Advanced Biosystems - Looking Back on our First Year and Welcome to 2018
At a Glance
Section titled “At a Glance”| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2018-01-01 |
| Journal | Advanced Biosystems |
| Authors | Kerstin Brachhold |
| Analysis | Full AI Review Included |
Technical Documentation & Analysis: Advanced Biosystems Research
Section titled “Technical Documentation & Analysis: Advanced Biosystems Research”This documentation analyzes the research themes presented in the Advanced Biosystems editorial, focusing on applications where 6CCVD’s specialized MPCVD diamond materials provide critical performance advantages, particularly in bio-interfaces and advanced sensing.
Executive Summary
Section titled “Executive Summary”- Core Application Focus: The journal highlights critical research in bio-interfaces, diagnostics, and neural engineering, requiring materials with exceptional stability and biocompatibility.
- Diamond Validation: A key finding (Article 1700081) confirms that the incorporation of diamond-like carbon (DLC) significantly improves the in vitro and in vivo stability of glassy carbon electrocorticography (ECoG) arrays.
- 6CCVD Advantage: MPCVD Single Crystal Diamond (SCD) and Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) offered by 6CCVD provide superior purity, crystallinity, and stability compared to standard DLC coatings, making them ideal for next-generation neural implants and biosensors.
- Customization Need: Research involving microelectrode arrays (MEAs), 3D neurospheres, and intracortical implants necessitates custom dimensions, precise metalization, and ultra-smooth surfaces.
- Material Requirements: Applications like electrical imaging in neuroscience and sub-nanometer resolution imaging demand high-purity, defect-controlled diamond substrates.
- Solution Offering: 6CCVD provides custom-sized SCD and PCD wafers (up to 125mm) with advanced polishing (Ra < 1nm) and multi-layer metalization capabilities (Au, Pt, Ti, etc.) essential for replicating and advancing this research.
Technical Specifications
Section titled “Technical Specifications”The following table extracts key technical requirements and material functions identified in the reviewed research areas:
| Parameter | Value | Unit | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application Scale | Nano- to Macro- | N/A | Molecular interactions, organelles, cells, tissues, and whole organisms |
| Critical Material Function | Enhanced Stability | N/A | Required for in vitro and in vivo performance of ECoG arrays |
| Key Material Type | Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) | N/A | Used to stabilize glassy carbon electrocorticography arrays (Article 1700081) |
| Resolution Requirement | Sub-Nanometer | nm | Necessary for imaging bacterial colonies (using Helium-Ion Microscopy) |
| Electrode Structure | 3D Clusters / Spheroids | N/A | Used in neurospheres to enhance electrophysiology recordings |
| Interface Requirement | Biotolerability | N/A | Prerequisite for clinical application of intracortical microelectrodes |
| Sensing Mechanism | Biomimetically Inspired | N/A | Utilizing carbon nanotubes and advanced carbon materials for sensing |
Key Methodologies
Section titled “Key Methodologies”The research reviewed highlights several advanced engineering and material science methodologies directly applicable to 6CCVD’s expertise:
- Diamond/Carbon Integration: Demonstrating the incorporation of silicon carbide and diamond-like carbon (DLC) to significantly improve the stability of glassy carbon electrocorticography (ECoG) arrays.
- Microelectrode Array (MEA) Fabrication: Culturing primary cortical cells and 3D neurospheres on MEAs to enhance electrophysiology recordings.
- Nanostructured Hybrid Synthesis: Utilizing virus-directed synthesis to create nanostructured hybrids for various applications.
- Superhydrophobic Platform Development: Applying hanging drop systems on superhydrophobic platforms to produce 3D spheroids/microtissues for pharmaceutical purposes.
- Advanced Imaging Substrates: Employing high-stability substrates for sub-nanometer resolution imaging techniques (e.g., Helium-Ion Microscopy).
6CCVD Solutions & Capabilities
Section titled “6CCVD Solutions & Capabilities”The research confirms the critical role of high-performance carbon materials in advanced biosystems. 6CCVD is uniquely positioned to supply the necessary MPCVD diamond substrates to replicate and extend the stability and performance gains demonstrated in the ECoG array research (Article 1700081).
