A 'poly-transfection' method for rapid, one-pot characterization and optimization of genetic systems.

Biological research is relying on increasingly complex genetic systems and circuits to perform sophisticated operations in living cells. Performing these operations often requires simultaneous delivery of many genes, and optimizing the stoichiometry of these genes can yield drastic improvements in performance. However, sufficiently sampling the large design space of gene expression stoichiometries in mammalian cells using current methods is cumbersome, complex, or expensive.

Author Correction: A mixed antagonistic/synergistic miRNA repression model enables accurate predictions of multi-input miRNA sensor activity.

In the originally published version of this Article, financial support was not fully acknowledged. The PDF and HTML versions of the Article have now been corrected to include support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), award number 1745645.

A mixed antagonistic/synergistic miRNA repression model enables accurate predictions of multi-input miRNA sensor activity.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate a majority of protein-coding genes, affecting nearly all biological pathways. However, the quantitative dimensions of miRNA-based regulation are not fully understood. In particular, the implications of miRNA target site location, composition rules for multiple target sites, and cooperativity limits for genes regulated by many miRNAs have not been quantitatively characterized.

Open-source, community-driven microfluidics with Metafluidics.

Microfluidic devices have the potential to automate and miniaturize biological experiments, but open-source sharing of device designs has lagged behind sharing of other resources such as software. Synthetic biologists have used microfluidics for DNA assembly, cell-free expression, and cell culture, but a combination of expense, device complexity, and reliance on custom set-ups hampers their widespread adoption. We present Metafluidics, an open-source, community-driven repository that hosts digital design files, assembly specifications, and open-source software to enable users to build, configure, and operate a microfluidic device.

Bifunctional PAMAM dendrimer conjugates of folic acid and methotrexate with defined ratio.

Our group previously developed a multifunctional, targeted cancer therapeutic based on Generation 5 (G5) polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers. In those studies we conjugated the targeting molecule folic acid (FA) and the chemotherapeutic drug methotrexate (MTX) sequentially. This complex macromolecule was shown to selectively bind and kill KB tumor cells that overexpress folate receptor (FR) in vitro and in vivo.

Biophysical characterization of a riboflavin-conjugated dendrimer platform for targeted drug delivery.

The present study describes the biophysical characterization of generation-five poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers conjugated with riboflavin (RF) as a cancer-targeting platform. Two new series of dendrimers were designed, each presenting the riboflavin ligand attached at a different site (isoalloxazine at N-3 and d-ribose at N-10) and at varying ligand valency. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to determine the binding activity for riboflavin binding protein (RfBP) in a cell-free solution.