2021
Our polymeric droplets made it to ETH Top 5 Spark Award 2021
Congratulations to Umberto, Carolina, Marie and Paolo for being in the top 5 finalists of the ETH Spark Award 2021! The team has developed programmable polymeric droplets which can open attractive applications in bioseparation. Below is the link to the video
[Advanced Healthcare Materials] Rapid Characterization and Quantification of Extracellular Vesicles by Fluorescence-Based Microfluidic Diffusion Sizing
Congratulations to Carolina for the publication of her work! This paper (https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202100021) presents a tool for the characterization of extracellular vesicles based on microfluidic diffusion sizing in combination with orthogonal staining methods. Here we show that we can detect, size and quantify vesicles and determine their purity with minimal sample amounts and pretreatments and that this method has great potential to accelerate sample screenings.
[Chemical Science] Sequestration within biomolecular condensates inhibits Aβ-42 amyloid formation
Congratulations to Andi for the publication of his work! This paper (https://doi.org/10.1039/D0SC04395H) demonstrates the complex interconnection between compartmentalization and amyloid formation. Here we show that heterotypic interactions within the compartments lead to inhibition of aggregation despite the high local increase of the concentration of the aggregation-prone protein.
[Trends in Pharmacological Sciences] Machine Learning for Biologics: Opportunities for Protein Engineering, Developability, and Formulation
Congratulations to Harini for the publication of her review! In this work (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2020.12.004), she describes the potential of machine learning in protein engineering, developability and formulation. Together with complementary approaches and advances in high-throughput experimental techniques, these methods can accelerate the development of successful biological drugs.