A disposable bio-nano-chip using agarose beads for high performance immunoassays

This article reports on the fabrication of a disposable bio-nano-chip (BNC), a microfluidic device composed of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and thiolene-based optical epoxy which is both cost-effective and suitable for high performance immunoassays. A novel room temperature (RT) bonding technique was utilized so as to achieve irreversible covalent bonding between PDMS and thiolene-based epoxy layers, while at the same time being compatible with the insertion of agarose bead sensors, selectively arranged in an array of pyramidal microcavities replicated in the thiolene thin film layer. In the sealed device, the bead-supporting epoxy film is sandwiched between two PDMS layers comprising of fluidic injection and drain channels. The agarose bead sensors used in the device are sensitized with anti-C-reactive protein (CRP) antibody, and a fluorescent sandwich-type immunoassay was run to characterize the performance of this device. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used based on the device specifications to model the bead penetration. Experimental data revealed analyte penetration of the immunocomplex to 100 μm into the 280 μm diameter agarose beads, which correlated well with the simulation. A dose-response curve was obtained and the linear dynamic range of the assay was established over 1 ng/mL to 50 ng/mL with a limit of detection less than 1 ng/mL.     

Conditional inactivation of nicastrin restricts amyloid deposition in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model

Production of Aβ by γ‐secretase is a key event in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The γ‐secretase complex consists of presenilin (PS) 1 or 2, nicastrin (ncstn), Pen‐2, and Aph‐1 and cleaves type I transmembrane proteins, including the amyloid precursor protein (APP). Although ncstn is widely accepted as an essential component of the complex required for γ‐secretase activity, recent in vitro studies have suggested that ncstn is dispensable for APP processing and Aβ production. The focus of this study was to answer this controversy and evaluate the role of ncstn in Aβ generation and the development of the amyloid‐related phenotype in the mouse brain. To eliminate ncstn expression in the mouse brain, we used a ncstn conditional knockout mouse that we mated with an established AD transgenic mouse model (5XFAD) and a neuronal Cre‐expressing transgenic mouse (CamKIIα‐iCre), to generate AD mice (5XFAD/CamKIIα‐iCre/ncstn^f/f mice) where ncstn was conditionally inactivated in the brain. 5XFAD/CamKIIα‐iCre/ncstn^f/f mice at 10 week of age developed a neurodegenerative phenotype with a significant reduction in Aβ production and formation of Aβ aggregates and the absence of amyloid plaques. Inactivation of nctsn resulted in substantial accumulation of APP‐CTFs and altered PS1 expression. These results reveal a key role for ncstn in modulating Aβ production and amyloid plaque formation in vivo and suggest ncstn as a target in AD therapeutics.