Georgia Institute of Technology

6 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Bioengineering

Adhesion Frequency Assay for In Situ Kinetics Analysis of Cross-Junctional Molecular Interactions at the Cell-Cell Interface

Veronika I. Zarnitsyna¹, Cheng Zhu¹

¹Biomedical Engineering Department, Georgia Institute of Technology

An adhesion frequency assay for measuring receptor-ligand interaction kinetics when both molecules are anchored on the surfaces of the interacting cells is described. This mechanically-based assay is exemplified using a micropipette-pressurized human red blood cell as adhesion sensor and integrin αLβ2 and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 as interacting receptors and ligands.

Biology

Expression Analysis of Mammalian Linker-histone Subtypes

Magdalena Medrzycki¹, Yunzhe Zhang¹, Kaixiang Cao¹, Yuhong Fan¹

¹School of Biology and the Parker H. Petit Institute of Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology

We describe a set of assays to analyze expression levels of H1 linker histones. mRNA of individual H1 genes are quantitatively measured by random primer based reverse transcription followed by real-time PCR, whereas protein quantification of H1 histones is achieved by HPLC analysis.

Engineering

Compact Quantum Dots for Single-molecule Imaging

Andrew M. Smith¹, Shuming Nie^1,2

¹Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University, ²Department of Chemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology

We describe the preparation of colloidal quantum dots with minimized hydrodynamic size for single-molecule fluorescence imaging. Compared to conventional quantum dots, these nanoparticles are similar in size to globular proteins and are optimized for single-molecule brightness, stability against photodegradation, and resistance to nonspecific binding to proteins and cells.

Medicine

Surgical Technique for Spinal Cord Delivery of Therapies: Demonstration of Procedure in Gottingen Minipigs

Thais Federici¹, Carl V. Hurtig¹, Kentrell L. Burks¹, Jonathan P. Riley¹, Vibhor Krishna², Brandon A. Miller¹, Eric A. Sribnick¹, Joseph H. Miller³, Natalia Grin¹, Jason J. Lamanna^1,4,5, Nicholas M. Boulis¹

¹Department of Neurosurgery, Emory University, ²Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, ³Division of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama, Birmingham, ⁴Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , ⁵Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University

Short visual description of the surgical technique and device used for the delivery of (gene and cell) therapies into the spinal cord. The technique is demonstrated in the animal but is entirely translatable and currently being used for human application.

JoVE Core

Probing and Mapping Electrode Surfaces in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Kevin S. Blinn¹, Xiaxi Li¹, Mingfei Liu¹, Lawrence A. Bottomley², Meilin Liu¹

¹Center for Innovative Fuel Cells and Battery Technologies, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , ²School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology

We present a unique platform for characterizing electrode surfaces in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) that allows simultaneous performance of multiple characterization techniques (e.g. in situ Raman spectroscopy and scanning probe microscopy alongside electrochemical measurements). Complementary information from these analyses may help to advance toward a more profound understanding of electrode reaction and degradation mechanisms, providing insights into rational design of better materials for SOFCs.

Bioengineering

Fluorescence Biomembrane Force Probe: Concurrent Quantitation of Receptor-ligand Kinetics and Binding-induced Intracellular Signaling on a Single Cell

Yunfeng Chen^*1, Baoyu Liu^*2, Lining Ju^*3, Jinsung Hong^*1, Qinghua Ji^4,5, Wei Chen⁶, Cheng Zhu¹

¹Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, ²Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, ³Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, ⁴Institute of Biophysics, Laboratory of RNA Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, ⁵University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, ⁶School of Medicine and Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Zhejiang University

We describe a technique for concurrently measuring force-regulated single receptor-ligand binding kinetics and real-time imaging of calcium signaling in a single T lymphocyte.