Diseases or injuries that affect neuromuscular tissues severely impact human health, motivating the development of in vitro models of the motor control system. Current platforms either have limited reproducibility or require complex fabrication protocols that preclude high-resolution imaging and scalable functional analysis. We have developed a one-step method for fabricating an all-hydrogel limb-on-a-chip that addresses […]
Surface modifications of polycaprolactone (PCL) implants influence osseointegration by altering cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. Osteon-like microtopography has been shown to enhance these parameters compared to untreated PCL. Additional treatments, such as cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) and extracellular matrix (ECM) coatings, may further improve bioactivity. This study evaluates and compares the osteogenic potential of osteon-like […]
Swimming bacteria move through a fluid by actuating their moving body parts. They are force-free and can be described as hydrodynamic force dipoles: pushers or pullers. This modelling description is broadly used in biological physics and active matter research, and it has successfully predicted, for example, the superfluid behaviour of suspensions of pushers or the […]
We present a modular design strategy for the one-step fabrication of arrays of magnetically responsive microactuators connected to the substrate via compliant hinges. We use direct laser writing in the form of two-photon crosslinking within bilayer films to generate three-dimensional microstructures in which magnetic nanoparticles are embedded in the upper layer. This part of the […]
Two-photon polymerization (2PP) has garnered increasing attention for engineering hydrogels with tailored architectures and controlled cellular responses. However, current 2PP strategies typically rely on (meth)acrylated proteins and inefficient chain-growth crosslinking mechanisms. Although thiol-ene photo-click reactions can enhance 2PP efficiency, commercial water-soluble thiol crosslinkers (e.g., DTT—dithiothreitol) tend to form intramolecular loops and introduce structural defects due […]
Electrochemical sensors offer the advantages of low cost, high sensitivity, and miniaturization for a wide range of biological applications, including in situ detection of cell metabolites and monitoring cell behavior in real time. However, the complex matrix in biosystems often leads to electrode fouling and inferior sensing performance. In addition to chemical barriers featuring assorted […]
Porous scaffolds made of bioactive glass (BG) are of great interest for tissue engineering as they can bond to bone rapidly and promote new bone formation. Pores and channels between 100 and 500 µm provide space for cell intrusion and nutrient supply, facilitating bone ingrowth and vascularization. Furthermore, smaller pores and structural features of a […]
Engineering skeletal muscle tissue with precisely defined alignment is of significant importance for applications ranging from drug screening to biohybrid robotics. Aligning 2D contractile muscle monolayers, which are compatible with high-content imaging and can be deployed in planar soft robots, typically requires micropatterned cues. However, current protocols for integrating microscale topographical features in extracellular matrix […]
Mechanical forces play a crucial role in many biological processes, including cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions. The generation of surface-attached multilayer micromagnet systems fabricated by two-photon lithography and the use of such systems to perform single-cell actuation are presented. The actuators are generated by two-photon crosslinking and consist of a soft and flexible surface-attached hydrogel layer […]
The high mortality associated with certain cancers can be attributed to the invasive nature of the tumor cells. Yet, the complexity of studying invasion hinders our understanding of how the tumor spreads. This work presents a microengineered three-dimensional (3D) in vitro model for studying cancer cell invasion and interaction with endothelial cells. The model was […]
