University of Cape Town

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Medicine

Combining 3D-Printing and Electrospinning to Manufacture Biomimetic Heart Valve Leaflets

Benedikt Freystetter¹, Maximilian Grab^1,2, Linda Grefen¹, Lara Bischof¹, Lorenz Isert³, Petra Mela², Deon Bezuidenhout⁴, Christian Hagl^1,5, Nikolaus Thierfelder¹

¹Department of Cardiac Surgery, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, ²Chair of Medical Materials and Implants, Technical University Munich, ³Faculty for Chemistry and Pharmacy, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, ⁴Cardiovascular Research Unit, University of Cape Town, ⁵DZHK (German Centre for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Munich Heart Alliance

The presented method offers an innovative way for engineering biomimetic fiber structures in three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds (e.g., heart valve leaflets). 3D-printed, conductive geometries were used to determine shape and dimensions. Fiber orientation and characteristics were individually adjustable for each layer. Multiple samples could be manufactured in one setup.

Genetics

Matrix-based DNA Extraction for Targeted Next-Generation Sequencing on Decontaminated Sputum Samples

Jennifer Williams^*1, Janré Steyn^*1, Emilyn Costa Conceição^*1, Felicia Bernita Wells¹, Melanie Grobbelaar¹, Nabila Ismail¹, Yonas Ghebrekristos^1,2, Christoffel Johannes Opperman^1,2,3,4, Sarishna Singh^1,2, Jason Limberis⁵, Fahd Naufal⁵, Brendon Coenrad Mann¹, Rebecca E. Colman^6,7, Timothy Rodwell^*6,7, Robin Mark Warren^*1, John Z. Metcalfe^*5

¹Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, SAMRC Centre for TB Research, DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, ²National Health Laboratory Service, Green Point Tuberculosis Laboratory, ³Division of Medical Microbiology, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, ⁴Division of Medical Microbiology, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, ⁵Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Centre, University of California, San Francisco, ⁶Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, ⁷Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), Campus Biotech

We present an optimized method for DNA extraction from decontaminated sputum using a matrix-based extraction method combined with a magnetic bead purification for downstream targeted next-generation sequencing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.