A Simple Procedure for Creating Scalable Phenotypic Screening Assays in Human Neurons.

Neurons created from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) provide the capability of identifying biological mechanisms that underlie brain disorders. IPSC-derived human neurons, or iNs, hold promise for advancing precision medicine through drug screening, though it remains unclear to what extent iNs can support early-stage drug discovery efforts in industrial-scale screening centers. Despite several reported approaches to generate iNs from iPSCs, each suffer from technological limitations that challenge their scalability and reproducibility, both requirements for successful screening assays.

Design of Microplate-Compatible Illumination Panels for a Semiautomated Benchtop Pipetting System.

Microplates are an essential tool used in laboratories for storing research materials and performing assays. Many types of laboratory automation exist that greatly reduce the effort needed to utilize microplates; however, there are cases where the use of such automation is not feasible or practical. In these instances, researchers must work in an environment where liquid handling operations are performed manually with handheld pipetting devices.

Using bead injection to model dispensing of 3-D multicellular spheroids into microtiter plates.

Biomedical translational research has relied on two dimensional (2D) cell cultures for drug discovery over the decades, requiring cells to grow on a flat surface which does not always accurately model in vivo biological states. Three dimensional (3D) cell cultures, also known as 3D spheroids or organoids, grow as cellular tissues that are more physiologically relevant especially with respect to emulating cancer tumor-like structures [1]. While attractive, current methods for generating 3D spheroids has yet to replace 2D culturing methods used for drug discovery efforts that employ high-throughput screening (HTS), having limitations with scalability, reproducibility, and compatibility predominantly associated with conventional microtiter plate usage.