Neurotherapeutics; Protein polarization; On chip culture; Magnetic nanoparticles; Primary cortical neurons; Magnetic forces; Directed neurit outgrowth; Mechanical stimulus; Microtechnology; Nanotechnology
Ren Yufei, Kunze Anja, Renaud Philippe (2015), Compartmentalized Microfluidics for In Vitro Alzheimer’s Disease Studies., in Biffi Emilia (ed.), Springer New York, Neuromethods, 197-215.
Kunze Anja, Tseng Peter, Godzich Chanya, Murray Coleman, Caputo Anna, Schweizer Felix E, Di Carlo Dino (2015), Engineering cortical neuron polarity with nanomagnets on a chip., in
ACS nano, 9(4), 3664-76.
Tseng Peter, Lin Jonathan, Owsley Keegan, Kong Janay, Kunze Anja, Murray Coleman, Di Carlo Dino (2015), Flexible and stretchable micromagnet arrays for tunable biointerfacing., in
Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.), 27(6), 1083-9.
Kunze Anja, Che James, Karimi Armin, Di Carlo Dino (2015), Research highlights: Cell separation at the bench and beyond., in
Lab on a chip, 15(3), 605-9.
Weaver Westbrook M, Tseng Peter, Kunze Anja, Masaeli Mahdokht, Chung Aram J, Dudani Jaideep S, Kittur Harsha, Kulkarni Rajan P, Di Carlo Dino (2014), Advances in high-throughput single-cell microtechnologies., in
Current opinion in biotechnology, 25, 114-23.
Godzich Chanya, Di Carlo Dino, Kunze Anja (2014), Nanoparticle surface charge impacts vesicle motion in cortical neurons., in
BMES Abstracts 2014, Texas, San Antonio, USA.
Kunze Anja, Pushkarsky Ivan, Kittur Harsha, Di Carlo Dino (2014), Research highlights: measuring and manipulating cell migration., in
Lab on a Chip, 14(21), 4117-4121.
Tseng Peter, Kunze Anja, Kittur Harsha, Di Carlo Dino (2014), Research highlights: Microtechnologies for engineering the cellular environment., in
Lab on a chip, 14(7), 1226-9.
Kunze Anja, Tseng Peter, Murray Coleman, Caputo Anna, Schweizer Felix E., Di Carlo Dino (2013), Micro magnet chips to study nanoparticle force-induced neural cell migration., in
17th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (MicroTAS 2013, Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society ( CBMS ).
Neural implants are rapidly emerging in clinical applications to treat symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease. Their insertion into the brain, however, is very invasive causing mechanical trauma, glial scar formation and the degeneration of still intact neurite networks. One possibility to restore damaged neurite connections would be to couple nanoparticles to the end of nerve fibers, and to pull them towards the source of magnetic fields. This approach, however, opens questions such as how strong nanoparticles have to pull on nerve fibers, how strong the magnetic field must be designed, and whether it alters the functioning of other brain cells. To examine these questions quantitatively, we want to apply mechanical forces through magnetic nanoparticles internalized into neurons, and attract these nanoparticles in a micro magnetic field. By applying forces from within cells, the technique allows us to drive cells through non-typically cellular environments rather than to modulate the environment and waiting for a cell response. The microtechnology based approach, enables multiple parameter analysis simultaneously on both single cells and whole cell populations. Using our recently developed nano-to-micro magnetic forces platform with neural cells may help to further improve the biocompatibility of brain implants, and to better understand the biomechanics involved in neurite regeneration.