pulsed-laser-diode-based-desktop-photoacoustic-tomography-for

Pulsed Laser Diode-Based Desktop Photoacoustic Tomography for Monitoring Wash-In and Wash-Out of Dye in Rat Cortical Vasculature

Photoacoustic (PA) tomography (PAT) imaging is an emerging biomedical imaging modality useful in various preclinical and clinical applications. ...

Nanyang Technological University

Preparative supercritical fluid chromatography (prep-SFC) is an important separation process in the chromatographers toolbox. Owing to the unique properties of the mobile phase, which is predominantly CO(2), the behavior of SFC is markedly different from high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This review article focuses on the scale-up of preparative chromatography. The basics of SFC, with particular focus on highlighting the key differences between SFC and HPLC, are introduced. Then, a framework for rational design of prep-SFC is proposed. This framework is based on obtaining basic system parameters from analytical scale equipment, i.e., with very small amount of material, and performing design and optimization in silico to evaluate process performance and to identify operating conditions for scale-up. The tools required to obtain the input parameters such as adsorption isotherms are discussed and the development of the design and optimization framework is elaborated. Examples from the literature which use this approach for successful scale-up are provided. Finally the design of multi-column SFC systems is discussed.

Design of preparative-supercritical fluid chromatography.

Preparative separations in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) involve the injection of large volumes of the solute. In SFC, the mobile phase is typically high pressure CO2+modifier and the solute to be injected is usually dissolved in the modifier. Two-types of injection methods, modifier-stream and mixed-stream, are common in commercial preparative SFC systems. In modifier-stream injection, the injection is made in the modifier stream which is later mixed with the CO2 stream, while in the mixed-stream injection, the injection is made in a mixed CO2+modifier stream. In this work a systematic experimental and modelling study of the two techniques is reported using single-enantiomers of flurbiprofen on Chiralpak AD-H with CO2+methanol as the mobile phase. While modifier-stream injection shows non-distorted peaks, mixed-stream injection results in severe peak-distortion. By comparing the modelling and experimental results, it is shown that the modifier "plug" introduced in the mixed-stream injection is the primary cause of the peak distortions. The experimental results also point to the possible existence of viscous fingering which contributes to further peak distortion. 

Peak distortions arising from large-volume injections in supercritical fluid chromatography.

Lineage specification is an essential process in stem cell fate, tissue homeostasis and development. Microenvironmental cues provide direct and selective extrinsic signals to regulate lineage specification of stem cells. Microenvironmental milieu consists of two essential components, one being extracellular matrix (ECM) as the substratum, while the other being cell secreted exosomes and growth factors. ECM of differentiated cells modulates phenotypic expression of stem cells, while their exosomes contain phenotype specific instructive factors (miRNA, RNA and proteins) that control stem cell differentiation. This study demonstrates that osteoblasts-derived (Os-Exo) and adipocytes-derived (Ad-Exo) exosomes contain instructive factors that regulate the lineage specification of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). Analyses of exosomes revealed the presence of transcription factors in the form of RNA and protein for osteoblasts (RUNX2 and OSX) and adipocytes (C/EBPα and PPARγ). In addition, several miRNAs reported to have osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation potentials are also identified in these exosomes. Kinetic and differentiation analyses indicate that both osteoblast and adipocyte exosomes augment ECM-mediated differentiation of hMSCs into the respective lineage. The combination of osteoblast/adipocyte ECM and exosomes turned-on the lineage specific gene expressions at earlier time points of differentiation compared to the respective ECM or exosomes administered individually. Interestingly, the hMSCs differentiated on osteoblast ECM with adipogenic exosomes showed expression of adipogenic lineage genes, while hMSCs differentiated on adipocyte ECM with osteoblast exosomes showed osteogenic lineage genes. Based on these observations, we conclude that exosomes might override the ECM mediated instructive signals during lineage specification of hMSC.

Article	Year
Design of preparative-supercritical fluid chromatography. Journal of chromatography. A\| PubMed ID: 22704881	2012
Peak distortions arising from large-volume injections in supercritical fluid chromatography. Journal of chromatography. A\| PubMed ID: 25798867	2015
Lineage-specific exosomes could override extracellular matrix mediated human mesenchymal stem cell differentiation. Biomaterials\| PubMed ID: 30153612	2018

Praveenbalaji Rajendran

Biography

JoVE Journal Publications

Other Publications