Graphene SU-8 Platform for Enhanced Cardiomyocyte Maturation and Intercellular Communication in Cardiac Drug Screening.

Cell culture substrates designed for myocardial applications are pivotal in promoting the maturation and functional integration of cardiomyocytes. However, traditional in vitro models often inadequately mimic the diverse biochemical signals and electrophysiological properties of mature cardiomyocytes. Herein, we propose the application of monolayer graphene, transferred onto SU-8 cantilevers integrated with a microelectrode array, to evaluate its influence on the structural, functional, and electro-mechano-physiological properties of cardiomyocytes.

Implantable Self-Reporting Stents for Detecting In-Stent Restenosis and Cardiac Functional Dynamics.

Despite the increasing number of stents implanted each year worldwide, patients remain at high risk for developing in-stent restenosis. Various self-reporting stents have been developed to address this challenge, but their practical utility has been limited by low sensitivity and limited data collection. Herein, we propose a next-generation self-reporting stent that can monitor blood pressure and blood flow inside the blood arteries.

Correction: Quantitative assessment of cardiomyocyte mechanobiology through high-throughput cantilever-based functional well plate systems.

Correction for 'Quantitative assessment of cardiomyocyte mechanobiology through high-throughput cantilever-based functional well plate systems' by Jongyun Kim , , 2023, , 5133-5143, https://doi.org/10.1039/D3AN01286G.

Correction: Enhanced cardiomyocyte structural and functional anisotropy through synergetic combination of topographical, conductive, and mechanical stimulation.

Correction for 'Enhanced cardiomyocyte structural and functional anisotropy through synergetic combination of topographical, conductive, and mechanical stimulation' by Jongyun Kim , , 2023, , 4540-4551, https://doi.org/10.1039/D3LC00451A.

Enhancing cardiomyocytes contraction force measuring in drug testing: Integration of a highly sensitive single-crystal silicon strain sensor into SU-8 cantilevers.

The development of efficient tools for predicting drug-induced cardiotoxicity in the preclinical phase would greatly benefit the drug development process. This study presents an SU-8 cantilever integrated with a single-crystal silicon strain sensor to enhance force sensitivity in toxicity screening methods based on changes in the contraction force of cardiomyocytes. The proposed cantilever device enables real-time measurements of cardiomyocytes contraction force with high sensitivity, thereby facilitating the assessment of drug cardiotoxicity.

Enhanced cardiomyocyte structural and functional anisotropy through synergetic combination of topographical, conductive, and mechanical stimulation.

Drug-induced cardiotoxicity, a significant concern in the pharmaceutical industry, often results in the withdrawal of drugs from the market. The main cause of drug-induced cardiotoxicity is the use of immature cardiomyocytes during drug screening procedures. Over time, several methods such as topographical, conductive, and mechanical stimulation have been proposed to enhance both maturation and contractile properties of these cardiomyocytes.

Quantitative assessment of cardiomyocyte mechanobiology through high-throughput cantilever-based functional well plate systems.

Proper regulation of the cell culture environment is essential for disease modelling and drug toxicity screening. The main limitation of well plates used for cell culture is that they cannot accurately maintain energy sources and compounds needed during cell growth. Herein, to understand the importance of perfusion in cardiomyocyte culture, changes in contractile force and heart rate during cardiomyocyte growth are systematically investigated, and the results are compared with those of a perfusion-free system.

Crack-Based Sensor by Using the UV Curable Polyurethane-Acrylate Coated Film with V-Groove Arrays.

Over the years, several bare metal and crack-based strain sensors have been proposed for various fields of science and technology. However, due to their low gauge factor, metal-based strain sensors have limited practical applications. The crack-based strain sensor, on the other hand, demonstrated excellent sensitivity and a high gauge factor.

Stress induced self-rollable smart-stent-based U-health platform for in-stent restenosis monitoring.

To date, several smart stents have been proposed to continuously detect biological cues, which is essential for tracking patients' critical vital signs and therapy. However, the proposed smart stent fabrication techniques rely on conventional laser micro-cutting or 3D printing technologies. The sensors are then integrated into the stent structure using an adhesive, conductive epoxy, or laser micro-welding process.

MEA-integrated cantilever platform for comparison of real-time change in electrophysiology and contractility of cardiomyocytes to drugs.

Drug-induced cardiotoxicity is a potentially severe side effect that can alter the contractility and electrophysiology of the cardiomyocytes. Cardiotoxicity is generally assessed through animal models using conventional drug screening platforms. Despite significant developments in drug screening platforms, the difficulty in measuring electrophysiology and contractile profile together affects the investigation of cardiotoxicity in potential drugs.

The effect of topographical and mechanical stimulation on the structural and functional anisotropy of cardiomyocytes grown on a circular PDMS diaphragm.

Due to their immature morphology and functional immaturity, cardiomyocytes have limited use as an in vitro disease model of the native heart. Mechanical stimulation induces structural growth in cardiomyocytes in vitro by addressing the electrical-mechanical interactions between the tissues. However, current in vitro models are restricted in their capacity to replicate the milieu observed in natural myocardium.

Multi-layered polymer cantilever integrated with full-bridge strain sensor to enhance force sensitivity in cardiac contractility measurement.

