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Prochukhan N, Rafferty A, Canavan M, Daly D, Selkirk A, Rameshkumar S, Morris MA. Development and application of a 3D image analysis strategy for focused ion beam - Scanning electron microscopy tomography of porous soft materials. Microsc Res Tech 2024; 87:1335-1347. [PMID: 38362795 DOI: 10.1002/jemt.24514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
In recent years, the potential of porous soft materials in various device technologies has increased in importance due to applications in fields, such as wearable electronics, medicine, and transient devices. However, understanding the 3-dimensional architecture of porous soft materials at the microscale remains a challenge. Herein, we present a method to structurally analyze soft materials using Focused Ion Beam - Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM) tomography. Two materials, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) membrane and pine wood veneer were chosen as test-cases. FIB-SEM was successfully used to reconstruct the true topography of these materials in 3D. Structural and physical properties were subsequently deduced from the rendered 3D models. The methodology used segmentation, coupled with optimized thresholding, image processing, and reconstruction protocols. The 3D models generated pore size distribution, pore inter-connectivity, tortuosity, thickness, and curvature data. It was shown that FIB-SEM tomography provides both an informative and visual depiction of structure. To evaluate and validate the FIB-SEM reconstructions, porous properties were generated from the physical property analysis techniques, gas adsorption analysis using Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) analysis. In general, the data obtained from the FIB-SEM reconstructions was well-matched with the physical data. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Porous specimens of both synthetic and biological nature, a poly(methyl methacrylate) membrane and a pine veneer respectively, are reconstructed via FIB-SEM tomography without resin-embedding. Different thresholding and reconstruction methods are explored whereby shadowing artifacts are present with the aid of free open-source software. Reconstruction data is compared to physical data: MIP, gas adsorption isotherms which are analyzed via BET and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) analysis to yield a full picture of the materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadezda Prochukhan
- School of Chemistry, Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN) and Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research (AMBER) Research Centres, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
- BiOrbic, Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Aran Rafferty
- School of Chemistry, Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN) and Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research (AMBER) Research Centres, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Megan Canavan
- School of Chemistry, Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN) and Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research (AMBER) Research Centres, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Dermot Daly
- School of Chemistry, Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN) and Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research (AMBER) Research Centres, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Andrew Selkirk
- School of Chemistry, Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN) and Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research (AMBER) Research Centres, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Saranya Rameshkumar
- School of Chemistry, Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN) and Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research (AMBER) Research Centres, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
- BiOrbic, Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Michael A Morris
- School of Chemistry, Centre for Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN) and Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research (AMBER) Research Centres, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
- BiOrbic, Bioeconomy SFI Research Centre, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Ogunmowo TH, Jing H, Raychaudhuri S, Kusick GF, Imoto Y, Li S, Itoh K, Ma Y, Jafri H, Dalva MB, Chapman ER, Ha T, Watanabe S, Liu J. Membrane compression by synaptic vesicle exocytosis triggers ultrafast endocytosis. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2888. [PMID: 37210439 PMCID: PMC10199930 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38595-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Compensatory endocytosis keeps the membrane surface area of secretory cells constant following exocytosis. At chemical synapses, clathrin-independent ultrafast endocytosis maintains such homeostasis. This endocytic pathway is temporally and spatially coupled to exocytosis; it initiates within 50 ms at the region immediately next to the active zone where vesicles fuse. However, the coupling mechanism is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that filamentous actin is organized as a ring, surrounding the active zone at mouse hippocampal synapses. Assuming the membrane area conservation is due to this actin ring, our theoretical model suggests that flattening of fused vesicles exerts lateral compression in the plasma membrane, resulting in rapid formation of endocytic pits at the border between the active zone and the surrounding actin-enriched region. Consistent with model predictions, our data show that ultrafast endocytosis requires sufficient compression by exocytosis of multiple vesicles and does not initiate when actin organization is disrupted, either pharmacologically or by ablation of the actin-binding protein Epsin1. Our work suggests that membrane mechanics underlie the rapid coupling of exocytosis to endocytosis at synapses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler H Ogunmowo
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
- Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
- Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology graduate program, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
| | - Haoyuan Jing
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
- Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
| | - Sumana Raychaudhuri
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
- Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
| | - Grant F Kusick
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
- Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
- Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology graduate program, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
| | - Yuuta Imoto
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
- Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
| | - Shuo Li
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
- Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
- Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, US
| | - Kie Itoh
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
- Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
| | - Ye Ma
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
| | - Haani Jafri
- Department of Neuroscience and Jefferson Synaptic Biology Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, US
| | - Matthew B Dalva
- Department of Neuroscience and Jefferson Synaptic Biology Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, US
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and the Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, US
| | - Edwin R Chapman
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, US
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Madison, WI, US
| | - Taekjip Ha
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
- Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baltimore, MD, US
| | - Shigeki Watanabe
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US.
- Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US.
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US.
| | - Jian Liu
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US.
- Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, US.
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Gallen AF, Romero-Arias JR, Barrio RA, Hernandez-Machado A. Vesicle formation induced by thermal fluctuations. SOFT MATTER 2023; 19:2908-2918. [PMID: 37006200 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm01167k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
The process of fission and vesicle formation depends on the geometry of the membrane that will split. For instance, a flat surface finds it difficult to form vesicles because of the lack of curved regions where to start the process. Here we show that vesicle formation can be promoted by temperature, by using a membrane phase field model with Gaussian curvature. We find a phase transition between fluctuating and vesiculation phases that depends on temperature, spontaneous curvature, and the ratio between bending and Gaussian moduli. We analysed the energy dynamical behaviour of these processes and found that the main driving ingredient is the Gaussian energy term, although the curvature energy term usually helps with the process as well. We also found that the chemical potential can be used to investigate the temperature of the system. Finally we address how temperature changes the condition for spontaneous vesiculation for all geometries, making it happen in a wider range of values of the Gaussian modulus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreu F Gallen
- Departament Fisica de la Materia Condensada, Universitat de Barcelona, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain.
| | - J Roberto Romero-Arias
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Matematicas Aplicadas y en Sistemas, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 01000 Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
| | - Rafael A Barrio
- Instituto de Fisica, U.N.A.M., 01000, Ap. Postal 101000, Mexico D.F, Mexico
| | - Aurora Hernandez-Machado
- Departament Fisica de la Materia Condensada, Universitat de Barcelona, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain.
- Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IN2UB), 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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A mathematical model of fibrinogen-mediated erythrocyte-erythrocyte adhesion. Commun Biol 2023; 6:192. [PMID: 36801914 PMCID: PMC9938206 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04560-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Erythrocytes are deformable cells that undergo progressive biophysical and biochemical changes affecting the normal blood flow. Fibrinogen, one of the most abundant plasma proteins, is a primary determinant for changes in haemorheological properties, and a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. In this study, the adhesion between human erythrocytes is measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and its effect observed by micropipette aspiration technique, in the absence and presence of fibrinogen. These experimental data are then used in the development of a mathematical model to examine the biomedical relevant interaction between two erythrocytes. Our designed mathematical model is able to explore the erythrocyte-erythrocyte adhesion forces and changes in erythrocyte morphology. AFM erythrocyte-erythrocyte adhesion data show that the work and detachment force necessary to overcome the adhesion between two erythrocytes increase in the presence of fibrinogen. The changes in erythrocyte morphology, the strong cell-cell adhesion and the slow separation of the two cells are successfully followed in the mathematical simulation. Erythrocyte-erythrocyte adhesion forces and energies are quantified and matched with experimental data. The changes observed on erythrocyte-erythrocyte interactions may give important insights about the pathophysiological relevance of fibrinogen and erythrocyte aggregation in hindering microcirculatory blood flow.
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Bottacchiari M, Gallo M, Bussoletti M, Casciola CM. Activation energy and force fields during topological transitions of fluid lipid vesicles. COMMUNICATIONS PHYSICS 2022; 5:283. [PMID: 36405503 PMCID: PMC9660165 DOI: 10.1038/s42005-022-01055-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Topological transitions of fluid lipid membranes are fundamental processes for cell life. For example, they are required for endo- and exocytosis or to enable neurotransmitters to cross the neural synapses. Here, inspired by the idea that fusion and fission proteins could have evolved in Nature in order to carry out a minimal work expenditure, we evaluate the minimal free energy pathway for the transition between two spherical large unilamellar vesicles and a dumbbell-shaped one. To address the problem, we propose and successfully use a Ginzburg-Landau type of free energy, which allows us to uniquely describe without interruption the whole, full-scale topological change. We also compute the force fields needed to overcome the involved energy barriers. The obtained forces are in excellent agreement, in terms of intensity, scale, and spatial localization with experimental data on typical fission protein systems, whereas they suggest the presence of additional features in fusion proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Bottacchiari
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Mirko Gallo
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
- Present Address: School of Architecture, Technology and Engineering, University of Brighton, Brighton, United Kingdom
| | - Marco Bussoletti
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Carlo Massimo Casciola
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
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