Rapid Quantification of 4,4'-Methylenedianiline by Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

Methylenedianiline (MDA) is a common industrial chemical with health and product safety concerns. Common analysis methods require many steps including extraction and derivatization ending in GC/MS or HPLC analysis, which minimize its use as an on-line or at-line technique. The procedure can take hours, prohibiting its use as a real-time decision-making tool as well as using valuable resources and laboratory space. The new method presented here has been validated for MDA quantification in industrial grease samples over the concentration range of 1-40 ppm 4,4'-MDA. We present comparative results to the currently accepted method with excellent fidelity. This analytical method using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy reduces sample preparation and analysis time by more than an hour while preserving method accuracy, specificity, and dynamic range.

Localized neurotransmitter release for use in a prototype retinal interface.

PURPOSE: Current neural prostheses use electricity as the mode of stimulation, yet information transfer in neural circuitry is primarily through chemical transmitters. To address this disparity, this study was conducted to devise a prototype interface for a retinal prosthetic based on localized chemical delivery. The goal was to determine whether fluidic delivery through microfabricated apertures could be used to stimulate at single-cell dimensions. METHODS: A drug delivery system was microfabricated based on a 5- or 10- microm aperture in a 500-nm thick silicon nitride membrane to localize and limit transmitter release. The aperture overlies a microfluidic delivery channel in a silicone elastomer. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this transmitter-based prosthesis, rat pheochromocytoma cells (PC12 cell line) were grown on the surface of the device to test the precision of stimulation, using bradykinin as a stimulant and measuring fluorescence from the calcium indicator, fluo-4. RESULTS: The extent of stimulation could be controlled accurately by varying the concentration of stimulant, from a single cell adjacent to the aperture to a broad area of cells. The stimulation radius was as small as 10 microm, corresponding to stimulation volumes as small as 2 pL. The relationship between the extent of stimulation and concentration was linear. CONCLUSIONS: The demonstration of localized chemical stimulation of excitable cells illustrates the potential of this technology for retinal prostheses. Although this is only a proof of concept of neurotransmitter stimulation for a retinal prosthesis, it is a significant first step toward mimicking neurotransmitter release during synaptic transmission.

Microcontact printing on human tissue for retinal cell transplantation.

OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate that microcontact printing, a modern materials fabrication technique, can be used to engineer the surface of human tissue and to show that inhibitory molecules can be used to pattern the growth of retinal pigment epithelial cells or iris pigment epithelial cells on human lens capsule for transplantation. METHODS: Photolithographic techniques were used to fabricate photoresist-coated silicon substrates into molds. Poly(dimethylsiloxane)stamps for microcontact printing were made from these molds. The poly(dimethylsiloxane) stamps were then used to "wet-transfer" growth inhibitory molecules to the surface of prepared human lens capsules that were obtained during cataract surgery. Human retinal pigment epithelial and rabbit iris pigment epithelial cells were grown on a lens capsule substrate in the presence and absence of a patterned array of inhibitory factors. RESULTS: We found that human lens capsule could be microprinted with a precision similar to that obtained on glass or synthetic polymers. Retinal pigment epithelial cells and iris pigment epithelial cells cultured onto an untreated lens capsule showed spreading and formed into fusiform-appearing cells. In contrast, cells cultured on a lens capsule with a hexagonal micropattern of growth inhibitory molecules retained an epithelioid form within the inhibitory hexagons. CONCLUSION: Inhibitory growth molecules can be micropatterned onto human lens capsule, and these micropatterns can control the organization of retinal pigment epithelial cells or iris pigment epithelial cells cultured onto the lens capsule surface. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Microprinting on autologous human tissue may facilitate efforts to effectively organize cell cultures and transplantations for the replacement of vital ocular tissues such as the retinal pigment epithelium in age-related macular degeneration.

Fluid flow past an aperture in a microfluidic channel.

Electroosmotically driven flow in neurotransmitter-based retinal prostheses offers a novel approach to interfacing the nervous system. Here, we show that electroosmotically driven flow in a microfluidic channel can be used either to eject or to withdraw fluid through a small aperture in the channel wall. We study this fluid movement numerically using a finite-element method and experimentally using microfabricated channels and apertures. Two devices are used to test the concept of fluid ejection and withdrawal: (1) a single, large channel with four apertures and (2) a prototype neural interface with four individually addressable apertures. We compared experimental and numerical results in microchannels using the observed pH dependence of the fluorescent dye fluorescein, finding good agreement between the results. Because of the simplicity and rapid response of electroosmotic flow, this technique may be useful for neurotransmitter-based neural interfaces.

Localized chemical release from an artificial synapse chip.

A device that releases chemical compounds in small volumes and at multiple, well defined locations would be a powerful tool for clinical therapeutics and biological research. Many biomedical devices such as neurotransmitter-based prostheses or drug delivery devices require precise release of chemical compounds. Additionally, the ability to control chemical gradients will have applications in basic research such as studies of cell microenvironments, stem cell niches, metaplasia, or chemotaxis. We present such a device with repeatable delivery of chemical compounds at multiple locations on a chip surface. Using electroosmosis to drive flow through microfluidic channels, we pulse minute quantities of a bradykinin solution through four 5-microm apertures onto PC12 cells and show stimulation of individual cells using a Ca(2+)-sensitive fluorescent dye. We also present basic computational results with experimental verification of both fluid ejection and fluid withdrawal by imaging pH changes by using a fluorescent dye. This "artificial synapse chip" is a prototype neural interface that introduces a new paradigm for neural stimulation, with eventual application in treating macular degeneration and other neurological disorders.

The Artificial Synapse Chip: a flexible retinal interface based on directed retinal cell growth and neurotransmitter stimulation.

The Artificial Synapse Chip is an evolving design for a flexible retinal interface that aims to improve visual resolution of an electronic retinal prosthesis by addressing cells individually and mimicking the physiological stimulation achieved in synaptic transmission. We describe three novel approaches employed in the development of the Artificial Synapse Chip: (i) micropatterned substrates to direct retinal cell neurite growth to individual stimulation sites; (ii) a prototype retinal interface based on localized neurotransmitter delivery; and (iii) the use of soft materials to fabricate these devices. By patterning the growth of cells to individual stimulation sites, we can improve the selectivity of stimulation and decrease the associated power requirements. Moreover, we have microfabricated a neurotransmitter delivery system based on a 5- micro m aperture in a 500-nm-thick silicon nitride membrane overlying a microfluidic channel. This device can release neurotransmitter volumes as small as 2 pL, demonstrating the possibility of chemical-based prostheses. Finally, we have fabricated and implanted an equivalent device using soft flexible materials that conform to the retinal tissue more effectively. As many of the current retinal prosthesis devices use hard materials and electrical excitation at a lower resolution, our approach may provide more physiologic retinal stimulation.