Publication date: 25th July 2016
Compressive stimulation of single cells in vitro for mechanotransduction studies often requires specialized tools. Application of compressive forces to single cells by atomic force microscopy (AFM) entails extensive training and has a low throughput. Furthermore, AFM force application typically requires using adherent cells. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a multilayer soft lithography microfluidic device, which consists of a control layer and a flow channel and is able to trap, compress, and aspirate cells in the trapping chambers. Here we used double emulsion (water/oil/water) as a cell model to first demonstrate the salient features of the microfluidic device. By changing the applied air pressure of the control layer using a pressure regulator, we can exert compression to double emulsions. By changing the flow rate of the flow channel using a syringe pump, we can exert pressure difference and aspirate on double emulsions. Aspiration resulted in permanent removal of oil in double emulsions. Finally, we studied the influence of oil thickness on the transport of calcium ions into double emulsions under osmotic downshock and found that oil thinning facilitated faster calcium influx. Together, the development of this microfluidic pipette array and compression device will greatly enable future single cell mechanotransduction studies.
nanoGe is a prestigious brand of successful science conferences that are developed along the year in different areas of the world since 2009. Our worldwide conferences cover cutting-edge materials topics like perovskite solar cells, photovoltaics, optoelectronics, solar fuel conversion, surface science, catalysis and two-dimensional materials, among many others.
Previously nanoGe Spring Meeting (NSM) and nanoGe Fall Meeting (NFM), MATSUS is a multiple symposia conference focused on a broad set of topics of advanced materials preparation, their fundamental properties, and their applications, in fields such as renewable energy, photovoltaics, lighting, semiconductor quantum dots, 2-D materials synthesis, charge carriers dynamics, microscopy and spectroscopy semiconductors fundamentals, etc.
International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics
International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV) is celebrated yearly in May. The main topics are the development, function and modeling of materials and devices for hybrid and organic solar cells. The field is now dominated by perovskite solar cells but also other hybrid technologies, as organic solar cells, quantum dot solar cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells and their integration into devices for photoelectrochemical solar fuel production.
Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics
The main topics of the Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics (IPEROP) are discussed every year in Asia-Pacific for gathering the recent advances in the fields of material preparation, modeling and fabrication of perovskite and hybrid and organic materials. Photovoltaic devices are analyzed from fundamental physics and materials properties to a broad set of applications. The conference also covers the developments of perovskite optoelectronics, including light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.
The International Conference on Perovskite Thin Film Photovoltaics Perovskite Photonics and Optoelectronics (NIPHO) is the best place to hear the latest developments in perovskite solar cells as well as on recent advances in the fields of perovskite light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.