University of the Sciences

5 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Biology

Digital Microfluidics for Automated Proteomic Processing

Mais J. Jebrail¹, Vivienne N. Luk^1,2, Steve C. C. Shih^2,3, Ryan Fobel^2,3, Alphonsus H. C. Ng^2,3, Hao Yang¹, Sergio L. S. Freire¹, Aaron R. Wheeler^1,2,3

¹Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, ²Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, ³Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto

Digital Microfluidics is a technique characterized by the manipulation of discrete droplets (~nL - mL) on an array of electrodes by the application of electrical fields. It is well-suited for carrying out rapid, sequential, miniaturized automated biochemical assays. Here, we report a platform capable of automating several proteomic processing steps.

JoVE Core

Taking Advantage of Reduced Droplet-surface Interaction to Optimize Transport of Bioanalytes in Digital Microfluidics

Sergio L. S. Freire¹, Nathaniel Thorne¹, Michael Wutkowski¹, Selina Dao¹

¹Department of Mathematics, Physics and Statistics, University of the Sciences

The protocol for fabrication and operation of field dewetting devices (Field-DW) is described, as well as the preliminary studies of the effects of electric fields on droplet contents.

Environment

An Optimized Enrichment Technique for the Isolation of Arthrobacter Bacteriophage Species from Soil Sample Isolates

Trevor Cross¹, Courtney Schoff², Dylan Chudoff³, LIbby Graves³, Haley Broomell⁴, Katrina Terry⁴, Jennifer Farina⁵, Alexandra Correa⁵, David Shade⁵, David Dunbar⁵

¹Biology Department, University of the Sciences, ²Biology Department, Arcadia University, ³Biology Department, Immaculata University, ⁴Biology/Clinical Laboratory Science, Neumann University, ⁵Science Department, Cabrini College

We present an enrichment protocol for the isolation of bacteriophages infecting bacteria in the Arthrobacter genus. This enrichment protocol produces fast and reproducible results for the isolation and amplification of Arthrobacter phages from soil isolates.

Developmental Biology

Stimulation of Notch Signaling in Mouse Osteoclast Precursors

Gurpreet Kaur^1,2, Jaimo Ahn¹, Kurt D. Hankenson^1,3, Jason W. Ashley^1,4

¹Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, ²Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Sciences, ³The Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, ⁴Department of Biology, College of Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics, Eastern Washington University

Notch signaling is a form of cellular communication that relies upon direct contact between cells. To properly induce Notch signaling in vitro, Notch ligands must be presented to cells in an immobilized state. This protocol describes methods for in vitro stimulation of Notch signaling in mouse osteoclast precursors.

Neuroscience

Monitoring Cell-to-cell Transmission of Prion-like Protein Aggregates in Drosophila Melanogaster

Kirby M. Donnelly¹, Margaret M. P. Pearce¹

¹Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Sciences

Accumulating evidence supports the idea that pathogenic protein aggregates associated with neurodegenerative diseases spread between cells with prion-like properties. Here, we describe a method that enables visualization of cell-to-cell spreading of prion-like aggregates in the model organism, Drosophila melanogaster.