Robotic automation of “blind” and two-photon targeted patch-clamp electrophysiology in vivo

AbstractEnzyme-catalyzed proximity labeling (PL) combined with mass spectrometry (MS) has emerged as a revolutionary approach to reveal the protein-protein interaction networks, dissect complex biological processes, and characterize the subcellular proteome in a more physiological setting than before. The enzymatic tags are being upgraded to improve temporal and spatial resolution and obtain faster catalytic dynamics and higher catalytic efficiency. In vivo application of PL integrated with other state of the art techniques has recently been adapted in live animals and plants, allowing questions to be addressed that were previously inaccessible. It is timely to summarize the current state of PL-dependent interactome studies and their potential applications. We will focus on in vivo uses of newer versions of PL and highlight critical considerations for successful in vivo PL experiments that will provide novel insights into the protein interactome in the context of human diseases.

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Electro-Quasistatic Animal Body Communication for Untethered Rodent Biopotential Recording

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-81108-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Shreeya Sriram ◽

Shitij Avlani ◽

Matthew P. Ward ◽

Shreyas Sen

Keyword(s):

Lower Energy ◽

Sensor Node ◽

State Of The Art ◽

The Body ◽

Animal Body ◽

Current State ◽

Communication Modalities ◽

First Time ◽

Biopotential Recording

AbstractContinuous multi-channel monitoring of biopotential signals is vital in understanding the body as a whole, facilitating accurate models and predictions in neural research. The current state of the art in wireless technologies for untethered biopotential recordings rely on radiative electromagnetic (EM) fields. In such transmissions, only a small fraction of this energy is received since the EM fields are widely radiated resulting in lossy inefficient systems. Using the body as a communication medium (similar to a ’wire’) allows for the containment of the energy within the body, yielding order(s) of magnitude lower energy than radiative EM communication. In this work, we introduce Animal Body Communication (ABC), which utilizes the concept of using the body as a medium into the domain of untethered animal biopotential recording. This work, for the first time, develops the theory and models for animal body communication circuitry and channel loss. Using this theoretical model, a sub-inch$$^3$$ 3 [1″ × 1″ × 0.4″], custom-designed sensor node is built using off the shelf components which is capable of sensing and transmitting biopotential signals, through the body of the rat at significantly lower powers compared to traditional wireless transmissions. In-vivo experimental analysis proves that ABC successfully transmits acquired electrocardiogram (EKG) signals through the body with correlation $$>99\%$$ > 99 % when compared to traditional wireless communication modalities, with a 50$$\times$$ × reduction in power consumption.

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Synthesis and Evaluation of Novel α-Aminoamides Containing Benzoheterocyclic Moiety for the Treatment of Pain

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26061716 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (6) ◽

pp. 1716

Author(s):

Kun Tong ◽

Ruotian Zhang ◽

Fengzhi Ren ◽

Tao Zhang ◽

Junlin He ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ion Channels ◽

Patch Clamp ◽

Formalin Test ◽

Sodium Ion ◽

Inhibitory Potency ◽

Voltage Gated ◽

Patch Clamp Electrophysiology ◽

Sodium Ion Channels

Novel α-aminoamide derivatives containing different benzoheterocyclics moiety were synthesized and evaluated as voltage-gated sodium ion channels blocks the treatment of pain. Compounds 6a, 6e, and 6f containing the benzofuran group displayed more potent in vivo analgesic activity than ralfinamide in both the formalin test and the writhing assay. Interestingly, they also exhibited potent in vitro anti-Nav1.7 and anti-Nav1.8 activity in the patch-clamp electrophysiology assay. Therefore, compounds 6a, 6e, and 6f, which have inhibitory potency for two pain-related Nav targets, could serve as new leads for the development of analgesic medicines.

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Hydrothermal Carbonization of Organic Waste and Biomass: A Review on Process, Reactor, and Plant Modeling

Waste and Biomass Valorization ◽

10.1007/s12649-020-01255-3 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Giulia Ischia ◽

Luca Fiori

Keyword(s):

Organic Waste ◽

Review Paper ◽

Recent Literature ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Hydrothermal Carbonization ◽

Residual Biomass ◽

Current State ◽

Potential Applications ◽

Intrinsic Complexity ◽

Context Models

Abstract Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is an emerging path to give a new life to organic waste and residual biomass. Fulfilling the principles of the circular economy, through HTC “unpleasant” organics can be transformed into useful materials and possibly energy carriers. The potential applications of HTC are tremendous and the recent literature is full of investigations. In this context, models capable to predict, simulate and optimize the HTC process, reactors, and plants are engineering tools that can significantly shift HTC research towards innovation by boosting the development of novel enterprises based on HTC technology. This review paper addresses such key-issue: where do we stand regarding the development of these tools? The literature presents many and simplified models to describe the reaction kinetics, some dealing with the process simulation, while few focused on the heart of an HTC system, the reactor. Statistical investigations and some life cycle assessment analyses also appear in the current state of the art. This work examines and analyzes these predicting tools, highlighting their potentialities and limits. Overall, the current models suffer from many aspects, from the lack of data to the intrinsic complexity of HTC reactions and HTC systems. Therefore, the emphasis is given to what is still necessary to make the HTC process duly simulated and therefore implementable on an industrial scale with sufficient predictive margins. Graphic Abstract

