Lab on a Chip

Immune-epithelial interactions govern the initiation and progression of airway diseases, yet their heterogeneity is difficult to capture using existing in vitro models. Although conventional Transwell and lung-on-chip systems reproduce airway compartmentalisation and permit epithelial-immune interactions, they lack the spatial and analytical resolution needed to visualise dynamic immune behaviour during infection. Here, we present the "Single Cell resolved Airway-Immune Recruitment" (scAIR) platform designed to interrogate immune-epithelial interactions during airway infection. The scAIR device features a modular central chamber accommodating a Transwell insert with primary airway epithelial cells (AECs) pre-differentiated under air-liquid interface (ALI), flanked by immune compartments connected through a precision-patterned microchannel array. This architecture enables real-time single-cell imaging of immune cell migration while preserving epithelial physiology. The scAIR device coupled with a machine learning analysis (MLA) pipeline enables automated tracking and quantification of individual immune cell speed, direction, and behavioural heterogeneity. Using this platform, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is modelled to generate a type 1 inflammatory airway epithelium that drives neutrophil recruitment. TNF-alpha neutralisation with adalimumab reveals distinct migratory behaviours that are obscured by population-averaged measurements. This integrated platform quantifies airway immune responses during infection and therapeutic modulation, enabling mechanistic studies, drug evaluation, and precision modelling of airway inflammation.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are valuable biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and monitoring, yet their isolation from blood remains challenging due to their phenotypic heterogeneity and rarity. Label-free microfluidic technologies offer a promising alternative to affinity-based approaches by exploiting intrinsic biophysical differences between cell types. Here, we developed a microfluidic platform for label-free cell separation based on insulator-based dielectrophoresis (iDEP). The microfluidic device employs an array of triangular insulating structures that generate strong electric field gradients in response to an externally applied alternating current (AC) electric field, enabling selective isolation of breast cancer cells from blood cells based on their dielectric properties. Hydrodynamic focusing is used to confine the sample stream and precisely control cell trajectories within the separation region. Numerical simulations were performed to optimize the electric field distribution and fluid flow characteristics within the device. Experimental validation using breast cancer cell lines (mesenchymal-like MDA-MB-231 cells and epithelial-like MCF-7 cells) spiked into peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) demonstrates selective dielectrophoretic deflection of cancer cells while PBMCs largely follow the central streamline. The platform achieves recovery rates exceeding 98% and a separation purity above 65% within the optimized operating conditions. The proposed system provides a simple label-free approach to separate heterogeneous cell populations and represents a promising tool for microfluidic liquid biopsy enrichment applications.

High-throughput droplet microfluidics can compartmentalize bacterial interactions, but recovering droplets displaying phenotypes of interest often requires custom fluorescence-activated droplet-sorting instrumentation. Here, we introduce post-assay photogelation to decouple the material requirements of bacterial coculture from those of commercial flow sorting. Bacteria are cocultured in initially aqueous water-in-oil droplets containing photoreactive polymer precursors. After interaction phenotypes develop, ultraviolet exposure converts the droplets into mechanically stable hydrogel particles that can be transferred to an aqueous carrier and sorted using a commercial benchtop cell sorter. The sorted particles can subsequently be degraded enzymatically to release the encapsulated bacteria. We show that the timing of gelation alters bacterial growth and spatial distribution within droplets, with post-assay gelation supporting greater and more uniformly distributed growth than culture in preformed hydrogels. Using two fluorescent bead-encoded hydrogel-particle populations, we demonstrate sorting to greater than 99% purity. As an end-to-end demonstration, we cocultured sfGFP-expressing Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 with a cultured human nasal bacterial community and found that E. coli Nissle became the predominant detectable population under the tested conditions with possible inhibition of the cultured nasal bacteriome. This liquid-to-solid transition provides an accessible interface between aqueous bacterial droplet assays, commercial particle sorting, and downstream microbial analysis.

