Low cost, portable, 3D printable tissue precision slicer.

Slicing tissue samples into thin pieces is commonly used in histology analysis and more recently for organotypic culture when tissue samples are sliced alive. Currently available devices for slicing tissue samples are either designed for fixed tissue samples at low cryogenic temperatures (, Cryostats), or bulky and expensive (, vibratome), preventing them from routine lab usage. Here we report a cost-effective device designed to section live tissues for subsequent culture.

Patterning ganglionic eminences in developing human brain organoids using a morphogen-gradient-inducing device.

In early neurodevelopment, the central nervous system is established through the coordination of various neural organizers directing tissue patterning and cell differentiation. Better recapitulation of morphogen gradient production and signaling will be crucial for establishing improved developmental models of the brain in vitro. Here, we developed a method by assembling polydimethylsiloxane devices capable of generating a sustained chemical gradient to produce patterned brain organoids, which we termed morphogen-gradient-induced brain organoids (MIBOs).