Applicable Materials
Section titled “Applicable Materials”| Research Requirement | 6CCVD Material Solution | Technical Advantage |
|---|---|---|
| High Stability/Biocompatibility | Optical Grade SCD | Highest purity, lowest defect density, ideal for stable, long-term neural interfaces and optical sensing. |
| Conductive Electrodes | Heavy Boron-Doped Diamond (BDD) | Highly conductive, chemically inert, and electrochemically stable material for advanced electrical imaging and sensing applications. |
| Large-Area Arrays | Electronic Grade PCD | Available in large formats (up to 125mm) with excellent thermal properties, suitable for high-density MEAs and ECoG arrays. |
| Imaging Substrates | Low-Stress SCD/PCD | Ultra-smooth surfaces (Ra < 1nm) minimize scattering and provide a stable platform for sub-nanometer resolution microscopy. |
Customization Potential
Section titled “Customization Potential”The development of advanced microelectrode arrays and biohybrid systems requires precise engineering beyond standard wafer formats. 6CCVD offers comprehensive customization services:
- Custom Dimensions: We supply plates and wafers up to 125mm in diameter (PCD) and offer custom laser cutting and shaping services to match specific ECoG or MEA geometries.
- Thickness Control: Precise control over diamond layer thickness: SCD (0.1µm - 500µm) and PCD (0.1µm - 500µm), allowing optimization for mechanical flexibility or rigidity in implant design.
- Advanced Metalization: We provide in-house deposition of critical contact layers required for neural interfaces and sensing, including Ti, Pt, Au, Pd, W, and Cu. This ensures robust, stable electrical contacts on the diamond surface.
- Surface Finish: Our polishing capabilities achieve surface roughness down to Ra < 1nm (SCD) and Ra < 5nm (Inch-size PCD), crucial for minimizing cell adhesion variability and improving signal quality in bio-interfaces.
Engineering Support
Section titled “Engineering Support”6CCVD’s in-house PhD team specializes in optimizing MPCVD diamond properties for extreme environments. We can assist researchers and engineers with material selection for similar Neural Interface, ECoG, and Advanced Biosensing projects, ensuring the optimal balance between conductivity (BDD), optical transparency (SCD), and mechanical stability.
For custom specifications or material consultation, visit 6ccvd.com or contact our engineering team directly.
View Original Abstract
Advanced Biosystems has had a successful year, opening for submission in late 2016 and publishing a first issue in February 2017 and regular monthly issues ever since. In total, in 2017 Advanced Biosystems has already published 65 articles: 39 Full Papers, 16 Communications, 6 Reviews, and 4 Progress Reports. The articles span a wide selection of topics at the interface of biology, biotechnology, physical sciences and engineering in line with the journal’s broad scope. So what types of “Biosystems” do we cover in Advanced Biosystems? First of all, these “systems” encompass a wide range of different scales ranging from nano- via micro- to macro-scale: from biochemistry and molecular interactions of biomolecules via organelles and cells to tissues, organs and even whole organisms. At all of these scales, the biosystems we cover can either be natural or synthetic or a combination of both; this includes for example genetically modified and artificial organisms as well as biomimetics and biohybrids. Furthermore, Advanced Biosystems covers various applications of these different “biosystems”: from applied biotechnology (including DNA, protein and metabolic engineering) to medical applications (including diagnostics, gene therapy, drug delivery and personalized medicine). The articles we have published so far are already being recognized, and some of them have received quite a bit of attention - not only via (social) media but also by being cited in other articles. The following were amongst our most popular articles: “Muscle-Cell-Based “Living Diodes””, “An Engineered Human Fc-Mannose-Binding-Lectin Captures Circulating Tumor Cells” and “Imaging Bacterial Colonies and Phage-Bacterium Interaction at Sub-Nanometer Resolution Using Helium-Ion Microscopy”. All of these were also featured on the covers of the respective issues they appeared in (see Figure 1). 