Dissecting cell membrane tension dynamics and its effect on Piezo1-mediated cellular mechanosensitivity using force-controlled nanopipettes.

The dynamics of cellular membrane tension and its role in mechanosensing, which is the ability of cells to respond to physical stimuli, remain incompletely understood, mainly due to the lack of appropriate tools. Here, we report a force-controlled nanopipette-based method that combines fluidic force microscopy with fluorescence imaging for precise manipulation of the cellular membrane tension while monitoring the impact on single-cell mechanosensitivity. The force-controlled nanopipette enables control of the indentation force imposed on the cell cortex as well as of the aspiration pressure applied to the plasma membrane.

A Heart-Breast Cancer-on-a-Chip Platform for Disease Modeling and Monitoring of Cardiotoxicity Induced by Cancer Chemotherapy.

Cardiotoxicity is one of the most serious side effects of cancer chemotherapy. Current approaches to monitoring of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity (CIC) as well as model systems that develop in vivo or in vitro CIC platforms fail to notice early signs of CIC. Moreover, breast cancer (BC) patients with preexisting cardiac dysfunctions may lead to different incident levels of CIC.

Complete inclusion of bioactive molecules and particles in polydimethylsiloxane: a straightforward process under mild conditions.

By applying a slow curing process, we show that biomolecules can be incorporated via a simple process as liquid stable phases inside a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. The process is carried out under mild conditions with regards to temperature, pH and relative humidity, and is thus suitable for application to biological entities. Fluorescence and enzymatic activity measurements show that the biochemical properties of the proteins and enzyme tested are preserved, without loss due to adsorption at the liquid-polymer interface.

Affinity-Driven Immobilization of Proteins to Hematite Nanoparticles.

Functional nanoparticles are valuable materials for energy production, bioelectronics, and diagnostic devices. The combination of biomolecules with nanosized material produces a new hybrid material with properties that can exceed the ones of the single components. Hematite is a widely available material that has found application in various sectors such as in sensing and solar energy production.