Improving morphological and functional properties of enteric neuronal networks in vitro using a novel upside-down culture approach.

The enteric nervous system (ENS) comprises millions of neurons and glia embedded in the wall of the gastrointestinal tract. It not only controls important functions of the gut but also interacts with the immune system, gut microbiota, and the gut-brain axis, thereby playing a key role in the health and disease of the whole organism. Any disturbance of this intricate system is mirrored in an alteration of electrical functionality, making electrophysiological methods important tools for investigating ENS-related disorders.

Nanoimprint lithography-based replication techniques for fabrication of metal and polymer biomimetic nanostructures for biosensor surface functionalization.

Nanostructuring is a promising and successful approach to tailor functional layers and to improve the characteristics of biosensors such as signal transmission and tighter cell-surface coupling. One of the major objectives in biosensing and tissue engineering is the development of interfaces that mimic the natural environment of biosystems composed of extracellular matrix biomolecules. Nevertheless, effective techniques to reconstruct the random distribution of these biomolecules are still not well established.