Audebert, Yves Fouillet, Myriam Cubizolles
Summary: A microfluidic platform for the integration of multi-step biological assays has been developed. The platform is versatile and can be used for various biological assays, saving development time. It also features a fully automated protocol with good sensitivity and specificity.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Nassim Rousset, Ruben Lopez Sandoval, Mario Matteo Modena, Andreas Hierlemann, Patrick M. Misun
Summary: As 3D in vitro tissue models become more prevalent, analyzing the gradients and heterogeneity of nutrient and metabolite concentrations becomes more challenging. In this study, the researchers used electrochemical biosensors to measure glucose concentrations around tissue models, allowing them to study size-dependent metabolism data.
MICROSYSTEMS & NANOENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Alessio Paolo Buccino, Xinyue Yuan, Vishalini Emmenegger, Xiaohan Xue, Tobias Ganswein, Andreas Hierlemann
Summary: This article proposes a fully automated approach to reconstruct axons from extracellular electrical-potential landscapes. The method first constructs a graph based on the voltage signal amplitudes and latencies, and then interrogates the graph to extract possible axonal branches. After pruning the axonal branches, the velocities of axonal action-potential propagation are computed.
JOURNAL OF NEURAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Violetta Sessi, Bergoi Ibarlucea, Florent Seichepine, Stephanie Klinghammer, Imad Ibrahim, Andre Heinzig, Nadine Szabo, Thomas Mikolajick, Andreas Hierlemann, Urs Frey, Walter M. Weber, Larysa Baraban, Gianaurelio Cuniberti
Summary: This study introduces a hybrid integration technique that combines bottom-up silicon-nanowire Schottky-junction FETs with complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) readout and amplification electronics to establish a stable biosensing platform. It enables selective detection of biomarkers at high dilution levels and shows great potential for various applications.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Paolo S. Ravaynia, Stefan Biendl, Francesco Grassi, Jennifer Keiser, Andreas Hierlemann, Mario M. Modena
Summary: Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease that affects a significant number of people annually. Due to the lack of effective drugs, repurposing compound libraries has become a viable option for accelerating drug development. A study using a high-throughput screening platform identified several potential drug candidates for the treatment of schistosomiasis.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Xiaohan Xue, Alessio Paolo Buccino, Sreedhar Saseendran Kumar, Andreas Hierlemann, Julian Bartram
Summary: This article introduces a novel approach to identify and monitor monosynaptic connections between neurons. The method combines high-resolution imaging and large-scale recording of electrical activity. The proposed approach offers unique advantages in accurately localizing synapses, providing precise information of presynaptic spiking, measuring postsynaptic spine Ca2+ signals, and allowing for long-term measurements.
JOURNAL OF NEURAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Manuel Schroter, Congwei Wang, Marco Terrigno, Philipp Hornauer, Ziqiang Huang, Ravi Jagasia, Andreas Hierlemann
Summary: This study utilizes high-density microelectrode arrays to perform large-scale electrophysiological recordings on human cerebral organoids, providing insights into their functionality and potential functional connectivity, leading to a better understanding of developing neuronal networks in brain organoids.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tal Sharf, Tjitse van der Molen, Stella M. K. Glasauer, Elmer Guzman, Alessio P. Buccino, Gabriel Luna, Zhuowei Cheng, Morgane Audouard, Kamalini G. Ranasinghe, Kiwamu Kudo, Srikantan S. Nagarajan, Kenneth R. Tovar, Linda R. Petzold, Andreas Hierlemann, Paul K. Hansma, Kenneth S. Kosik
Summary: Brain organoids can replicate the cellular organization found in the developing human brain, and by utilizing microelectronics, functional circuits can be assembled to mirror the complexity of brain networks. This study explores the physiology of neuronal circuits within brain organoids and how they can be influenced by external stimuli. The results suggest that brain organoids have the potential to be used in studying neuropsychiatric diseases, drug action, and the effects of external stimuli on neuronal networks.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Nassim Rousset, Christian Lohasz, Julia Alicia Boos, Patrick M. Misun, Fernando Cardes, Andreas Hierlemann
