April 2014: This Month in JoVE - Bioengineering for ACL Tears, Neuroscience behind Insect Locomotion, Improved Genetic Engineering of Crops, and Synthesizing Secret Ink

Summary

Here's a look at what's coming up in the April 2014 issue of JoVE.

Protocol

Transient Gene Expression in Tobacco using Gibson Assembly and the Gene Gun

Matthew d. Mattozzi^1,2, Mathias J. Voges^1,2,3, Pamela A. Silver^1,2, Jeffrey C. Way^1,2

¹Synthetic Biology Platform, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, ²Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, ³Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology

This work describes a novel method for selectively targeting subcellular organelles in plants, assayed using the BioRad Gene Gun.

Surgical Retrieval, Isolation and in vitro Expansion of Human Anterior Cruciate Ligament-derived Cells for Tissue Engineering Applications

Ashim Gupta¹, Kevin Sharif², Megan Walters², Mia D. Woods¹, Anish Potty², Benjamin J. Main⁴, Saadiq F. El-Amin III^1,2,3

¹Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology & Cell Biology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, ²Division of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, ³Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Biomedical Engineering Program, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, ⁴University of Illinois at Springfield

For future applications as a patch to repair partial tears of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), human ACL derived cells were isolated from tissue obtained during reconstructive procedures, expanded in vitro and grown on tissue engineered scaffolds. Cellular adhesion and morphology was then performed to confirm biocompatibility on scaffold surface.   

Exfoliation of Egyptian Blue and Han Blue, Two Alkali Earth Copper Silicate-based Pigments

Darrah Johnson-McDaniel, Tina T. Salguero

Department of Chemistry, The University of Georgia

The preparation and exfoliation of CaCuSi₄O₁₀ and BaCuSi₄O₁₀ are described. Upon stirring in hot water, CaCuSi₄O₁₀ spontaneously exfoliates into monolayers, whereas BaCuSi₄O₁₀ requires ultrasonication in organic solvents. NIR imaging illustrates the NIR emission properties of these materials, and aqueous dispersions of these nanomaterials are useful for solution processing.

Extracellular Wire Tetrode Recording in Brain of Freely Walking Insects

Peiyuan Guo, Alan J. Pollack, Adrienn G. Varga, Joshua P. Martin, Roy E. Ritzmann

Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University

We previously developed a technique for implanting tetrode wires into the central complex of cockroach brains that allows us to monitor activity in individual units of tethered cockroaches. Here we present a modified version of that technique that allows us to also record brain activity in freely moving insects.