Research Interests
- Immunosorbent assay development for 3D cell culture
- 3D printing of biological materials
- Cellular response to mechanical stimuli
- Contact mechanics of soft solid materials
Experience
Immunosorbent assay development for 3D cell culture
Biological processes are exceedingly complex, often relying on a cascade of multiple inputs and outputs. The quantification of such signals is typically measured using supernatant (the liquid surrounding the cell) in a separate device. Measuring cellular communication in this way increases the sensitivity of the measurement, but loses the contextual meaning of the message and may disturb the cellular environment in the process. Using an off the shelf bead-based immunoassay in a confocal microscope allows researchers to continuously monitor protein concentration while observing interactions between various cell types as they occur. Dynamic cell response to environmental stress can be measured both by protein production and live imaging allowing for in vitro measurements of cellular cascades.
3D printing of biological materials
A custom built 4 axis printer translates a syringe and needle through a granularized microgel while depositing living cells. The granularized microgel traps deposited materials in place following the local shearing events of the deposition needle allowing for arbitrary 3D printing paths. The granular gel maintains optical transparency and allows for the replenishment of nutrients and transport of waste away from the cellular environment. Custom software was developed to control the printer stages and utilizes a simple-to-use programming language as the user input.
Contact mechanics challenge
Using a computer-generated surface with self-affine roughness, the contact patch distribution for various pressures was experimentally measured and simulated in the linear elastic range. A 3D printed rough surface model pressed against a flat PDMS surface was used to experimentally measure real area of contact with varying load. The experimental data was compared against multiple numerical simulation models from various research groups. 3D Surface deformation and real area of contact were simultaneously measured using digital image correlation (DIC) and frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR). These one of a kind measurements show that the gradient of the contacting surface asperities can be used to predict real area of contact.
Biological processes are exceedingly complex, often relying on a cascade of multiple inputs and outputs. The quantification of such signals is typically measured using supernatant (the liquid surrounding the cell) in a separate device. Measuring cellular communication in this way increases the sensitivity of the measurement, but loses the contextual meaning of the message and may disturb the cellular environment in the process. Using an off the shelf bead-based immunoassay in a confocal microscope allows researchers to continuously monitor protein concentration while observing interactions between various cell types as they occur. Dynamic cell response to environmental stress can be measured both by protein production and live imaging allowing for in vitro measurements of cellular cascades.
3D printing of biological materials
A custom built 4 axis printer translates a syringe and needle through a granularized microgel while depositing living cells. The granularized microgel traps deposited materials in place following the local shearing events of the deposition needle allowing for arbitrary 3D printing paths. The granular gel maintains optical transparency and allows for the replenishment of nutrients and transport of waste away from the cellular environment. Custom software was developed to control the printer stages and utilizes a simple-to-use programming language as the user input.
Contact mechanics challenge
Using a computer-generated surface with self-affine roughness, the contact patch distribution for various pressures was experimentally measured and simulated in the linear elastic range. A 3D printed rough surface model pressed against a flat PDMS surface was used to experimentally measure real area of contact with varying load. The experimental data was compared against multiple numerical simulation models from various research groups. 3D Surface deformation and real area of contact were simultaneously measured using digital image correlation (DIC) and frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR). These one of a kind measurements show that the gradient of the contacting surface asperities can be used to predict real area of contact.