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.

Incorporation of biomass-derived carbon dots and hydrochar into electrospun polylactic acid membranes: A sustainable zero-waste approach to highly efficient methylene blue, malachite green and neutral red dye removal.

Recently, biomass-derived carbon dots (CDs) and hydrochar have gained widespread attention for environmental remediation. However, hydrochar is commonly regarded as carbon waste (CW) generated in the manufacture of CDs, and only a few reports have focused on the simultaneous application of CW and CDs. Herein, we propose a sustainable zero-waste approach for efficient dye removal by incorporating CDs and CW into electrospun membranes.

Cardiotoxicity Assessment through a Polymer-Based Cantilever Platform: An Integrated Electro-Mechanical Screening Approach.

Preclinical drug screening for cardiac toxicity has traditionally relied on observing changes in cardiomyocytes' electrical activity, primarily through invasive patch clamp techniques or non-invasive microelectrode arrays (MEA). However, relying solely on field potential duration (FPD) measurements for electrophysiological assessment can miss the full spectrum of drug-induced toxicity, as different drugs affect cardiomyocytes through various mechanisms. A more comprehensive approach, combining field potential and contractility measurements, is essential for accurate toxicity profiling, particularly for drugs targeting contractile proteins without affecting electrophysiology.

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.

Efficient removal of methylene blue from aqueous solution by ZIF-8-decorated helicoidal electrospun polymer strips.

Immobilization of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) on electrospun products for wastewater treatment has garnered considerable attention in recent years. However, the effect of the overall geometry and surface-area-to-volume ratio of MOF-decorated electrospun architectures on their performances have rarely been investigated. Herein, we prepared polycaprolactone (PCL)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) strips with helicoidal geometries via immersion electrospinning.

Multifunctional nanocomposite based on polyvinyl alcohol, cellulose nanocrystals, titanium dioxide, and apple peel extract for food packaging.

Although polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a potential biodegradable food packaging material, it has several critical limitations: low mechanical strength, poor ultraviolet (UV) and water vapor barrier properties, and lack of antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Previous studies have used cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) to improve the mechanical and water vapor barrier properties of the PVA matrix. In this study, a multifunctional nanocomposite for food packaging applications was developed by incorporating titanium dioxide (TiO) and apple peel extract (APE) into a PVA/CNC matrix.

PVA/CNC/TiO nanocomposite for food-packaging: Improved mechanical, UV/water vapor barrier, and antimicrobial properties.

Although polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a promising biodegradable packaging material, it presents some disadvantages for food packaging such as poor ultraviolet (UV) and water vapor barrier properties, low mechanical strength, poor water resistance, and lack of antimicrobial properties. To overcome these limitations, novel PVA/cellulose nanocrystals (CNC)/titanium dioxide (TiO) nanocomposites were developed, characterized, and demonstrated for potential food packaging applications. The mechanical strength, water vapor barrier, and UV barrier properties of PVA/CNC/TiO 5 % film (5 wt% TiO in the PVA/CNC matrix with 5 wt% of CNCs) increased by 55.

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.

Facile generation of crumpled polymer strips by immersion electrospinning for oil spill cleanups.

The fabrication of electrospun products with desired structures and improved oil sorption capacities has attracted increasing attention in recent years; however, the overall geometry of electrospun products has rarely been investigated. Herein, we report a promising and competitive strategy for the preparation of novel electrospun polystyrene (PS) strips with advanced crumpled geometries for oil spill cleanups. The crumpled PS strips were prepared by immersion electrospinning, in which the nozzle and collector were simultaneously immersed in a coagulation bath.

Role of heat treatment in improving replication quality of PDMS double-casting.

An efficient and eco-friendly method utilizing the heat treatment of the PDMS master is proposed for improving the replication quality of PDMS double-casting. The effects of heat treatment on interfacial adhesion are investigated in terms of uncured low molecular weight chains, surface energy, and surface roughness. The PDMS master treated at 150 °C for 72 h shows the highest replication quality of micropatterns with a diameter and height of 30 μm.

Polyvinyl alcohol/cellulose nanocrystals/alkyl ketene dimer nanocomposite as a novel biodegradable food packing material.

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is used in many applications because of its excellent physicochemical properties, non-toxicity, and biodegradability. However, its relatively low water resistance, poor water vapor/ultraviolet (UV) barrier properties, and poor mechanical properties compared with conventional polymers limit its applications in food packaging. In this study, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) were used to overcome these issues.

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.

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.

Mechanoadaptive organization of stress fiber subtypes in epithelial cells under cyclic stretches and stretch release.

Cyclic stretch applied to cells induces the reorganization of stress fibers. However, the correlation between the reorganization of stress fiber subtypes and strain-dependent responses of the cytoplasm and nucleus has remained unclear. Here, we investigated the dynamic involvement of stress fiber subtypes in the orientation and elongation of cyclically stretched epithelial cells.

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.

Surface-patterned SU-8 cantilever arrays for preliminary screening of cardiac toxicity.

Arrays of a μgrooved SU-8 cantilever were utilized to analyze changes in the contraction force and beating frequency of cardiomyocytes in vitro. The longitudinally patterned μgrooves facilitates alignment of cardiomyocytes on top of the SU-8 cantilever, which increases the contraction force of cardiomyocytes by a factor of about 2.5.

Graphene/polydimethylsiloxane nanocomposite strain sensor.

The objective of this research is to fabricate graphene nanopowder composites based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and to characterize the gauge factor of the graphene/PDMS composites for the use of strain sensors. The fabrication of graphene/PDMS composites can be accomplished by simple sonication and micro molding processes. We found that the measured gauge factors strongly depend on the concentration of graphene flakes in the composites.

Effect of replicated polymeric substrate with lotus surface structure on adipose-derived stem cell behaviors.

We fabricated polystyrene substrates with lotus leaf surface structure (LLSS) and investigated cell behaviors, including attachment, morphology, proliferation, and differentiation of adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) on them. Compared to the flat substrate, the LLSS substrate induced higher cell attachment rate, but did not significantly change the cell proliferation rate. In addition, ASCs on the LLSS substrate exhibited relatively narrower spreading morphology and less organized cytoskeleton, there by resulting in smaller sizes of cells than those on the flat substrate.