Fiber-based biomaterial scaffolds for cell support towards the production of cultivated meat.

The in vitro production of animal-derived foods via cellular agriculture is emerging as a key solution to global food security challenges. Here, the potential for fiber-based scaffolds, including silk and cotton, in the cultivation of muscle cells for tissue formation was pursued. Mechanical properties and cytocompatibility with the mouse myoblast cell line C2C12 and immortalized bovine muscle satellite cells (iBSCs) were assessed, as well as pre-digestion options for the materials due to their resilience within the human digestive track.

Identification of pharmacodynamic biomarker hypotheses through literature analysis with IBM Watson.

Background: Pharmacodynamic biomarkers are becoming increasingly valuable for assessing drug activity and target modulation in clinical trials. However, identifying quality biomarkers is challenging due to the increasing volume and heterogeneity of relevant data describing the biological networks that underlie disease mechanisms. A biological pathway network typically includes entities (e.

Photodynamic effects of pterin on HeLa cells.

Pterins, heterocyclic compounds widespread in biological systems, participate in relevant biological processes and are able to act as photosensitizers. In the present study, we ascertained that 2-aminopteridin-4(3H)-one, abbreviated as Ptr, is readily incorporated into and/or onto cervical cancer cells (HeLa) and that these cells die upon UV-A irradiation of Ptr. Cell death was assessed using two tests: (1) the Rhodamine 123 fluorescence assay for mitochondrial viability and (2) the Trypan Blue assay for membrane integrity.

The photosensitizing activity of lumazine using 2'-deoxyguanosine 5'-monophosphate and HeLa cells as targets.

Lumazines are an important family of heterocyclic compounds present in biological systems as biosynthetic precursors and/or products of metabolic degradation. Upon UV irradiation, the specific compound called lumazine (pteridine-2,4(1,3H)-dione) is able to generate singlet oxygen (1O2), which is one of the main chemical species responsible for photodynamic effects. To further assess the photosensitizing capability of lumazine (Lum) experiments were performed using the nucleotide 2'-deoxyguanosine 5'-monophosphate (dGMP) and, independently, cervical cancer cells (HeLa cell line) as targets.

Photosensitized production of singlet oxygen: spatially-resolved optical studies in single cells.

Singlet molecular oxygen, O(2)(a(1)Delta(g)), can be created in photosensitized experiments with sub-cellular spatial resolution in a single cell. This cytotoxic species can subsequently be detected by its 1270 nm phosphorescence (a(1)Delta(g)--> X(3)Sigma). Cellular responses to the creation of singlet oxygen can be monitored using viability assays.

Time-resolved singlet oxygen phosphorescence measurements from photosensitized experiments in single cells: effects of oxygen diffusion and oxygen concentration.

Time-resolved singlet oxygen, O(2)(a(1)Delta(g)), phosphorescence experiments have been performed in single cells upon pulsed laser irradiation of a photosensitizer incorporated into the cell. Data recorded as a function of the partial pressure of ambient oxygen to which the cell is exposed reflect apparent values for the intracellular oxygen diffusion coefficient and intracellular oxygen concentration that are smaller than those found in neat H(2)O. This conclusion is supported by O(2)(a(1)Delta(g)) phosphorescence data and sensitizer triplet state absorption data recorded in control experiments on sucrose solutions with different viscosities.

Measuring the lifetime of singlet oxygen in a single cell: addressing the issue of cell viability.

Singlet molecular oxygen, O(2)(a(1)Delta(g)), has been detected from single neurons and HeLa cells in time-resolved optical experiments by its 1270 nm phosphorescence (a(1)Delta(g)--> X(3)Sigma(-)(g)) upon irradiation of a photosensitizer incorporated into the cell. The cells were maintained in a buffered medium and their viability was assessed by live/dead assays. To facilitate the detection of singlet oxygen, intracellular H(2)O was replaced with D(2)O by an osmotic de- and rehydration process.

Listening to the brain: microelectrode biosensors for neurochemicals.

Chemical signalling underlies every function of the nervous system, from those of which we are unaware, for example, control of the heart, to higher cognitive functions, such as emotions, learning and memory. Neurotransmitters and neuromodulators mediate communication between neurons and between neurons and non-neural cells such as glia and muscle. In the past, the means for studying the production and release of these signalling agents directly has been limited in its temporal and spatial resolution relative to the dynamics of chemical signalling and the structures of interest in the brain.

Microelectrode biosensor for real-time measurement of ATP in biological tissue.

The purines ATP, ADP, and adenosine are important extracellular signaling agents. Analysis of purinergic signaling has been slowed by lack of direct methods for measurement of purine release in real-time during physiological activity. We have previously reported microelectrode biosensors for adenosine, but similar sensors for ATP have remained elusive.