CandyCollect: An Open-Microfluidic Device for the Direct Capture and Enumeration of Salivary-Extracellular Vesicles.

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) are membrane-derived vesicles shed by cells into the extracellular space that play key roles in intercellular communication and other biological processes. As membrane-bound cargos of nucleic acids and other proteins that are abundantly found in virtually every biofluid including blood, urine, and saliva, EVs are widely regarded as promising biomarkers for disease detection. While it is an increasingly promising biofluid from which to isolate EVs, saliva poses challenges due its complexity and heterogeneity-cells, debris, and other proteins can inhibit the isolation of EVs by traditional platforms.

Randomized feasibility trial of remote ischemic conditioning to enhance resuscitation (RICE).

Rationale: Restoration of blood flow after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is associated with inflammation that causes cellular injury. The extent of this reperfusion injury (RI) is associated with the duration of ischemia and adequacy of resuscitation. Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) consists of repeated application of non-lethal ischemia then reperfusion to a limb distal to the heart by inflating a blood pressure (BP) cuff.

At-home blood collection and stabilization in high temperature climates using RNA.

Expanding whole blood sample collection for transcriptome analysis beyond traditional phlebotomy clinics will open new frontiers for remote immune research and telemedicine. Determining the stability of RNA in blood samples exposed to high ambient temperatures (>30°C) is necessary for deploying home-sampling in settings with elevated temperatures (e.g.

CandyCollect: at-home saliva sampling for capture of respiratory pathogens.

is a major human-specific bacterial pathogen and a common cause of a wide range of symptoms from mild infection such as pharyngitis (commonly called strep throat) to life-threatening invasive infection and post-infectious sequelae. Traditional methods for diagnosis include collecting a sample using a pharyngeal swab, which can cause discomfort and even discourage adults and children from seeking proper testing and treatment in the clinic. Saliva samples are an alternative to pharyngeal swabs.

RNA: A Self-Sampling Kit for the Collection of Peripheral Blood and Stabilization of RNA.

Gene expression analysis (, targeted gene panels and transcriptomics) from whole blood can elucidate mechanisms of the immune function and aid in the discovery of biomarkers. Conventional venipuncture offers only a small snapshot of our broad immune landscape as immune responses may occur outside of the time and location parameters available for conventional venipuncture. A self-operated method that enables flexible sampling of liquid whole blood coupled with immediate stabilization of cellular RNA is instrumental in facilitating capture and preservation of acute or transient immune fluxes.