MatriGrid Based Biological Morphologies: Tools for 3D Cell Culturing.

Recent trends in 3D cell culturing has placed organotypic tissue models at another level. Now, not only is the microenvironment at the cynosure of this research, but rather, microscopic geometrical parameters are also decisive for mimicking a tissue model. Over the years, technologies such as micromachining, 3D printing, and hydrogels are making the foundation of this field.

Thermoforming techniques for manufacturing porous scaffolds for application in 3D cell cultivation.

Within the scientific community, there is an increasing demand to apply advanced cell cultivation substrates with increased physiological functionalities for studying spatially defined cellular interactions. Porous polymeric scaffolds are utilized for mimicking an organ-like structure or engineering complex tissues and have become a key element for three-dimensional (3D) cell cultivation in the meantime. As a consequence, efficient 3D scaffold fabrication methods play an important role in modern biotechnology.

Nerve cell response to inhibitors recorded with an aluminum-galliumnitride/galliumnitride field-effect transistor.

Experiments based on neuronal cell-transistor couplings were made from some groups during the last years. Pioneering work in this field was carried out by Fromherz and his group (Fromherz, 2003; Schmidtner and Fromherz, 2006). We were interested of the interaction of nerve cells to serine hydrolase inhibitor diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP), monitored by using an aluminum-galliumnitride/galliumnitride (AlGaN/GaN) electrolyte gate field effect transistor (EGFET).

Thrombin inhibitors identified by computer-assisted multiparameter design.

Here, we present a series of thrombin inhibitors that were generated by using powerful computer-assisted multiparameter optimization process. The process was organized in design cycles, starting with a set of randomly chosen molecules. Each cycle combined combinatorial synthesis, multiparameter characterization of compounds in a variety of bioassays, and algorithmic processing of the data to devise a set of compounds to be synthesized in the next cycle.