2017 also saw the publication of our first Special Issue. The November Issue was dedicated to the Engineering and Life Herrenhausen Symposium that took place in October 2016. This issue was guest-edited by Robert Lovrincic and Gerardo Hernandez-Sosa and featured articles on the following topics: carbon nanotubes for biomimetically inspired sensing by Jörg Schneider (article number 1700101), conjugated polymer nanoparticles for in vivo theranostics by Alexander Kuehne (article number 1700100), electrical imaging and its applications in neuroscience by Günther Zeck et al. (article number 1700107), covalently bound anti-human immunoglobulins for immunoassay development by Brigitte Holzer et al. (article number 1700107) and finally virus-directed synthesis of nanostructured hybrids by Petia Atanasova et al. (article number 1700106). Not only are Advanced Biosystem’s topics diverse, but so are the origins of our authors. The 65 articles mentioned above were authored by scientists from more than 20 different countries including the USA, UK, China, South Korea, Germany, France and Spain, to name just a few. During the last year, you may also have noticed that our most interesting content is regularly highlighted on our news website Advanced Science News (http://www.advancedsciencenews.com/). This allows us to reach a truly global audience and to make people aware of the excellent research published in our new journal. We encourage you to take a look at this site to explore attractive content not only from Advanced Biosystems, but also from many other journals in our portfolio. In addition to our publishing activities, we have also taken first steps towards getting Advanced Biosystems indexed in Clarivate Analytics’ (formerly Thomson Reuter’s) Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) as well as in Pubmed. In this first issue of 2018, we are pleased to once again bring you a wide variety of different research topics. In article number 1700190, Sang Yup Lee and colleagues review how various natural compounds - such as terpenoids, phenylpropanoids, polyketides and alkaloids - can be produced via metabolic engineering of microorganisms. In the second review of this issue, Peter Kim et al. discuss the role of mechanoregulation on the fate of myofibroblasts and its relevance for fibrotic disease dynamics (article number 1700172), and in article number 1700115, Eduardo Fernández and Pablo Botella review the biotolerability of intracortical microelectrodes - a prerequisite for the clinical application of any neural implant. Continuing with the topic of neural implants, in the work illustrated on the cover (article number 1700081), Thomas Stieglitz and colleagues demonstrate that the incorporation of silicon carbide and diamond-like carbon greatly improves the in vitro and in vivo stability of glassy carbon electrocorticography arrays. Article number 1700164 also depicts research on microelectrodes. Jolien Pas et al. cultured primary cortical cells as well as 3D clusters (so-called neurospheres) on microelectrode arrays and show that these 3D structures enhance electrophysiology recordings. Nuno Oliveira et al. present work on human adipose-derived stem cell spheroids (article number 1700069). They applied a superhydrophobic platform with a hanging drop system to produce 3D spheroids/microtissues and cultured them under conditioned direct and indirect coculture setups. This application may be used for the massive production of modulated spheroids for biomedical and pharmaceutical purposes. Using spermatozoa from Ciona, Joseph Wang and colleagues developed free swimming sperm micromotors (article number 1700160). These biomotors were functionalized with a variety of synthetic nanoscale payloads, such as CdSe/ZnS quantum dots or doxorubicin hydrochloride drug coated iron-oxide nanoparticles and therefore offer great potential for diverse biomedical and environmental applications. Frank Mickoleit and Dirk Schüler generated multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles by genetic expression of foreign polypetides on bacterial magnetosomes (article number 1700109). In particular, they expressed arrays of up to five monomers of the model enzyme glucuronidase plus the additional fluorophore mEGFP. This technology represents a powerful approach to generate biohybrid magnetic nanoparticles with tunable functionalities. In article number 1700095, Murugesan Raju et al. developed a cell-penetrating chaperone peptide that prevents protein aggregation and protects against cell apoptosis. They fused the cell-penetrating peptide VPTLK (derived from the Ku70 protein) to the N-terminus of the chaperone site of αA-crystallin and showed that this synthetic minichaperone protects unfolding proteins from aggregations and prevents cellular apoptosis. Xia Li et al. present work on mesoporous γ-AlOOH nanorods (article number 1700114). These nanorods exhibit a high loading capacity for a model cancer antigen as well as a strong intracellular uptake and are therefore well suited to be used for cancer immunotherapy. Finally, the editorial team of Advanced Biosystems wants to thank our authors and reviewers as well as our Editorial Board and readers who have all contributed to this successful first year. We are looking forward to your continued support as we are entering our second year of publication that will - without doubt - be no less exciting than the first.