Development of candidate countermeasures against human pathogens frequently includes nonhuman animal experimentation. Preclinical animal pathogen exposure studies are conducted to model diseases and accumulate preliminary and hypothetically translatable data to inform and justify the design of clinical trial evaluation of countermeasure safety and efficacy. In addition to frequent ethical critiques, challenges associated with animal experimentation include considerable resources needed to achieve statistical power and robustness, replicability and reproducibility concerns, potentially compromised objectivity through lack of blinding, fundamental species-specific biological differences, and risk of unpredictable pathogen adaptation to the experimental animal. Recent U.S. and U.K. government initiatives aim to reduce animal experimentation by complementing or potentially replacing them with new approach methodologies (NAMs), i.e., increasingly sophisticated in silico, in chemico, and in vitro approaches. We piloted development of one type of NAM, organ-on-chips (OOCs), in the highly challenging environment of a maximum (biosafety level 4) containment laboratory. Using a Risk Group 4 virus, Nipah virus (NiV), and two types of lung OOCs seeded with human or porcine cells, we demonstrated the recapitulation of key features of NiV lung infection, including viral infection, replication, and translocation, that are associated with proinflammatory cytokine secretion, immune cell recruitment, and disruption of the air-liquid interface barrier. We reproduced the known anti-NiV activity of remdesivir and evaluated that of another potential antiviral, zotatifin. Our results pave the way for similar applications of advanced microphysiological systems for modeling infections caused by high-consequence viruses.

The outer blood-retinal barrier (OBRB) is the primary interface through which systemically circulating drugs reach the retina. A tool that measures delivery across this barrier would support the development of targeted therapies as alternatives to repeated intravitreal injection, and the screening of drugs that reach the retina as an off-target toxicity. Such a tool should deliver drugs fluidically through a vascular compartment, measure transport across the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and display disease phenotypes relevant to efficacy. Here we adapt the SiM platform, which places epithelium and endothelium in direct juxtaposition across a permeable, optically transparent silicon nitride nanomembrane. ARPE-19 and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were used as development cell sources. ARPE-19 monocultures reached a transepithelial electrical resistance of 68 {+/-} 26 {Omega} cm2 by 28 days, and ARPE-19 + HUVEC co-cultures reached a small-molecule permeability of 6.34 {+/-} 1.3 x 10-4 cm min-1 within 14 days, a state reported elsewhere only after longer culture. The barriers developed an intervening basement membrane. Drugs perfused through the basal vascular channel crossed into an open apical well, where sampling and mass spectrometry showed transport correlating with lipophilicity, as reported in vivo. The device also displayed two clinically relevant phenotypes. Digoxin at a clinically toxic concentration reduced viability in the co-barrier by about half and doubled permeability. In a vascularized configuration, VEGF drove endothelial invasion of the RPE layer, as seen in neovascular AMD. The SiM-OBRB therefore satisfies basic design criteria for measurement of drug bioavailability, toxicity, and efficacy.

Electrical stimulation (ES) and transepithelial/transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurements are essential techniques in cell biology and tissue engineering, yet commercial devices for these applications cost between USD 2,500-9,000 and typically offer only one functionality. We present LATEER (Low-cost Arduino-based TEER and Electrical stimulation device), an open-source hardware platform that combines both ES and TEER measurement capabilities at a total cost below USD 100. The device features four independent channels, configurable pulsatile signals (amplitude up to 8.2 V, frequency 0.1-500 Hz, pulse width [&ge;]0.1 ms), and a resistance measurement range of 300 {Omega} to 1 M{Omega}, with <5% error for R {gtrsim} 4.7 k{Omega}. LATEER uses commercially available graphite pencil leads as electrodes ([~]USD 2 vs. USD 350 for commercial Ag/AgCl electrodes), which demonstrated excellent biocompatibility in cell culture. The system includes 3D-printed electrode holders compatible with standard 12-well and 24-well plates, allowing microscope visualization without electrode removal, and a Python-based graphical user interface for parameter configuration and real-time data acquisition. Because the electrodes remain fixed in the plate lid and only a single cable enters the incubator, both stimulation and resistance measurement can run continuously under standard culture conditions (37 {degrees}C, 5% CO2) without removing the plate or repositioning the electrodes, avoiding the temperature excursions and placement variability inherent to manual chopstick measurements. Validation with human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes demonstrated reliable frequency capture (electrical pacing) of the contracting monolayer, with a capture threshold between 250 and 400 mV/mm and controlled pacing across the 0.5-5 Hz range. TEER functionality was verified with mesenchymal stem cells, where the device resolved cell-density-dependent differences in electrical resistance in real time. All design files, firmware, and software are freely available under the CERN-OHL-S v2 license, enabling replication and customization by research laboratories worldwide. HighlightsO_LIAn open-source device combines electrical stimulation and TEER measurement under $100 C_LIO_LIGraphite electrodes offer biocompatibility at 0.6% cost of commercial alternatives C_LIO_LIFour independent channels with configurable parameters and real-time data logging. C_LIO_LIContinuous run setup in-incubator; no electrode repositioning needed C_LIO_LIValidated with stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, achieving frequency capture (threshold 250-400 mV/mm) C_LIO_LI3D-printed holders enable microscope visualization without electrode removal C_LI Graphical abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=78 SRC="FIGDIR/small/743263v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (28K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@98f9deorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@13c73aborg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1cdf099org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@16ed0cf_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG Specifications Table O_TBL View this table: org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@4ef802org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@7c651borg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@d20013org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@102fc89org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@111b927_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_TBL C_TBL

