Forschungszentrum Julich

12 articles published in JoVE

• Immunology and Infection

  
  Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy-Based Quantitative Analysis of Aspergillus fumigatus Conidia Distribution in Whole-Mount Optically Cleared Mouse Lung Ivan V. Maslov¹, Andrey O. Bogorodskiy¹, Mariia V. Pavelchenko¹, Ilia O. Zykov¹, Natalya I. Troyanova², Valentin I. Borshchevskiy^1,3, Marina A. Shevchenko^{2 1}Research Center for Molecular Mechanisms of Aging and Age-Related Diseases, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, ²Department of Immunology, Shemyakin and Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, ³Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry), Forschungszentrum Jülich We describe the method for quantitative analysis of the distribution of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia (3 µm in size) in the airways of mice. The method also can be used for the analysis of microparticles and nanoparticle agglomerate distribution in the airways in various pathological condition models.

• Genetics

  
  Application of DNA Fingerprinting using the D1S80 Locus in Lab Classes Meike Siebers*¹, Agatha Walla*^1,2, Thea Rütjes¹, Moritz-Fabian Müller⁴, Maria von Korff^{1,2,3 1}Institute of Plant Genetics, Heinrich-Heine-University, ²Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences "SMART Plants for Tomorrow's Needs", ³Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, ⁴IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH Here we describe a simple protocol to generate DNA fingerprinting profiles by amplifying the VNTR locus D1S80 from epithelial cell DNA.

• Chemistry

  
  Fractionation of Lignocellulosic Biomass using the OrganoCat Process Leonie Schoofs¹, Dennis Weidener¹, Ulrich Schurr¹, Holger Klose¹, Philipp M. Grande^{1 1}Institut für Bio- und Geowissenschaften, Pflanzenwissenschaften (IBG-2), Forschungszentrum Jülich OrganoCat is a method for the pretreatment and fractionation of lignocellulose under mild conditions into lignin, fermentable sugars, and cellulose pulp. In a biogenic, biphasic solvent system of water and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran with 2,5-furancarboxylic acid as catalyst, the OrganoCat products are separated in situ for straightforward product recovery.

• Neuroscience

  
  Conducting Hyperscanning Experiments with Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Vanessa Reindl^1,2, Kerstin Konrad^1,2, Christian Gerloff^2,3, Jana A. Kruppa^1,2,4, Laura Bell¹, Wolfgang Scharke^{1 1}Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, ²JARA-Brain Institute II, Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, RWTH Aachen & Research Centre Juelich, ³Lehrstuhl II für Mathematik, RWTH Aachen University, ⁴Translational Brain Research in Psychiatry and Neurology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Aachen The present protocol describes how to conduct fNIRS hyperscanning experiments and analyze brain-to-brain synchrony. Further, we discuss challenges and possible solutions.

• Bioengineering

  
  Generic Protocol for Optimization of Heterologous Protein Production Using Automated Microbioreactor Technology Johannes Hemmerich*^1,2, Lars Freier*^1,2, Wolfgang Wiechert^1,2,3, Eric von Lieres^1,2, Marco Oldiges^{1,2,4 1}IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, ²Research Center Jülich, Bioeconomy Science Center (BioSC), ³Computational Systems Biotechnology (AVT.CSB), RWTH Aachen University, ⁴Institute for Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University This manuscript describes a generic approach for tailor-made design of microbial cultivation media. This is enabled by an iterative workflow combining Kriging-based experimental design and microbioreactor technology for sufficient cultivation throughput, which is supported by lab robotics to increase reliability and speed in liquid handling media preparation.

• Bioengineering

  
  Studying Soft-matter and Biological Systems over a Wide Length-scale from Nanometer and Micrometer Sizes at the Small-angle Neutron Diffractometer KWS-2 Aurel Radulescu¹, Noemi Kinga Szekely¹, Marie-Sousai Appavou¹, Vitaliy Pipich¹, Thomas Kohnke¹, Vladimir Ossovyi¹, Simon Staringer¹, Gerald J. Schneider², Matthias Amann³, Bo Zhang-Haagen³, Georg Brandl¹, Matthias Drochner⁴, Ralf Engels⁴, Romuald Hanslik⁵, Günter Kemmerling^{1 1}Jülich Centre for Neutron Science Outstation at MLZ, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, ²Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, ³Jülich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS-1 & Institute of Complex Systems ICS-1, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, ⁴Central Institute of Engineering, Electronics and Analytics — Electronic Systems (ZEA-2), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, ⁵Central Institute of Engineering, Electronics and Analytics — Engineering and Technology (ZEA-1), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH Here, we present a protocol to investigate soft matter and biophysical systems over a wide mesoscopic length scale, from nm to µm that involves the use of the KWS-2 SANS diffractometer at high intensities and an adjustable resolution.

