More Like this

1. Tribological interactions of 3D printed polyurethane and polyamide with water-responsive skin model

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-020-0472-2  

   Kasar, Ashish K.; Chan, Ashton; Shamanaev, Victor; Menezes, Pradeep L. (February 2021, Friction)

   null (Ed.)

   Abstract 3D printing in the textile and fashion industry is a new emerging technology. Applications of 3D printing for designing clothes and other wearable accessories require tribological and biological understanding of 3D printing plastics against the complex human skin to mitigate skin-friction related ailments such as calluses and blisters. This study provides tribological insight in search of an optimal 3D printable material that has minimal friction against the skin. Two low friction 3D printable materials, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and polyamide (TPA) were chosen and tribological testing was carried out against a water responsive skin model. The skin model was synthesized using a gelatine based model made with cotton and crosslinked with glutaraldehyde. Tribological testing of TPU/TPA against the skin model in dry and wet conditions were made. The higher coefficient of friction (COF) was observed in the wet condition compared to the dry condition. To overcome the higher friction, TPA/TPU-sodium polyacrylate composites were prepared by heat pressing that significantly reduced COF of TPU and TPA by ∼ 40% and 75%, respectively, in wet conditions. 

   more » « less
2. Deep learning-enabled, non-invasive virtual histology of skin using reflectance confocal microscopy

   https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2632602  

   Li, Jingxi; Garfinkel, Jason; Zhang, Xiaoran; Wu, Di; Zhang, Yijie; de Haan, Kevin; Wang, Hongda; Liu, Tairan; Bai, Bijie; Rivenson, Yair; et al (October 2022, SPIE Optics and Photonics Conference)

   Volpe, Giovanni; Pereira, Joana B.; Brunner, Daniel; Ozcan, Aydogan (Ed.)

   Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) can provide in vivo images of the skin with cellular-level resolution; however, RCM images are grayscale, lack nuclear features and have a low correlation with histology. We present a deep learning-based virtual staining method to perform non-invasive virtual histology of the skin based on in vivo, label-free RCM images. This virtual histology framework revealed successful inference for various skin conditions, such as basal cell carcinoma, also covering distinct skin layers, including epidermis and dermal-epidermal junction. This method can pave the way for faster and more accurate diagnosis of malignant skin neoplasms while reducing unnecessary biopsies. 

   more » « less
3. Deep learning-based non-invasive skin virtual histology using reflectance confocal microscopy

   Jingxi Li; Jason Garfinkel; Xiaoran Zhang; Di Wu; Yijie Zhang; Kevin de Haan; Hongda Wang; Tairan Liu; Bijie Bai; Yair Rivenson; et al (August 2022, 22nd Annual UC Systemwide Bioengineering Symposium)

   An invasive biopsy followed by histological staining is the gold standard for traditional pathological identification of skin cancers, which requires a long processing time and often results in undesired biopsies and scarring. Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) can provide biopsy-free in vivo images of skin structure with a cellular-level resolution for skin disease evaluation; however, the RCM images are grayscale, miss nuclear features and have a low correlation with pathology, which requires specialized training for interpretation. Here, we report a deep learning-based method for performing non-invasive virtual skin histology using in vivo, label-free RCM images. 

   more » « less
4. Inference of Intercellular Communications and Multilayer Gene-Regulations of Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition From Single-Cell Transcriptomic Data

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2020.604585  

   Sha, Yutong; Wang, Shuxiong; Bocci, Federico; Zhou, Peijie; Nie, Qing (January 2021, Frontiers in Genetics)

   null (Ed.)

   Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role in many biological processes during development and cancer. The advent of single-cell transcriptome sequencing techniques allows the dissection of dynamical details underlying EMT with unprecedented resolution. Despite several single-cell data analysis on EMT, how cell communicates and regulates dynamics along the EMT trajectory remains elusive. Using single-cell transcriptomic datasets, here we infer the cell–cell communications and the multilayer gene–gene regulation networks to analyze and visualize the complex cellular crosstalk and the underlying gene regulatory dynamics along EMT. Combining with trajectory analysis, our approach reveals the existence of multiple intermediate cell states (ICSs) with hybrid epithelial and mesenchymal features. Analyses on the time-series datasets from cancer cell lines with different inducing factors show that the induced EMTs are context-specific: the EMT induced by transforming growth factor B1 (TGFB1) is synchronous, whereas the EMTs induced by epidermal growth factor and tumor necrosis factor are asynchronous, and the responses of TGF-β pathway in terms of gene expression regulations are heterogeneous under different treatments or among various cell states. Meanwhile, network topology analysis suggests that the ICSs during EMT serve as the signaling in cellular communication under different conditions. Interestingly, our analysis of a mouse skin squamous cell carcinoma dataset also suggests regardless of the significant discrepancy in concrete genes between in vitro and in vivo EMT systems, the ICSs play dominant role in the TGF-β signaling crosstalk. Overall, our approach reveals the multiscale mechanisms coupling cell–cell communications and gene–gene regulations responsible for complex cell-state transitions. 

   more » « less
5. Surface Patterning of Hydrogel Biomaterials to Probe and Direct Cell–Matrix Interactions

   https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202001198  

   Munoz‐Robles, Brizzia_G; Kopyeva, Irina; DeForest, Cole_A (September 2020, Advanced Materials Interfaces)

   Abstract Due to their mechanical and structural similarity to native tissues, hydrogel biomaterials have gained tremendous popularity for applications in 3D tissue culture, therapeutic screening, disease modeling, and regenerative medicine. Recent advances in pre‐ and post‐synthetic processing have afforded anisotropic manipulation of the biochemical, mechanical, and topographical properties of biocompatible gels, increasingly in a dynamic and heterogeneous fashion that mimics natural processes in vivo. Herein, the current state of hydrogel surface patterning to investigate cellular interactions with the surrounding matrix is reviewed, both in techniques utilized and biological findings explored, and the perspective on proposed future directions for the field is offered. 

   more » « less