Optical microscopy imaging for the diagnosis of the pharmacological reaction of mouse embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (mESC-CMs).

Quantitative diagnosis of pharmacological chronotropic reactions on mouse embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (mESC-CMs) was successfully performed by utilizing derivative imaging analysis of videos recorded with a microscope camera at 30 Hz frame rate and 680 × 510 pixel resolution. The imaging analysis algorithm, developed in our lab, generated the contractile profile of the cells which was exploited for drug effect profiling. Six drugs such as isoproterenol (0.

Development of biofuel cells based on gold nanoparticle decorated multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

This study focused on developing the synthesis of Au nanoparticle-decorated functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Au-NPs/f-MWCNTs) for monosaccharide (bio-fuel) oxidation reactions and practical application in air-biofuel cells. We developed a scalable and straightforward method to synthesize Au-NPs/f-MWCNTs which allow us to control the loading and size of the Au-NPs. The Au-NPs/f-MWCNTs exhibited better catalytic activities and stability than the Au sheet and subsequently resulted in a threefold increase in the power density of the air-glucose fuel cell with an exceptionally high open circuit voltage (~1.

Improvement of transformation efficiency by bioactive-beads-mediated gene transfer using DNA-lipofectin complex as entrapped genetic material.

The efficiency of bioactive-beads-mediated plant transformation was improved using DNA-lipofectin complex as the entrapped genetic material instead of naked DNA used in the conventional method. In the improved method, beads aggregated and formed clusters around the protoplasts resulting in a 4-fold higher transformation efficiency than that by the conventional method.

Induction of salt tolerance in Bacillus subtilis IFO 3025.

Salt tolerance was induced in Bacillus subtilis IFO 3025 cells when a moderate osmotic stress was imposed by incubation in the presence of compatible solutes and 0.5 M NaCl or 0.8 M sorbitol.

Uptake and utilization of ectoine by halotolerant Brevibacterium sp. JCM 6894 subjected to osmotic downshock.

The concentration changes of the cyclic amino acid ectoine (1,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2-methyl-4-pyridine carboxylic acid) in Brevibacterium sp. JCM 6894 cells subjected to an osmotic downshock were investigated. When the cells grown in the presence of 2 M NaCl were suspended in deionized water, they immediately released about 60% of the ectoine synthesized intracellularly.

Effect of compatible solutes on the respiratory activity and growth of Escherichia coli K-12 under NaCl stress.

The respiratory activity of Escherichia coli K-12 was inhibited by high NaCl concentrations. The addition of compatible solutes such as proline and ectoine led to the recovery of the respiration of E. coli K-12 inhibited by 1 M NaCl to a similar extent as did the addition of glycine betaine.

A novel gene delivery system in plants with calcium alginate micro-beads.

We have produced micrometer-sized calcium alginate beads referred to as "bio-beads" that encapsulate plasmid DNA molecules carrying a reporter gene. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the bio-beads in mediating genetic transfection, protoplasts isolated from cultured tobacco cells (BY-2) were transfected with bio-beads containing a plasmid that carries the modified green fluorescent protein gene CaMV35S-sGFP. With the bio-beads treatment, approximately ten-fold higher GFP expression was observed after 24 h incubation compared to that with the conventional method using a naked plasmid solution.