• Engineering

  
  Hand Controlled Manipulation of Single Molecules via a Scanning Probe Microscope with a 3D Virtual Reality Interface Philipp Leinen^1,2, Matthew F. B. Green^1,2, Taner Esat^1,2, Christian Wagner^1,2, F. Stefan Tautz^1,2, Ruslan Temirov^{1,2 1}Peter Grünberg Institut (PGI-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, ²Fundamentals of Future Information Technology, Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) We demonstrate the precise manipulation of individual organic molecules on a metal surface with the tip of a scanning probe microscope driven in 3D by the experimenter's hand using a motion capture system and fully immersive virtual reality goggles.

• Engineering

  
  Frequency Mixing Magnetic Detection Scanner for Imaging Magnetic Particles in Planar Samples Hyobong Hong¹, Eul-Gyoon Lim², Jae-chan Jeong¹, Jiho Chang¹, Sung-Woong Shin², Hans-Joachim Krause^{3 1}Advanced Vision System Research Section, Electronics & Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI), ²Intelligent Cognitive Technology Research Department, Electronics & Telecommunication Research Institute (ETRI), ³Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI-8), Forschungszentrum Jülich A scanner for imaging magnetic particles in planar samples was developed using the planar frequency mixing magnetic detection technique. The magnetic intermodulation product response from the nonlinear nonhysteretic magnetization of the particles is recorded upon a two-frequency excitation. It can be used to take 2D images of thin biological samples.

• Chemistry

  
  Functionalization of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes with Thermo-reversible Block Copolymers and Characterization by Small-angle Neutron Scattering Youngkyu Han¹, Suk-kyun Ahn^2,3, Zhe Zhang^1,4, Gregory S. Smith¹, Changwoo Do^{1 1}Biology and Soft Matter Division, Neutron Science Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ²Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ³Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, ⁴Jülich Center for Neutron Science, Forschungszentrum Jülich A method for the functionalization of carbon nanotubes with structure-tunable polymeric encapsulation layers and structural characterization using small-angle neutron scattering is presented.

• Neuroscience

  
  Electrophysiological and Morphological Characterization of Neuronal Microcircuits in Acute Brain Slices Using Paired Patch-Clamp Recordings Guanxiao Qi¹, Gabriele Radnikow¹, Dirk Feldmeyer^{1,2 1}Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-2), Research Centre Jülich, ²Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, JARA, RWTH Aachen University Patch-clamp recordings and simultaneous intracellular biocytin filling of synaptically coupled neurons in acute brain slices allow a correlated analysis of their structural and functional properties. The aim of this protocol is to describe the essential technical steps of electrophysiological recording from neuronal microcircuits and their subsequent morphological analysis.

• Engineering

  
  Preparation and Friction Force Microscopy Measurements of Immiscible, Opposing Polymer Brushes Sissi de Beer^1,2, Edit Kutnyanszky², Martin H. Müser^1,3, G. Julius Vancso^{2 1}Jülich Supercomputing Centre, Forschungszentrum Jülich, ²Materials Science and Technology of Polymer, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, ³Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Universität des Saarlandes The methodology to perform friction force microscopy experiments for contacting brushes is presented: Two polymer brushes that are grafted from (a) substrates and (b) colloidal probes are slid to show that, by using two contacting immiscible brush systems, friction in sliding contacts is reduced compared to miscible brush systems.

• Bioengineering

  
  Microfluidic Picoliter Bioreactor for Microbial Single-cell Analysis: Fabrication, System Setup, and Operation Alexander Gruenberger¹, Christopher Probst¹, Antonia Heyer¹, Wolfgang Wiechert¹, Julia Frunzke¹, Dietrich Kohlheyer^{1 1}Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH In this protocol the fabrication, setup and basic operation of a microfluidic picoliter bioreactor (PLBR) for single-cell analysis of prokaryotic microorganisms is introduced. Industrially relevant microorganisms were analyzed as proof of principle allowing insights into growth rate, morphology, and phenotypic heterogeneity over certain time periods, hardly possible with conventional methods.