Summary: Microfluidic-drop networks, consisting of stable drops connected through microfluidic channels, provide a versatile configuration for long-term organ model culturing. Mathematical modeling, such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD), is useful for designing and optimizing drop-based microfluidic devices, but lacks computational efficiency. Alternatively, the hydraulic-electric analogy is an efficient method to explore design and operation parameters of microfluidic-drop networks. A circuit-based model of hanging- and standing-drop compartments is presented, along with a phase diagram describing the nonlinearity of the capillary pressure of a hanging drop. The methodology for finding flow rates and pressures within drop networks is also discussed. This paper reviews several applications where the method outlined has been instrumental in optimizing design and operation.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jihyun Lee, Tobias Ganswein, Hasan Ulusan, Vishalini Emmenegger, Ardan M. Saguner, Firat Duru, Andreas Hierlemann
Summary: The study demonstrates the use of porous Pt-black electrodes arranged in high-density microelectrode arrays to record intracellular-like signals of cardiomyocytes at large scale repeatedly over an extended period of time. This technique enables highly parallelized electroporations using stimulation voltages around 1 V peak-to-peak amplitude, with high success rates and without significant alteration in key electrophysiological features. In a proof-of-concept study, the technique accurately captured electrophysiological modulations induced by two clinically applied drugs, nifedipine and quinidine, showing potential for routine use in in vitro platforms for cardiotoxicity screening.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Furkan Gokce, Alicia Kaestli, Christian Lohasz, Martina de Geus, Hans-Michael Kaltenbach, Kasper Renggli, Beat Bornhauser, Andreas Hierlemann, Mario Modena
Summary: Despite improving survival rates in pediatric leukemia patients, the outcome for certain subtypes remains poor. A microphysiological drug-testing platform has been developed to address the limitations of current screening methods, allowing for the co-culture of patient-derived leukemia cells, bone marrow cells, and liver tissues. By testing the activation of the prodrug ifosfamide in this platform, sample-specific sensitivities to ifosfamide in primary leukemia samples can be identified, providing potential for precision chemotherapy selection.
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Mathematical & Computational Biology
Taehoon Kim, Dexiong Chen, Philipp Hornauer, Vishalini Emmenegger, Julian Bartram, Silvia Ronchi, Andreas Hierlemann, Manuel Schroter, Damian Roqueiro
Summary: In this study, modern Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) were applied to analyze a large-scale electrophysiological dataset of rodent neuronal networks. The results demonstrate that the joint representation of node features and functional connectivity, extracted from baseline recordings, is informative for predicting changes in firing rate of individual neurons after a pharmacological perturbation.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROINFORMATICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Wei Wei, Fernando Cardes, Andreas Hierlemann, Mario M. M. Modena
Summary: This study presents a human-cell-based platform for monitoring the tightness of the blood-brain barrier in real time. The results demonstrate that oxygen-glucose deprivation induces cellular actin remodeling and morphological changes in endothelial cells, leading to barrier breakage. The platform recapitulates the main barrier functions and can be used to investigate the reorganization of the blood-brain barrier.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Fernando Cardes, Ebrahim Azizi, Andreas Hierlemann
Summary: CMOS neural interfaces are used to study neuronal electrical activity and have the potential to restore lost functions of the nervous system. This article introduces a novel readout technique for neural interfaces based on a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) that uses digital timestamps for postprocessing the VCO output. The proposed method offers advantages in scalability and efficiency for multi-channel architectures, and a prototype fabricated in 0.18-μm CMOS technology successfully detected extracellular action potentials with low noise.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIOMEDICAL CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Nassim Rousset, Martina de Geus, Vittoria Chimisso, Alicia J. Kaestli, Andreas Hierlemann, Christian Lohasz
Summary: This paper presents an optimized pneumatic-pump system integrated with hanging-drop networks for closed-loop recirculation of particles. Experimental results suggest that the aggregation of submicron-scale cell-culture-medium components is the cause of the pseudo-no-slip boundary condition. By adjusting the height of hanging drops, the flow or stagnation of particles can be controlled, providing a foundation for controlling the residence time of single cells around 3D organ models.
Meeting Abstract
Developmental Biology
Manon Murdeu, Andreas Hierlemann, Julia Boos, Tina Buerki-Thurnherr