We present an active mixing toolhead for extrusion bioprinting. The tool enables the programmable fabrication of tumor microenvironment gradient arrays, through controlled deposition of mixed hydrogel precursor formulations into 384-well plates, pre-seeded with tumor cells. It operates on an open-source bioprinter and can actively mix arbitrary ratios of two hydrogel precursors prior to extrusion. These concentration gradient arrays are compatible with quantitative image analysis of cell viability and morphological responses to hydrogels conditioned with drug or extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. The tools capacity to mix and print hydrogel precursor gradients was demonstrated using alginate and highly concentrated mCherry-conjugated mini-spidroin solutions. Hydrogel precursor stocks contained fluorescent reporters to facilitate quantifications of mixing efficiency, and as proxies for drug and ECM protein concentrations. The tool was applied to generate hydrogel-based gradients of the apoptosis-inducer staurosporine, from which concentration-dependent MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell death responses were quantified. Gradient arrays of the ECM protein laminin-511, implicated in breast cancer tumorigenesis, were generated and revealed that increasing laminin-511 concentrations potentiated staurosporine-induced cell death. The study demonstrates the utility of this active mixing toolhead for producing hydrogel gradient arrays, and demonstrates the relevance of studying drug-responses in tumor microenvironment models that account for disease-specific ECM components.

Chronic wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers are typically more alkaline than healing wounds, making wound pH a valuable diagnostic and prognostic marker. However, point-of-care pH monitoring remains limited by the availability of point-of-care wound pH sensing systems that offer quantitative pH determination, low toxicity, and small portable detectors. Here, we report a colorimetric pH-sensing wound dressing that enables in situ pH detection using a conventional smartphone camera. The anionic pH-sensitive dye HPTS was loaded onto cationic microparticles and embedded within a calcium-crosslinked alginate hydrogel. Across the clinically relevant range of pH 6.0-9.0, increasing pH produced a progressively more intense yellow coloration, quantified through the blue channel of smartphone-acquired RGB images. The dressing displayed a strong, rapid, and reversible signal in vitro with low dye release. In a full-thickness excisional wound model in mice, wound pH changes were detected in vivo. The combination of a pH-sensitive colorimetric hydrogel with a conventional smartphone detector offers accessible wound pH monitoring at the point-of-care.

Uniform, reproducible blood smears are critical for reliable hematological evaluation. Manual smear preparation, however, is user-dependent and introduces variability that limits quantitative microscopy. Here we developed BUsmear, a low-cost, 3D-printed, motorized blood smear device that prepares two smears simultaneously from a printed stage and a micro-motor drive with tunable linear velocity, controlled through a joystick-operated driver module. By spreading two slides in parallel with fully repeatable slide-to-slide motion, the device doubles throughput while eliminating operator-dependent motion artifacts, and can be fabricated on any benchtop 3D printer in under one day. To validate smear quality, we analyzed blood films from three donors together with a manual smear prepared by an expert from the blood of one of the same donors, giving a matched device-versus-manual pair. Automated Cellpose segmentation of 14,046 red blood cells across 12 bright-field fields showed that cell diameter was preserved and closely matched the expert smear (6.7-7.8 um across groups, within the 6.2-8.2 um human reference range; 6.7 vs 6.9 um in the matched pair), and that all films formed non-aggregated monolayers (Clark-Evans index of aggregation 1.04-1.24). Critically, red blood cells in the device films were markedly more circular than in the expert manual smear (mean eccentricity 0.405 vs 0.502; 0.443 vs 0.502 in the matched pair), with complete separation between the two methods at the level of whole fields of view. Because eccentricity reports smear-induced cell distortion, this indicates that a constant, mechanically controlled spreading velocity preserves red blood cell morphology better than skilled manual technique. BUsmear offers an accessible route to standardized smear geometry for quantitative analysis, including AI-based morphometry, and its low cost may be particularly advantageous in low-income countries with a high prevalence of malaria.

