Optofluidic control of rodent learning using cloaked caged glutamate.

Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, and photochemical release of glutamate (or uncaging) is a chemical technique widely used by biologists to interrogate its physiology. A basic prerequisite of these optical probes is bio-inertness before photolysis. However, all caged glutamates are known to have strong antagonism toward receptors of γ-aminobutyric acid, the major inhibitory transmitter.

Novel Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-g-vinyl alcohol) Polyurethane Scaffold for Tissue Engineering.

The design of new synthetic grafted poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) as composite 3D-scaffolds is a convenient alternative for tissue engineering applications. The chemically modified poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) is receiving increasing attention for use as biomimetic copolymers for cell growth. As of yet, these copolymers cannot be used efficiently because of the lack of good mechanical properties.