Our Technologies
We handle a wide range of equipment and resources in order to provide our students with all the necessary tools for their learning.
We are developing automated, inexpensive devices that can be controlled remotely from multiple locations and devices. We are digitizing the wet lab to automate routine tasks, improve precision, and accelerate discovery. Our remote technologies offer an opportunity to transform science education by expanding participation in advanced scientific experiments to a wider audience. We are partnering with a local high school to bring this technology to underserved classrooms, and we have made it open-source so that it can be utilized globally.
See Our Latest Course
The students of Alisal High School conducted a course that allowed them to assess different drugs in the development of neuroblastoma cells. With the data provided, the students were able to analyze the results and determine which drugs provide the best therapeutic potential in eradicating this cancer cell line.
Microscopy on autoculture
Microscopy of autocultured organisms, cell cultures, or organoids
- Capture Z-stacks of images to build 2-D or 3-D images of 2-D or 3-D samples, such as frog embryos, zebrafish, and human cerebral cortex organoids.
- Use Extended Depth of Field (EDoF) composite images to simplify the end user’s visual analysis of longitudinal changes in a 3D sample.
- Observe 24 samples in a 6×4 array, enabling multiple simultaneous treatment options.
- Each well is equipped with a virtual microscope and camera allowing a resolution of 7 um. Conduct experiments (for days or weeks) in UCSC-located, temperature and humidity controlled CO2 incubators.
Autoculture details
- 1-24 wells per plate (120 uL volume per well).
- Up to 3 different refrigerated media reservoirs; option to vary media composition for each well.
- 24 spent media collection tubes for each individual well for downstream analysis.
- Maximal feed frequency: 72 sec.
- Volume of exchanged media per feeding: 5-1000 ul.
Related Publications
- Picroscope: low-cost system for simultaneous longitudinal biological imaging. Ly VT et al., Commun Biol. 2021 Nov 4;4(1):1261
- Low cost cloud based remote microscopy for biological sciences Baudin PV et al., Internet of Things 18 (2022) 100454
- Modular automated microfluidic cell culture platform reduces glycolytic stress in cerebral cortex organoids. Seiler ST, Mantalas GL, Selberg J, et al. bioRxiv 2022.07.13.499938;
Electrophysiology
Development of electrophysiology/neural recordings (not yet available for collaborations)
- Record neural activity from neurons for several days.
- Various recording durations and intervals are possible.
Related Publications
Lab on a chip
- Optical sample detection with sincel nucleic acid strand sensitivity
- On-chip sample processing
- Detection of single nucleic acid strand sensitivity with 8 fM detection limit
- Simultaneous protein and nucleic acid solid phase extraction for virus detection
Related Publications