Online structural characterization during microfluidic lipid self-assembly is important for understanding and controlling the formation of nonlamellar liquid crystalline nanodispersions. Here, we report a 3D-printed, X-ray-compatible hydrodynamic flow-focusing microfluidic chip with variable channel dimensions, integrated with synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), for position-resolved SAXS-on-chip monitoring of Ca2+-triggered hexosome formation. Hexosomes were produced under continuous flow by mixing ethanolic solutions of docosahexaenoic acid monoglyceride (MAG-DHA), the negatively charged phosphatidylglycerol DOPG, and -tocopherol with Ca2+-containing PIPES buffer. Online SAXS-on-chip measurements detected three Bragg reflections characteristic of the internal inverse hexagonal (H2) phase on a tens-of-milliseconds residence-time scale, revealing rapid structural evolution during microfluidic mixing. Complementary ex situ SAXS identified the DOPG/Ca2+ molar ratio as a key parameter modulating the direct vesicle-to-hexosome transformation and the compactness of the internal H2 nanostructures. Dynamic light scattering showed that the flow-rate ratio modulated nanoparticle size, yielding hexosomes with mean hydrodynamic diameters in the range of approximately 120-175 nm and polydispersity index values down to 0.14 at a total flow rate of 200 {micro}L min-1. Cryo-TEM revealed coexistence of hexosomes and vesicular nanostructures, highlighting morphological heterogeneity, while Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics simulations supported a central role of Ca2+-DOPG association in promoting a direct lamellar-H2 phase transition. Overall, this work shows that 3D-printed SAXS-compatible microfluidics can integrate continuous production with online structural characterization, providing a basis for future formulation and process optimization of drug-loaded cubosomes, hexosomes, and related nonlamellar liquid crystalline nanodispersions.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) facilitate intercellular communication by transferring diverse bioactive molecules from donor to recipient cells. However, EVs released by distinct cellular lineages become difficult to distinguish when mixed in multicellular experimental models, limiting the analysis of how cell-cell interactions affect EV-associated molecular profiles. To address this, EV-Tracer, a CD63-based dual-fluorescence tracing and capture system for detecting, isolating, and profiling lineage-associated EV fractions, was developed. Achilles or mScarlet was inserted into the small extracellular loop of CD63, enabling tracer-specific EV detection by digital counting, antibody-based isolation, and live-cell visualisation. Exploratory EV RNA sequencing suggested that physical cell-cell contact was associated with distinct EV RNA profiles, including interferon-related signals, which were supported by targeted cellular and EV-associated RNA analyses. EV-Tracer provides a practical framework for investigating lineage-associated EV dynamics and molecular signals in mixed-cell systems.

Two-photon polymerization (2PP) enables fabrication of hydrogel constructs with submicron, cell-scale resolution, but hydrogel-based bioinks are markedly more sensitive to process variability than conventional photoresists, and this sensitivity is further amplified when living cells are embedded in the resin. Post-processing evaluation, performed only after development, occurs too late to enable any corrective action. A full-factorial design of experiments across laser power and scan speed shows that fabrication outcome depends on both parameter choice and cell presence, with cells shifting and broadening the range of conditions yielding structurally sound constructs. However, substantial variability persists within each nominal condition and cannot be resolved by parameter refinement alone, indicating that outcome is governed by what occurs during each individual print rather than by the parameters set. To capture this, a layer-wise polymerization score is derived from pairwise comparisons of same-layer coaxial images, grounded in the psychophysics of relative judgment, and assembled into a Layer-wise Image Trajectory (LIT) for each print. Applied to both acellular and cell-laden formulations, LIT curves separate cleanly by post-processing outcome without any outcome label used in training, showing that fabrication quality can be predicted early in the build. Building on this signal, individual LIT curves are compared against statistical control limits derived from confirmed successful prints, enabling early detection of anomalous fabrication behavior at early-to-mid layers, well before development. To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first application of in situ quality prediction and anomaly detection to cell-laden two-photon polymerization.