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Review of Tailoring Methods for Joints with Additively Manufactured Adherends and Adhesives

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma13183949 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (18) ◽

pp. 3949

Author(s):

Mattia Frascio ◽

Eduardo André de Sousa Marques ◽

Ricardo João Camilo Carbas ◽

Lucas Filipe Martins da Silva ◽

Margherita Monti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Additive Manufacturing ◽

Review Paper ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Manufacturing Processes ◽

Bonded Joints ◽

Design For Additive Manufacturing ◽

Polymeric Additive ◽

Current State ◽

Bonded Joint ◽

Current Modelling

This review aims to assess the current modelling and experimental achievements in the design for additive manufacturing of bonded joints, providing a summary of the current state of the art. To limit its scope, the document is focused only on polymeric additive manufacturing processes. As a result, this review paper contains a structured collection of the tailoring methods adopted for additively manufactured adherends and adhesives with the aim of maximizing bonded joint performance. The intent is, setting the state of the art, to produce an overview useful to identify the new opportunities provided by recent progresses in the design for additive manufacturing, additive manufacturing processes and materials’ developments.

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In vitro and in vivo trematode models for chemotherapeutic studies

Parasitology ◽

10.1017/s0031182009991739 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 137 (3) ◽

pp. 589-603 ◽

Cited By ~ 100

Author(s):

J. KEISER

Keyword(s):

Liver Fluke ◽

Fasciola Hepatica ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Parasitic Diseases ◽

Current State ◽

Food Borne ◽

Essential Components ◽

Discovery Pipeline

SUMMARYSchistosomiasis and food-borne trematodiases are chronic parasitic diseases affecting millions of people mostly in the developing world. Additional drugs should be developed as only few drugs are available for treatment and drug resistance might emerge. In vitro and in vivo whole parasite screens represent essential components of the trematodicidal drug discovery cascade. This review describes the current state-of-the-art of in vitro and in vivo screening systems of the blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni, the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica and the intestinal fluke Echinostoma caproni. Examples of in vitro and in vivo evaluation of compounds for activity are presented. To boost the discovery pipeline for these diseases there is a need to develop validated, robust high-throughput in vitro systems with simple readouts.

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In Vivo Beta-Cell Imaging with VMAT 2 Ligands - Current State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives

Current Pharmaceutical Design ◽

10.2174/138161210791164180 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 16 (14) ◽

pp. 1568-1581 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Rajakrishnan Veluthakal ◽

Paul Harris

Keyword(s):

Beta Cell ◽

Cell Imaging ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Future Perspectives ◽

Beta Cell Imaging ◽

Current State

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Joint epitope selection and spacer design for string-of-beads vaccines

Bioinformatics ◽

10.1093/bioinformatics/btaa790 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. i643-i650

Author(s):

Emilio Dorigatti ◽

Benjamin Schubert

Keyword(s):

Antigen Processing ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Supplementary Information ◽

Current State ◽

Fixed Set ◽

Epitope Selection ◽

High Chance ◽

Selection Of ◽

Design Steps

Abstract Motivation Conceptually, epitope-based vaccine design poses two distinct problems: (i) selecting the best epitopes to elicit the strongest possible immune response and (ii) arranging and linking them through short spacer sequences to string-of-beads vaccines, so that their recovery likelihood during antigen processing is maximized. Current state-of-the-art approaches solve this design problem sequentially. Consequently, such approaches are unable to capture the inter-dependencies between the two design steps, usually emphasizing theoretical immunogenicity over correct vaccine processing, thus resulting in vaccines with less effective immunogenicity in vivo. Results In this work, we present a computational approach based on linear programming, called JessEV, that solves both design steps simultaneously, allowing to weigh the selection of a set of epitopes that have great immunogenic potential against their assembly into a string-of-beads construct that provides a high chance of recovery. We conducted Monte Carlo cleavage simulations to show that a fixed set of epitopes often cannot be assembled adequately, whereas selecting epitopes to accommodate proper cleavage requirements substantially improves their recovery probability and thus the effective immunogenicity, pathogen and population coverage of the resulting vaccines by at least 2-fold. Availability and implementation The software and the data analyzed are available at https://github.com/SchubertLab/JessEV. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

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