Introduction Breakdown of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is one of the earliest signs of sepsis and is linked with long-term cognitive impairment. We are developing a coculture model of the human blood-brain barrier (µSiM-hBBB) to elucidate mechanisms of BBB breakdown…
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AFM studies on HUVECs in Aline Devices
Introduction Previous work was done on determining physical properties of the glycocalyx of endothelial cells, this was performed on glass inserts using the Asylum AFM. We wanted to continue this testing using the Aline uSim devices in order to…
Theoretical Underpinnings of Small Molecule Permeability Measurements in the µSiM (Part 1: Approach)
NOTE: Some of the ideas in this post are borrowed and rephrased from prior posts by Molly and Alec and our paper Khire et al. 2020. The purpose of this thread is to explain things anew with an eye on…
hToC Modular Approach
Background: The human Tendon-on-Chip (hToC) spans collaboration between the Center for Musculoskeletal Research (CMSR) at the UR and the McGrath lab to develop an in vitro platform to study inflammation, fibrosis, and cell-cycle regulation in fibrovascular tendon healing. Interaction between…
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ALine mod-µSiM: Version2
Modular µSiM Version 2 (V2) Holds ~30 µl of media in the bottom channel. Designed for cocultures, ELISAs, and other assays that are easier with greater channel media volumes. For more surface area and volume information on mod-µSiM V2, see…
Pore Analysis for Wafer 1383 (Low Porosity Dual Scale)
From SiMPore’s Basecamp thread … These are the nanopore characteristics. So between 14% and 20% porosity across the wafer and between 43 nm and 50 nm average pore size. So a little under-sized. I hope T-Cells and Monocytes can get…
S1P Receptor mRNA Quantification in HUVECs and HPMECs (EC Heterogeneity)
Introduction Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive sphingolipid with known paradoxical effects on endothelial cell (EC) barrier regulation. S1P binds 5 GPCRs: S1PR1 (Endothelial differentiation gene (EDG)-1), S1PR2 (EDG-5), S1PR3 (EDG-3), S1PR4 (EDG-6), and S1PR5 (EDG-8). Despite the aliases, endothelial cells…
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Collagen IV is deposited below human umbilical vein endothelial cells
Introduction My previous post focused on attempts to reproducibly generate collagen IV with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) so that we would be able to establish protocols for basement membrane protein detection and degradation measurement. Following my presentation on…
Plasma Problems
Introduction This post will detail the work completed in the last chapter of my Thesis. The overarching goal of this chapter was to perform dialysis on whole blood utilizing a serial-separation system. This system would first: generate plasma from whole…
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Unqualified Engineering: Modifying ALine Devices For Vaccinia Virus Capture
Since the arrival of ALine devices on the diagnostic scene during the SARS-CoV-2 sensor project, much of my effort has been focused on getting them to work properly with biological targets. With plenty of data showing successful operation of these…
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