Viral diagnostics during early phases of infection are often limited by target scarcity and the deployment tempo. We significantly advance both quantitative accuracy and diagnostic throughput of viral agglutination assays with Immuno-Janus Particle (IJP) aggregation behavior that "flicker" stochastically with size-dependent statistics. By scrutinizing microscale blinking patterns of time series fluorescent videos, we decipher Brownian dynamics of individual IJP-Virus conjugates and IJP aggregates via windowed Ito stochastic analysis (termed the Culsans method). High-frequency rotational fluctuation is deconvolved from corrupting drifts caused by gravitational sedimentation and Brownian translational motion. This methodology enables a non-linear mapping of angular positions of detected IJPs and IJP aggregates to extract rotational diffusivity (Dr) (and subsequently overall construct size) with superior linearity (R2[&ge;]0.85). The aggregation behavior exhibits a maximum when the IJP and viral particle concentrations are equal. The virion-bridged IJP-IJP conjugates significantly shift the detectable hydrodynamic diameter in the Poisson limit of reduced virus concentration with respect to IJPs, pushing the limit of detection (LOD) to 103 - 104 virions per mL in untreated human plasma. This tunable platform offers a rapid, low-volume, and scalable alternative to lab-based RT-PCR, bridging the gap between virion sensitivity and field-readiness.

Conducting polymers are widely used in bioelectronic interfaces because of their mixed ionic-electronic conductivity, mechanical compliance, and compatibility with biological systems. However, their electrochemically driven structural dynamics have received little attention as a mechanism for mechanical cell stimulation. Here, we show that electrochemical actuation of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) generates mechanical cues capable of activating endogenous mechanosensitive pathways in HEK293T cells. Transparent PEDOT:PSS films deposited on ITO exhibited a heterogeneous granular morphology and underwent potential-dependent microscopic deformation during electrochemical modulation. Direct optical tracking revealed displacement of the polymer boundary, with structural changes occurring preferentially in polymer-dense regions and propagating toward the film edge. When HEK293T cells were cultured directly on PEDOT:PSS, repeated electrochemical stimulation at -240 mV produced reproducible intracellular Ca2+ responses. Pharmacological inhibition with GsMTx4 attenuated the calcium response, whereas blockade of voltage-gated sodium channels with tetrodotoxin largely preserved it, supporting the involvement of mechanosensitive pathways in the cellular response. These findings identify PEDOT:PSS as an electromechanical biointerface in which electrochemical modulation can introduce a mechanical component alongside the established electrical function of the interface. This mechanical contribution should therefore be considered when interpreting cellular responses to conducting polymer- based electrical stimulation and provides a basis for engineering bioelectronic interfaces that deliberately couple electrical control with mechanotransduction.

BackgroundContinuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems are used not only for retrospective assessment of the glycemic profile but also for real-time decision-making, including automated insulin delivery. Accordingly, CGM performance characterization must capture not only the agreement of individual paired values but also the systems ability to reproduce the direction, rate, amplitude, and shape of glucose concentration change. Summary metrics, most notably MARD, cannot establish whether an observed deviation reflects an error in the formation of the test profile itself, a constant sensor offset, amplitude compression, a change in response rate, temporal misalignment, or hysteresis. ObjectiveTo adapt a programmable flow-based in vitro platform for the separate assessment of the experimentally delivered glucose profile and the dynamic response of CGM systems, and to propose a set of metrics that decomposes dynamic error into its components. MethodsGLU profiles were generated by programmable mixing of solutions at a constant total flow rate of 2 mL/min. Actual GLU concentration was independently measured with a SUPER GL2 glucose analyzer. Four static levels, three repeats of a 5.5[-&gt;]12.0[-&gt;]5.5 mmol/L profile, three repeats of a 6.0[-&gt;]3.0[-&gt;]6.0 mmol/L hypoglycemic profile, three 5.0[-&gt;]15.0[-&gt;]5.0 mmol/L profiles at different rates, one complex 4[-&gt;]18[-&gt;]3[-&gt;]12[-&gt;]5.5 mmol/L profile, and two proof-of-concept sensor experiments at 100- and 200-min transitions were investigated. Dynamic response was characterized by bias, MAE, RMSE, MARD, amplitude transfer coefficient K_A, rate transfer coefficients K_up and K_down, normalized shape RMSE, residual shift, and hysteresis loop area. ResultsAt the static levels, measured GLU exceeded the programmed value by 0.234-0.780 mmol/L. In the repeated 5.5[-&gt;]12.0[-&gt;]5.5 profiles, the ratio of actual to programmed rate was 0.978-1.083 on the rising phase and 0.987-1.157 on the falling phase, while the amplitude transfer coefficient was 0.967-1.066. In the hypoglycemic profile, minimum GLU was 2.55- 2.96 mmol/L, and time below 3.0 mmol/L was 15.2-72.6 min. The measured rates of 0.0519, 0.1045, and 0.2027 mmol/L/min preserved the intended ratio of approximately 1:2:4. In the complex profile, the programmed plateau of 18 mmol/L was not reached: mean measured GLU was 16.20 mmol/L. For CGM-A, K_A was 0.682 and 0.650, and K_up/K_down were 0.666/0.730 and 0.634/0.626; the corresponding values for CGM-B were 1.228 and 1.128, and 1.564/1.328 and 1.276/1.145. Hysteresis loop area differed 5- to 10-fold between the two sensor responses, exceeding an order of magnitude at the 100-min transition. ConclusionThe programmed concentration should be treated as a control setpoint, rather than as a reference measurement. The "programmed trajectory -- measured glucose -- CGM output" cascade first allows quantitative assessment of the agreement between the programmed and actually realized profile and only then separate characterization of sensor response. Decomposition of dynamic error into amplitude, rate, shape, and hysteresis components reveals differences that a single MARD value or correlation coefficient cannot capture.

Monitoring pH and extracellular acidification rate (ECA) in biological samples containing live mammalian cells can provide valuable information on the glycolytic activity and bioenergetic status of cells. Compared to pH electrodes, optochemical pH sensors look more advantageous, since they allow rapid, non-invasive parallel analysis of multiple samples with stable readout of pH. We have developed new fluorescent pH sensors based on hydrophobic protonable metal-free porphyrins,OEP and OEPK, embedded in a plasticized PVC matrix containing a proton transfer agent. These pH sensors provide internally-referenced calibration-free operation, both in ratiometric intensity and lifetime-based detection modes. Sensor development included optimization of the indicator dye and its photophysical characteristics, screening of different proton transfer agents to minimize sensor toxicity, tuning of the protonation range and pKa, long-term storage stability and response time studies. Optimised pH sensor coatings were then deposited on plastic substrates (96-well microplates) and used for real-time monitoring of Extracellular Acidification Rate (ECAR) for cultured cancer cells and 3D spheroid structures on standard laboratory equipment (multi-label plate reader and confocal FLIM microscope). The advanced pH sensors tailored for use with biological samples have high potential for cell analysis and related applications.

Rapid, selective detection of bacterial pathogens remains a central challenge. Here we report a label-free electrochemical biosensing approach that leverages protein-protein interaction (PPI)-derived peptides as recognition elements for rapid detection of Listeria monocytogenes (LM). The sensor design is inspired by the interaction between the LM virulence factor Internalin A (InlA) and the human host receptor E-cadherin (E-Cad1). Peptides derived from the InlA-binding domain of E-Cad1 were engineered as molecular recognition elements, with the E-Cad1(15-24) peptide displaying micromolar affinity and selective binding towards LM. Immobilization of these peptides on gold electrodes enabled bacterial detection by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy within 10 minutes, without labels or external signal amplification. A low peptide surface density was associated with enhanced binding-site accessibility and may facilitate multivalent interactions between the bacterial surface and the immobilized peptides. The platform produced a detectable response at experimentally tested concentrations as low as 1 CFU mL {superscript 1} and exhibited excellent selectivity under the conditions examined. This work introduces a chemically programmable, PPI-inspired biosensing paradigm that uses a reductionist approach and could potentially be extended to other pathogen targets.

