Muscular Thin Films for Label-Free Mapping of Excitation Propagation in Cardiac Tissue.

Muscular thin films (MTFs), have already found a variety of applications in cardiac tissue engineering and in building of lab-on-a-chip systems. Here we present a novel approach to label-free mapping of excitation waves in the cardiomyocyte cell cultures with the use of MTFs. Neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes were cultured on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin films and observed by means of off-axis illumination.

Control of fibrinolytic drug injection via real-time ultrasonic monitoring of blood coagulation.

In the present study, we investigated the capabilities of a novel ultrasonic approach for real-time control of fibrinolysis under flow conditions. Ultrasonic monitoring was performed in a specially designed experimental in vitro system. Fibrinolytic agents were automatically injected at ultrasonically determined stages of the blood clotting.

Biocontractile microfluidic channels for peristaltic pumping.

Bio-actuated micro-pumps do not need any external power source and pose no risk of electrical or heat shock for the biological materials in lab-on-chip systems. Several different designs of bio-actuated micro-pumps based on the use of the contractile force of cultured cardiomyocites have been proposed earlier. Here we present a novel type of a bio-actuated micro-pump representing a microfluidic channel with a contractile wall.

Instabilities in fibrinolytic regulatory system. Theoretical analysis of blow-up phenomena.

The network of fibrinolytic regulatory reactions is analyzed by means of a bipartite graph technique. Basic kinetic models relevant to the graphs describing the fibrinolytic regulatory system (FRS) with several degrees of resolution are derived. These models enable us to describe the phenomenon of threshold activation of fibrinolytic processes.

Acoustic determination of early stages of intravascular blood coagulation.

The blood coagulation system (BCS) is a complex biological system playing a principal role in the maintenance of haemostasis. Insufficient activity of the BCS may lead to bleeding and blood loss (e.g.