Development of multifunctional microfluidic system for longitudinal intra- and extra-cellular monitoring of neurotransmitter and genetic regulatory changes in human neurons
Interdisciplinary Areas: | Engineering and Healthcare/Medicine/Biology, Micro-, Nano-, and Quantum Engineering |
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Project Description
Neurotransmitters are endogenous chemicals that enable neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity. Monitoring neurotransmitter concentrations with a high spatial and temporal resolution is essential for deciphering brain function and understanding the molecular mechanism of neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases. Further, changes in neuronal plasticity are accompanied by genetic regulatory changes driven by alteration in specific epigenetic marks to genomic DNA and histones. Electrochemical and recombinant sensors have been developed in recent years to enable in situ monitoring of neurotransmitter levels and epigenetic modification in real-time. The major technical challenge, however, remains because most electrochemical sensors have limited selectivity and short stability/lifetime under physiological conditions. Although recombinant sensors expressed in situ can enable long-term monitoring of intracellular responses, the sensors are randomly integrated, are often excluded from synaptic vesicles, and fail to provide adequate spatial information. The goal of this project is to design and validate a novel microfluidic system for continuously monitoring changes in extracellular neurotransmitters while using genetically encoded recombinant biosensors to quantify intracellular epigenetic changes in real-time. By simultaneously monitoring the changes in extra- and intra-cellular responses to various environmental chemical exposures, we will be able to determine the potential causal effects in assessment of neurogenerative disease models (i.e., Parkinson’s Disease).
Start Date
Jan 2020
Postdoc Qualifications
Ph.D in Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or Biomedical Engineering with background in neuroscience and bioMEMS. She should be proficient in microfabrication techniques with experiences using cell culture and microfluidic. Biosensor design, fabrication and testing capabilities or protein engineering experiences would be a plus.
Co-advisors
Hyowon "Hugh" Lee
hwlee@purdue.edu
Biomedical Engineering
https://engineering.purdue.edu/LIMR/
Chongli Yuan
cyuan@purdue.edu
Chemical Engineering
Collaborators
Aaron Bowman
bowma117@purdue.edu
School of Health Sciences
Steve Wereley
wereley@purdue.edu
Mechanical Engineering
References
Facile fabrication of flexible glutamate biosensor using direct writing of platinum nanoparticle-based nanocomposite ink.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956566319300806
Monitoring Histone Methylation (H3K9me3) Changes in Live Cells
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.9b01413
Engineering Recombinant Protein Sensors for Quantifying Histone Acetylation
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acssensors.7b00026