Three-dimensional (3D) spheroid culture provides a physiologically relevant alternative to conventional two-dimensional culture, but reliable spheroid formation in microwells depends on limiting cell-substrate adhesion. Pluronic F127 is an amphiphilic triblock copolymer that forms a hydrated surface layer, reducing protein adsorption. Here, we evaluated whether this intrinsic anti-fouling property could restore an anti-adhesive surface in used microwell plates to promote spheroid formation. Using chondrogenic ATDC5 and pancreatic {beta}-cell INS-1 cells, we characterized spheroid assembly kinetics, F127 cytotoxicity, surface hydrophilicity, protein adsorption, and spheroid morphology including size and shape factor. Both cell types formed compact spheroids within 24 hours on commercial anti-adhesive microwells. F127 coating markedly reduced water contact angle and protein adsorption, confirming increased surface hydrophilicity and reduced protein fouling. In microwells stripped of their original surface coating, F127 coating amounts of approximately 0.011-0.045 mg/cm2 consistently promoted spheroid formation across both cell types. Soluble F127 concentrations were confirmed to be non-cytotoxic up to 0.625% (w/v), while even complete dissolution of the highest tested coating amount would correspond to only 0.025% (w/v) F127. This simple, reproducible, and low-cost surface-modification strategy may provide an accessible approach for re-functionalizing microwell platforms for 3D cell culture.

Endothelial cells (ECs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are increasingly used to model vascular diseases and test therapeutic strategies. However, the efficiency and reproducibility of differentiation can vary depending on the culture medium and its supplemented factors and stages. Here, we directly compared two defined media, APEL and BPEL, for iPSC-to-ECs differentiation. iPSCs were differentiated over 10 days with sequential growth factor induction, followed by magnetic-activated cell sorting or flow cytometry for CD31+ cells. Both media produced ECs with similar morphology and marker expression, including CD31 and VE-cadherin. Functional assays demonstrated comparable tube formation, indicating equivalent endothelial functionality. Cost analysis indicated that APEL had a higher total reagent cost but generated a higher total cell yield, resulting in a comparable cost per 10 total cells, whereas BPEL was more cost-efficient for producing CD31/VE-cadherin endothelial-specific cells. Our results suggest that APEL and BPEL media are equally effective for generating iPSC-derived ECs, providing flexibility in method selection for vascular disease modeling and drug discovery applications.

Background and aims Model systems for bile duct disorders are needed for testing therapeutic interventions. Current models have poor human relevance or limited potential for recreating the complex bile duct microenvironment at scale. We aimed to generate a humanized microphysiological system to model and treat cholangiopathies. Methods An in vitro bile duct was created using 3D printed microfluidic chips containing a collagen-embedded canal seeded with patient-derived primary human cholangiocytes. Barrier permeability and compound transport across the epithelium was measured, and disruption of the barrier was performed with lipopolysaccharide treatment. The duct was challenged with the known hepatotoxicant Chlorpromazine. Biliatresone was used to model biliary-atresia and treated using N-acetyl-L-cysteine. Results Cholangiocytes in the bile duct chip established a tight, polarized epithelial barrier. Verapamil and Linerixibat inhibited transport of rhodamine 123 and cholyl-lys-fluorescein respectively with 66 % (p = 0.0004) and 57 % (p = 0.03) reduction. 10 g/mL lipopolysaccharide led to a loss of epithelial barrier integrity, measured by an increase of over 1000 % in leakage of both 3 kDa (p = 0.0002) and 10 kDa dextran (p = 0.0001) along with upregulation of cytokines. Chlorpromazine displayed dose-dependent toxicity with EC50 values of 84, 140 and 96 M for three patient lines. Biliatresone induced a dose-dependent abnormal phenotype with loss of viability. The induced phenotype could be treated with N-acetyl-L-cysteine, improving viability from 23 % to 59 % (p < 0.0001) with treatment of 2 g/mL Biliatresone. Conclusions Our novel platform allows complex studies of bile duct biology, testing of off-target effects from drugs and treatment of a disease phenotype.