I recently presented an update at the HCIC User meeting on 11/10/23 detailing our efforts in exploring the use of optical tweezers to perform microrheology in type I/type III collagen hydrogels. These hydrogels are of interest for in vitro models…

Introduction The glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is an intermediate protein released by astrocytes and has value as a  serum-based biomarker of neurological abnormalities including traumatic brain injury1. Inspired by the CAD-LB method for digital assessment of biomarkers on small…

Introduction: Building upon previous research conducted by the Gaborski and McGrath labs, this poster introduces a novel approach to isolate extracellular vesicles (EVs) based on size. The earlier work involved the development of a tangential flow membrane capture system to…

Introduction: This post presents a comprehensive protocol detailing an in vitro seeding and culturing method tailored for diverse cellular monolayer and tissue interfaces. These interfaces necessitate varying culturing conditions and extended timeframes, facilitated through modular device utilization. The methodology focuses…

Introduction Astrocytes, which are the most abundant glial cells and key components of the BBB, are known to play crucial roles in initiating and responding to neuroinflammation.1 Astrocytes’ activation after injuries suggests that they could potentially serve as a marker…

First, a quick publication update. Recently we’ve published a paper on our efforts towards computationally analyzing polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) trafficking on a vascular endothelium via hand-built µSiM flow cell devices. We record videos in phase contrast with a 40x objective…

Introduction Tissue barriers regulate the absorption of nutrients, maintain homeostasis, and prevent toxins from entering. As previously introduced, trans-epithelial/endothelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurements offer a non-destructive and real-time method to quantitatively evaluate the integrity of tissue barriers. During the process,…

For everyone conducting biological studies, this paper highlights how to think about sample size and replicates. It suggests using “SuperPlots”, which color codes data points from different experiments to better visualize the type of variability seen (i.e. random variability, experimental…