Benchtop NMR Meets Organ-on-a-Chip
New platform brings real-time, hyperpolarized metabolic monitoring to planar microfluidic cell culture systems.
Researchers have adapted a commercial benchtop NMR spectrometer to work with planar microfluidic chips, creating what they call a BLOC spectrometer for real-time metabolic analysis on lab-on-a-chip platforms. The system is designed to address a longstanding gap in organ-on-a-chip research: the lack of noninvasive tools that can track metabolism dynamically without disrupting the culture.
The team modified a 1.4 T instrument so that flat chips could be inserted directly into the magnet and built a PDMS-based microfluidic device with an integrated dual-tuned saddle coil for ^1H and ^13C detection. Using hyperpolarized [1-^13C]pyruvate generated by dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization, they showed that the setup could measure pyruvate relaxation in the chip and follow its conversion to lactate in real time. In proof-of-concept tests, the platform captured pyruvate-to-lactate kinetics both in an LDH/NADH enzyme solution and in suspensions of HepG2 liver cancer cells.
Although still at an early stage, the work suggests that compact, lower-cost NMR systems could become practical tools for monitoring metabolism in microfluidic cultures. With further improvements in automation, sensitivity, and spectral resolution, the approach could support drug testing and more advanced organ-on-a-chip studies.
Gloves Off for Cleaner Microplastics Data
Study shows common lab gloves can leave stearate residues that masquerade as microplastics in Raman and infrared analyses, inflating counts in the smallest size ranges.
A new study warns that a standard precaution in microplastics research – wearing disposable laboratory gloves – can itself distort the results. The authors found that dry contact from common nitrile and latex gloves leaves behind stearate residues that are easily misidentified as microplastics by vibrational microspectroscopy, especially when researchers rely on conventional library matching workflows.
In controlled tests, most glove types produced large numbers of false positives, averaging around 2,000 per mm². The problem is particularly serious for particles smaller than 10 µm, where signal quality is lower and contamination is hardest to spot. A nitrile cleanroom glove performed far better, generating only about 100 false positives per mm², making it the best option when gloves are necessary for safety.
To help researchers deal with both new and legacy datasets, the team also provides open-access stearate spectral libraries and outlines recovery workflows for infrared and Raman data. Applied to a contaminated environmental case study, these methods substantially reduced false microplastic assignments. The broader message is simple: avoid glove contact whenever possible, and when gloves are required, choose low-residue options and screen carefully for stearate contamination.
Robot Dogs with Raman Vision Take a Step Toward Autonomous Planetary Science
Legged robot equipped with Raman spectroscopy and microscopic imaging shows faster multi-target exploration could boost future Mars and Moon missions.
A legged robot armed with a Raman spectrometer and microscopic imager may offer a faster way to explore other worlds. In analogue Mars and Moon missions, researchers demonstrated that a semi-autonomous, multi-target strategy allows robots to identify and analyze multiple geological samples in a single operational cycle – reducing reliance on slow, Earth-based decision-making.
Using the ANYmal quadruped robot, fitted with a robotic arm carrying a Raman probe and a custom multispectral microscope (“MICRO”), the team compared two approaches: traditional human-guided, one-target-at-a-time exploration and a semi-autonomous workflow where multiple targets are selected in advance and analyzed sequentially. The autonomous approach completed missions in as little as 12–23 minutes, achieving up to 100% target identification in optimal runs, while collecting data around 20–80% faster than the human-led method.
The combination of Raman spectroscopy and close-up imaging proved critical. MICRO captured textures and morphology, while Raman delivered definitive mineral identification – successfully detecting gypsum, sulphur, olivine, and rutile in analogue samples. However, Raman struggled with complex, multi-mineral rocks and was limited by its spectral range, highlighting areas for future instrument development.
Cells Use “Molecular Winds” to Deliver Proteins Where They’re Needed
Fluid flows inside cells – shaped by actin and myosin – help steer proteins to the leading edge faster than diffusion alone.
Researchers have discovered that soluble proteins are actively swept toward the front of migrating cells by fluid flow, helping coordinate movement, adhesion, and shape changes.
Using advanced imaging techniques, the team showed that proteins – including actin monomers and even inert molecules – are transported by advection, a process where diffusion is enhanced by cytoplasmic flow. This flow occurs within a distinct compartment at the cell’s leading edge, separated from the rest of the cytoplasm by a contractile actin–myosin barrier. The barrier not only maintains localized protein concentrations but also generates the flow itself through contraction.
Strikingly, the system is non-specific: proteins don’t need special tags or motors to be transported. Instead, the flow carries a wide range of molecules toward regions of active protrusion. By dynamically changing its curvature, the actin–myosin boundary can even steer these intracellular “tradewinds” to precisely target growing edges of the cell.
Outside this compartment, proteins revert to standard diffusion. But within it, this newly identified mechanism enables faster, more directed delivery – resolving a longstanding question of how cells coordinate rapid processes like migration.
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