Process Flow Update

I have been working on developing a microvessel mimetic using our silicon membranes. Just as a recap of vascular biology, the basic components of a microvessel are endothelial cells, the basement membrane secreted by them (presence of perciytes is a plus), and extracellular matrix (ECM) on the abluminal side. This ECM is predominantly composed of…

  The initial purpose of exploring formlabs SLA 3D printer for a collaboration with Dr. Nicola Marchi (link to previous post). The purpose of the this work was gaining the ability to use a simple membrane on 3D printed platform for BBB modeling and WBC migration though endothelial (and glial cell layers) and collecting and…

While serving on an NSF MRI (Major Research Instrumentation program) review panel today the director shared his analysis of funding probabilities as a function of score. The analysis was only done for the Directorate of Math and Physical Sciences, but I bet it is a good rule of thumb throughout NSF. I sketched his power…

The pressure distribution during EO is a little counter-intuitive. Assuming no back pressure, and neglecting the effects of the meniscus on either end of an EO channel, the pressure distribution relative to the (left-to-right) direction of flow must look something like … The counter-intuitive part is that the pressure drop across the membrane opposes the…

For year one of the Trace grant, I will be focusing on the development of a standard operating procedure for the uSiM-CA. To begin this process, I am transferring all of my current operating procedures from the Andor dragonfly confocal scope to the new Etaluma microscope. The Etaluma scope will be automated, collecting images of…