Cancer cell migration in three-dimensional extracellular matrix is a major cause of death for cancer patients. Although extensive studies have elucidated detailed mechanism of single cell 3D invasion and cell-ECM interaction, 3D collective cancer invasion is still poorly understood. 3D collective migration models have unveiled unexpected degrees of diversity and...
The ability for individual cells and multicellular networks to process information contained in perceived stimuli is of vital importance to their proper functioning and ultimately their cellular fate. The primary mechanism employed by cells to this end is the use of biochemical signaling in which a series of molecular events...
Cell signaling under external stimulation is a critical mechanism that governs many biological processes such as cell proliferation, cell migration, and cell apoptosis, etc. For multicellular organisms, the ability to synchronize heterogeneous individual cellular responses through intercellular communication is crucial to maintain normal functionality. However, even though the biological pathways...
Cell migration is fundamental for physiological processes such as immune re-sponses, wound healing and development. It is also a critical characteristic of metastatic cancer cells. An extensive amount of studies have focused on 2D sub-strates in order to understand the mechanism of cancer metastasis. However, much less is known about...
At the intersection of basic science research and clinical relevance, cancer metastasis and cell invasion is a multifaceted problem that has been investigated for the past several decades. Importantly, cancer cell plasticity, the ability of a single cell to change its phenotype without genetic mutations in response to environmental cues,...
The structure and mechanics of tissues affect many important cellular functions such as migration, differentiation, and growth. Mechanical interactions between cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM), as well as ECM-mediated mechanical communication between cells, plays a part in coordinating collective cellular dy- namics during critical processes such as morphogenesis, tissue...
The precise measurement of a capacitance difference or ratio in a digital form is
very important for capacitive sensors, for CMOS process characterization as well as for the
realization of precise switched-capacitor data converters, amplifiers and other circuits
utilizing ratioed capacitors. This thesis introduces design techniques for on-chip capacitor
ratio...
Unlike other biosensing, electrochemical biosensor has the advantages of robustness, easy miniaturization, excellent detection limits, and capability in handling small analyte volumes. The detection selectivity of the electrochemical biosensors is mainly supported by bioreceptors. However, these receptors always suffer from the performance variation caused by the environment and the thermal-...
The development and some applications of holographic optical tweezers (HOT) are presented. Our HOT system uses a spatial light modulator (SLM) to control the location and properties of the optical trap. We have developed a method for optimizing the diffraction efficiency of a SLM that can be applied in situ...
The phragmoplast associated kinesin, PAKRP2, from the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana is categorized as an orphan, or ungrouped, kinesin due to structural divergences from the established 14 kinesin families. An early study on PAKRP2 found that it localized to the phragmoplast mid zone during the late stages of cell division...