In this study, we developed a multi-layered functional cantilever for real-time force measurement of cardiomyocytes in cell culture media. The functional cantilever with a full-bridge circuit configuration was composed of one polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and two polyimide (PI) layers, forming two resistive sensors on each upper side of the two PI layers. The PI layers were chemically bonded using an oxygen plasma treatment, with a thin composite layer consisting of Cr/SiO/PDMS.

Enhancement of cardiac contractility using gold-coated SU-8 cantilevers and their application to drug-induced cardiac toxicity tests.

Herein, we propose an array of gold (Au)-coated SU-8 cantilevers with microgrooves for improved maturation of cardiomyocytes and describe its applications to drug-induced cardiac toxicity tests. Firstly, we evaluated the effect of cell culture substrates such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polyimide (PI), and SU-8 on the cardiomyocyte's maturation. Among these, the SU-8 with microgroove structures exhibits improved cardiomyocyte maturation.

64 PI/PDMS hybrid cantilever arrays with an integrated strain sensor for a high-throughput drug toxicity screening application.

Herein, we propose a novel biosensing platform involving an array of 64 hybrid cantilevers and integrated strain sensors to measure the real-time contractility of the drug-treated cardiomyocytes (CMs). The strain sensor is integrated on the polyimide (PI) cantilever. To improve the strain sensor reliability and construct the engineered cardiac tissue, the nanogroove-patterned polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) encapsulation layer is bonded on the PI cantilever.

On-stage bioreactor platform integrated with nano-patterned and gold-coated PDMS diaphragm for live cell stimulation and imaging.

Over the years, several in-vitro biosensing platforms have been developed for enhancing the maturation of the cultured cells. However, most of the proposed platforms met with limited success due to its inability for live-cell imaging, complicated fabrication, and not being advantageous from an economic perspective due to a higher price. To overcome the drawbacks of the current state-of-the-art, herein, we developed a next-generation stage-top incubator (STI) incorporated with nano grooves patterned PDMS diaphragm (NGPPD).

Highly durable crack sensor integrated with silicone rubber cantilever for measuring cardiac contractility.

To date, numerous biosensing platforms have been developed for assessing drug-induced cardiac toxicity by measuring the change in contractile force of cardiomyocytes. However, these low sensitivity, low-throughput, and time-consuming processes are severely limited in their real-time applications. Here, we propose a cantilever device integrated with a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-encapsulated crack sensor to measure cardiac contractility.

Micro-patterned SU-8 cantilever integrated with metal electrode for enhanced electromechanical stimulation of cardiac cells.

Over the past few years, cardiac tissue engineering has undergone tremendous progress. Various in vitro methods have been developed to improve the accuracy in the result of drug-induced cardiac toxicity screening. Herein, we propose a novel SU-8 cantilever integrated with an electromechanical-stimulator to enhance the maturation of cultured cardiac cells.

Development of a Next-Generation Biosensing Platform for Simultaneous Detection of Mechano- and Electrophysiology of the Drug-Induced Cardiomyocytes.

Detection of adverse effects of cardiac toxicity at an early stage by in vitro methods is crucial for the preclinical drug screening. Over the years, several kinds of biosensing platforms have been proposed by the scientific society for the detection of cardiac toxicity. However, the proposed tissue platforms have been optimized to measure either mechanophysiology or electrophysiology of the cardiomyocytes but not both.

Contractile behaviors of cardiac muscle cells on mushroom-shaped micropillar arrays.

In this work we propose mushroom-shaped PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) μpillar arrays for enhancing the contractile force of cardiomyocytes during cell culturing. Conventional micropillar (μpillar) arrays with flat surfaces were employed as a standard sample to quantitatively recognize experimental data and to conclusively demonstrate the improved performance of mushroom-shaped PDMS μpillar arrays. Cardiomyocytes isolated from experimental animals were cultured on both of the fabricated μpillar arrays and then monitored over a growing period.

Realizing Synergy between InO Nanocubes and Nitrogen-Doped Reduced Graphene Oxide: An Excellent Nanocomposite for the Selective and Sensitive Detection of CO at Ambient Temperatures.

Hierarchical mesoporous InO nanocubes and nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide-indium oxide nanocube (In) composites were prepared for carbon monoxide (CO) sensing. The as-synthesized materials were systematically investigated by different characterization techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetic analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, micro-Raman, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and photoluminesce analysis. The obtained results are consistent with each other.

Hierarchical mesoporous In2O3 with enhanced CO sensing and photocatalytic performance: distinct morphologies of In(OH)3 via self assembly coupled in situ solid-solid transformation.

The present investigation details our interesting findings and insights into the evolution of exotic hierarchical superstructures of In(OH)3 under solvothermal conditions. Controlled variation of reaction parameters such as, reactant concentration, solvent system, crystal structure modifiers, water content along with temperature and time, yielded remarkable architectures. Diverse morphologies achieved for the first time includes (i) raspberry-like hollow spheres, (ii) nanosheet-assembled spheres, (iii) nanoparticle-assembled spheres, (iv) nanocube-assembled hollow spheres, (v) yolk-like spheres, (vi) solid spheres, (vii) nanosheets/flakes, and (viii) ultrafine nanosheets.