Effects of topographical and mechanical property alterations induced by oxygen plasma modification on stem cell behavior.

Polymeric substrates intended for cell culture and tissue engineering are often surface-modified to facilitate cell attachment of most anchorage-dependent cell types. The modification alters the surface chemistry and possibly topography. However, scant attention has been paid to other surface property alterations.

Targeted delivery to single cells in precisely controlled microenvironments.

The heterogeneous nature of cells can be an issue for in vitro analysis of cell function due to cell type differences within a population. Observations are most often averaged and dependent on the homogeneity or lack thereof for most cell types. Patterning of features at the sub-cellular scale (< 10 μm) allows for single cell manipulation.

Development of universal antidotes to control aptamer activity.

With an ever increasing number of people taking numerous medications, the need to safely administer drugs and limit unintended side effects has never been greater. Antidote control remains the most direct means to counteract acute side effects of drugs, but, unfortunately, it has been challenging and cost prohibitive to generate antidotes for most therapeutic agents. Here we describe the development of a set of antidote molecules that are capable of counteracting the effects of an entire class of therapeutic agents based upon aptamers.

Amplification of acetylcholine-binding catenanes from dynamic combinatorial libraries.

Directed chemical synthesis can produce a vast range of molecular structures, but the intended product must be known at the outset. In contrast, evolution in nature can lead to efficient receptors and catalysts whose structures defy prediction. To access such unpredictable structures, we prepared dynamic combinatorial libraries in which reversibly binding building blocks assemble around a receptor target.