Journal: Nature Communications

Article Title: Replicating shear-mediated self-assembly of spider silk through microfluidics

doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-44733-1

Figure Lengend Snippet: a Layout of the microfluidic device, consisting of three inlets and one outlet with a negative pressure controlling system. The spidroin was first mixed with 50 mM CPB at pH 7 and then subjected to 1 M citrate–phosphate buffer (CPB) (pH 5) at the intersection. The channel along which MaSp2 assembled was divided into sections A, B and C for comparison in terms of the morphology and secondary structure. The inset shows a picture of the actual microfluidic device. Scale bar, 1 cm. b The different recombinant MaSp2 constructs used in this study, representing various combinations of the N-terminal domain (NTD), repeat (RP) and C-terminal domain (CTD). For N-R12-C(xA), the poly-Ala repeat normally found in the repetitive region was replaced by GSGSGSG. c N-R12-C in the form of droplets and nanofibrils obtained by exposure to 0.5 M CPB at pH 7 and 5, respectively. Five independent experiments were performed with similar results. Scale bar, 5 μm.

Article Snippet: Fig. 1 Design of MaSp2 constructs for biomimetic spinning in a microfluidic device. a Layout of the microfluidic device, consisting of three inlets and one outlet with a negative pressure controlling system.

Techniques: Comparison, Recombinant, Construct

Journal: Nature Communications

Article Title: Replicating shear-mediated self-assembly of spider silk through microfluidics

doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-44733-1

Figure Lengend Snippet: a N-R12-C labeled with DyLight-488 was transferred to the microfluidic device for spinning under native-like conditions. Three independent experiments were performed with similar results. Scale bar, 30 μm. b 3D reconstruction of N-R12-C droplets distributed along the channel. Scale bar, 5 μm. c Surface structure of N-R12-C droplets induced by LLPS inside the microfluidic device as visualized by SEM. Two independent experiments were performed with similar results. Scale bar, 10 μm. d N-R12-C fiber assembled inside the channel in section C3 with a hierarchical organization. Three independent experiments were performed with similar results. Scale bar, 10 μm. e 3D reconstruction of N-R12-C fiber aligned along the channel in section C3. Two independent experiments were performed. Scale bar, 5 μm. f Oriented nanofibrils observed from the flexible continuous fiber in Milli-Q water after recovering it from the microfluidic chip. Three independent experiments were performed with similar results. Scale bar, 10 μm. g Nanofibrils split from the fiber to show hierarchical organization upon exposure to the Milli-Q water. Three independent experiments were performed with similar results. Scale bar, 10 μm.

Article Snippet: Fig. 1 Design of MaSp2 constructs for biomimetic spinning in a microfluidic device. a Layout of the microfluidic device, consisting of three inlets and one outlet with a negative pressure controlling system.

Techniques: Labeling

Journal: Nature Communications

Article Title: Replicating shear-mediated self-assembly of spider silk through microfluidics

doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-44733-1

Figure Lengend Snippet: a Secondary structure of the MaSp2 fiber determined by Raman spectroscopy immediately after fiber assembly inside the channel. b Negative control experiment of N-R12-C and N-R12-C(xA) outside the microfluidic device. N-R12-C and N-R12-C(xA) were gently mixed with 1 M CPB at pH 5 and 7 on a cover slide at a 1:1 volume ratio. A positive control was conducted by immersing N-R12-C nanofibrils in 90% methanol (MeOH) solution for 5 min after removal of 1 M CPB (pH 5). The dash line denotes the peak at 1654 cm −1 . c Comparison of N-R6-C, N-R12-C and N-R12-C(xA) in three sections along the channel. Peak features were specifically evaluated within the amide I region. d Raman results of N-R12-C fiber under various negative pressures. The solid line denotes the peak at 1664 cm −1 . e β-sheet contents of N-R12-C fiber assembled inside the microfluidic device under various negative pressures. Peak fitting was carried out to calculate the β-sheet contents after deconvolution within the amide I region. Data are presented as mean values ± SD; n = 3. f Comparison of Raman signals for N-R6-C, N-R12-C and N-R12-C(xA) fibers formed by biomimetic spinning and manual drawing. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

Article Snippet: Fig. 1 Design of MaSp2 constructs for biomimetic spinning in a microfluidic device. a Layout of the microfluidic device, consisting of three inlets and one outlet with a negative pressure controlling system.

Techniques: Raman Spectroscopy, Negative Control, Positive Control, Comparison

Journal: Materials

Article Title: Polymer-Functionalised Nanograins of Mg-Doped Amorphous Calcium Carbonate via a Flow-Chemistry Approach

doi: 10.3390/ma12111818

Figure Lengend Snippet: ( A ) Layout of the commercially available and employed microfluidic chip supplied by ibidi (Martinsried, Germany). Image used by courtesy of ibidi GmbH . ( B ) Simulation of the fluid dynamics in the microfluidic chip at a feeding flow of 30 mL/min. Images used courtesy of ANSYS, Inc. (Canonsburg, PA, USA) ( C ) Scheme of the experimental setup. In control experiments, only the calcium chloride solution was fed into the system in the second microfluidic chip, thus omitting the addition of polymer.

Article Snippet: The experimental setup consisted of two commercially microfluidic channels which merged three separately fed liquids into a single channel (ibidi GmbH, μ-Slide III3in1); the layout is given in A. Simulation of fluid dynamics in the microfluidic chip at a flow rate of 30 mL/min shows that the middle part of the chip features a laminar flow profile, and the orifice induces a turbulent flow with thorough mixing ( B).

Techniques: Control, Polymer