TY - JOUR A1 - Anielski, Alexander A1 - Barbosa Pfannes, Eva Katharina A1 - Beta, Carsten T1 - Adaptive microfluidic gradient generator for quantitative chemotaxis experiments JF - Review of scientific instruments : a monthly journal devoted to scientific instruments, apparatus, and techniques N2 - Chemotactic motion in a chemical gradient is an essential cellular function that controls many processes in the living world. For a better understanding and more detailed modelling of the underlying mechanisms of chemotaxis, quantitative investigations in controlled environments are needed. We developed a setup that allows us to separately address the dependencies of the chemotactic motion on the average background concentration and on the gradient steepness of the chemoattractant. In particular, both the background concentration and the gradient steepness can be kept constant at the position of the cell while it moves along in the gradient direction. This is achieved by generating a well-defined chemoattractant gradient using flow photolysis. In this approach, the chemoattractant is released by a light-induced reaction from a caged precursor in a microfluidic flow chamber upstream of the cell. The flow photolysis approach is combined with an automated real-time cell tracker that determines changes in the cell position and triggers movement of the microscope stage such that the cell motion is compensated and the cell remains at the same position in the gradient profile. The gradient profile can be either determined experimentally using a caged fluorescent dye or may be alternatively determined by numerical solutions of the corresponding physical model. To demonstrate the function of this adaptive microfluidic gradient generator, we compare the chemotactic motion of Dictyostelium discoideum cells in a static gradient and in a gradient that adapts to the position of the moving cell. Published by AIP Publishing. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4978535 SN - 0034-6748 SN - 1089-7623 VL - 88 PB - American Institute of Physics CY - Melville ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinsohn, Natascha Katharina A1 - Niedl, Robert Raimund A1 - Anielski, Alexander A1 - Lisdat, Fred A1 - Beta, Carsten T1 - Electrophoretic mu PAD for purification and analysis of DNA samples JF - Biosensors : open access journal N2 - In this work, the fabrication and characterization of a simple, inexpensive, and effective microfluidic paper analytic device (mu PAD) for monitoring DNA samples is reported. The glass microfiber-based chip has been fabricated by a new wax-based transfer-printing technique and an electrode printing process. It is capable of moving DNA effectively in a time-dependent fashion. The nucleic acid sample is not damaged by this process and is accumulated in front of the anode, but not directly on the electrode. Thus, further DNA processing is feasible. The system allows the DNA to be purified by separating it from other components in sample mixtures such as proteins. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that DNA can be moved through several layers of the glass fiber material. This proof of concept will provide the basis for the development of rapid test systems, e.g., for the detection of pathogens in water samples. KW - microfluidic paper analytic device (mu PAD) KW - patterning glass microfiber KW - fiber-electrophoresis chip KW - DNA KW - imprinted electrodes KW - cross layer chip KW - polymerase chain reaction (PCR) KW - purification Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/bios12020062 SN - 2079-6374 VL - 12 IS - 2 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - THES A1 - Anielski, Alexander T1 - Entwicklung einer mikrofluidischen, adaptiv geregelten Messapparatur zur quantitativen Untersuchung von Chemotaxis mit Hilfe der Flussfotolyse KW - Flussfotolyse KW - Konzentration KW - Chemotaxis KW - Mikrokanal KW - Dictyostelium KW - flow photolysis KW - concentration KW - chemotaxis KW - microchannel KW - Dictyostelium Y1 - 2015 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Barbosa Pfannes, Eva Katharina A1 - Anielski, Alexander A1 - Gerhardt, Matthias A1 - Beta, Carsten T1 - Intracellular photoactivation of caged cGMP induces myosin II and actin responses in motile cells N2 - Cyclic GMP (cGMP) is a ubiquitous second messenger in eukaryotic cells. It is assumed to regulate the association of myosin II with the cytoskeleton of motile cells. When cells of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum are exposed to chemoattractants or to increased osmotic stress, intracellular cGMP levels rise, preceding the accumulation of myosin II in the cell cortex. To directly investigate the impact of intracellular cGMP on cytoskeletal dynamics in a living cell, we released cGMP inside the cell by laser-induced photo-cleavage of a caged precursor. With this approach, we could directly show in a live cell experiment that an increase in intracellular cGMP indeed induces myosin II to accumulate in the cortex. Unexpectedly, we observed for the first time that also the amount of filamentous actin in the cell cortex increases upon a rise in the cGMP concentration, independently of cAMP receptor activation and signaling. We discuss our results in the light of recent work on the cGMP signaling pathway and suggest possible links between cGMP signaling and the actin system. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 239 KW - cyclic-gmp KW - dictyostelium-discoideum KW - ena/vasp proteins KW - osmotic-stress KW - chemotaxis KW - phosphorylation KW - amp KW - cytoskeleton KW - oscillations KW - chemoattractant Y1 - 2013 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-94984 SP - 1456 EP - 1463 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Barbosa Pfannes, Eva Katharina A1 - Anielski, Alexander A1 - Gerhardt, Matthias A1 - Beta, Carsten T1 - Intracellular photoactivation of caged cGMP induces myosin II and actin responses in motile cells JF - Integrative biology N2 - Cyclic GMP (cGMP) is a ubiquitous second messenger in eukaryotic cells. It is assumed to regulate the association of myosin II with the cytoskeleton of motile cells. When cells of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum are exposed to chemoattractants or to increased osmotic stress, intracellular cGMP levels rise, preceding the accumulation of myosin II in the cell cortex. To directly investigate the impact of intracellular cGMP on cytoskeletal dynamics in a living cell, we released cGMP inside the cell by laser-induced photo-cleavage of a caged precursor. With this approach, we could directly show in a live cell experiment that an increase in intracellular cGMP indeed induces myosin II to accumulate in the cortex. Unexpectedly, we observed for the first time that also the amount of filamentous actin in the cell cortex increases upon a rise in the cGMP concentration, independently of cAMP receptor activation and signaling. We discuss our results in the light of recent work on the cGMP signaling pathway and suggest possible links between cGMP signaling and the actin system. Y1 - 2013 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ib40109j SN - 1757-9694 SN - 1757-9708 VL - 5 IS - 12 SP - 1456 EP - 1463 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pfannes, Eva K. A1 - Anielski, Alexander A1 - Gerhardt, Matthias A1 - Beta, Carsten T1 - Intracellular photoactivation of caged-cGMP induces myosin II and actin responses in motile cells N2 - Cyclic GMP (cGMP) is a ubiquitous second messenger in eukaryotic cells. It is assumed to regulate the association of myosin II with the cytoskeleton of motile cells. When cells of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum are exposed to chemoattractants or to increased osmotic stress, intracellular cGMP levels rise, preceding the accumulation of myosin II in the cell cortex. To directly investigate the impact of intracellular cGMP on cytoskeletal dynamics in a living cell, we released cGMP inside the cell by laser-induced photo-cleavage of a caged precursor. With this approach, we could directly show in a live cell experiment that an increase in intracellular cGMP indeed induces myosin II to accumulate in the cortex. Unexpectedly, we observed for the first time that also the amount of filamentous actin in the cell cortex increases upon a rise in the cGMP concentration, independently of cAMP receptor activation and signaling. We discuss our results in the light of recent work on the cGMP signaling pathway and suggest possible links between cGMP signaling and the actin system. Y1 - 2013 UR - http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2013/ib/c3ib40109j U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/C3IB40109J ER -