Introduction Briefly, we are looking at the potential effects polarized delivery of TNF-α might have on various aspects of the microvascular endothelium and the neutrophil based innate immune response. The rationale behind this study is past sepsis (a life-threatening organ…
Category: NRG
Parylene Treatment Effect on Membrane Burst Pressure and Permeance
Introduction & Background Parylene is a polymer stemming from the chemical-vapor-deposited poly(p-xylylene) group. This polymer treatment is applied as a gas which allows complete and uniform coatings of substrates with even nanoscale features. Parylene treatment is widely used as it…
Tangential and Flow-through Capture of Protein G on NPN
We have long maintained that we can capture more analyte from a sample using a flow-through configuration compared to a tangential configuration. We can confirm this view quantitatively by measuring the amount of material captured on the membrane with equal source…
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Filtering Plasma From Whole Blood With Negligible Hemolysis Using Nano Membrane Technology
Background Hemolysis is the leading cause of unusable laboratory blood samples; accounting for approximately 55% of all unusable samples [1]. Hemolysis can affect lab results by interfering with light absorption of spectroscopic tests, or by releasing analytes into the plasma…
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Updates on Dual-Scale Membranes (µNPN): Collagen Gel Backing and Shear Validation
Introduction In response to recent requests by our reviewers, I am looking to address two main concerns: 1) How does a collagen gel backing affect leukocyte transmigration, and 2) How does shear influence leukocyte transmigration. While we believe these areas…
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RNA extraction from captured exosomes
As a proof of principal experiment, we wanted to test if Kilean and I could extract RNA from exosomes following their capture on 1298 membranes. As noted in Figure 1, we first used ultrafiltration to capture exosomes on the nanoporous…
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Non-Fouling Micro-Patterned Surface for the Study of Pore Contribution in Cell-Substrate Interactions
Optimization of the PLL-g-PEG coating on SiO2 substrate: The first goal was developing an efficient method for PLL-g-PEG coating which provides a high density of PLL-g-PEG grafting on SiO2 substrate and effectively prevent cell adhesion. To achieve this goal, different…
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Experimental Validation of COMSOL Results
Okay, so after navigating this weird new method for posting, I have a semi interesting post today. I have been working on the experimental validation of my COMSOL predicted capture results and have finally completed the first round of those…
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Neutrophil Migration and Endothelial Permeability – Closing remarks
So as most of you know by now, I have been working on developing microfluidic systems to study the leukocyte-endothelial interactions in vitro. I have developed systems that can facilitate the basic biological assays involving neutrophil migration and live-imaging. In…
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First Attempts at Quantum Dot Capture in Nanopores
A collaborator of mine is interested in arranging quantum dots on a surface to demonstrate something called super irradiance. All of the sub-resolution particles could emit as one object (think laser) if the conditions are just so. Ideally, a bunch…
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