Reliable autapse formation using the single-cell patterning method.

Auto neuronal synapses, or autapses, are aberrant structures where the synaptic contact of a neuron forms onto its own branch. The functions of autapses, however, remain unknown. Here, we introduce a simple patterning method for capturing a single-cell, in which we maintained the isolated cell until it reached maturity, and developed arrays of autapses for electrophysiological analysis using multi-electrode arrays (MEA).

Engineering-Aligned 3D Neural Circuit in Microfluidic Device.

The brain is one of the most important and complex organs in the human body. Although various neural network models have been proposed for in vitro 3D neuronal networks, it has been difficult to mimic functional and structural complexity of the in vitro neural circuit. Here, a microfluidic model of a simplified 3D neural circuit is reported.

Capillarity Guided Patterning of Microliquids.

Soft lithography and other techniques have been developed to investigate biological and chemical phenomena as an alternative to photolithography-based patterning methods that have compatibility problems. Here, a simple approach for nonlithographic patterning of liquids and gels inside microchannels is described. Using a design that incorporates strategically placed microstructures inside the channel, microliquids or gels can be spontaneously trapped and patterned when the channel is drained.

Optimization of Seoul-Fluor-based lipid droplet bioprobes and their application in microalgae for bio-fuel study.

We synthesized a series of Seoul-Fluor-based lipid droplet bioprobes with a linear range of lipophilicity and identified SF44 and SF58 as SF-based LD bioprobes in microalgae for biofuel research as well as in mammalian cells. Unlike Nile Red, SF-based bioprobes can stain algal LDs with excellent efficiency under the non-invasive and non-cytotoxic conditions.