Delft Bioengineering Institute Funds Six Innovative Bioengineering Research Projects

Delft Bioengineering Institute Funds Six Innovative Bioengineering Research Projects

(IN BRIEF) The Delft Bioengineering Institute (BEI) has selected six outstanding interdisciplinary research projects for funding in the field of bioengineering. These projects, which received €20,000 each, encompass a wide range of innovative topics, including the detection of tumor-derived DNA using microfluidics and optical nanoscopy, the development of 3D-knitted scaffolds for bio-based aerial robotics wings, and the exploration of microbial lipid production using purple phototrophic bacteria. The research teams aim to advance various aspects of bioengineering, from healthcare applications to sustainable biomaterials and brain network disentanglement.

(PRESS RELEASE) DELFT, 20-Dec-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — Since 2020, Delft Bioengineering Institute (BEI) organizes a cross-campus call for interdisciplinary research projects in the field of bioengineering. This year, sixteen teams of BEI PIs sent in a proposal. A peer review by the submitting PIs themselves resulted in the following six excellent projects, that will each be granted with €20.000 by Delft Bioengineering Institute.

>> Towards routine use of blood samples in cancer treatment

Liquid biopsies, which involve the analysis of blood-based tumor-derived materials, have emerged as a powerful and non-invasive tool for obtaining samples to monitor cancer progression. Specifically, the isolation and detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from blood samples has shown promise as biomarkers in clinical trials. The rarity of ctDNA in these samples, however, requires ultrasensitive and specific biomolecule sensors, and the cost and low throughput of current detection tools remain significant hurdles. In this project, Sabina Caneva (3mE/PME) and Pouyan Boukany (TNW/ChemE) aim to combine functional microfluidics with DNA nanotechnology to identify ctDNA , making liquid biopsy a more accessible option for cancer diagnostics.

Project title: Sort and Sense: microfluidics meet optical nanoscopy to detect tumor derived DNA
BEI PIs: Sabina Caneva (3mE/PME) and Pouyan Boukany (TNW/ChemE)

>> BacWing: Knitting scaffolds for growing biobased robotic wings

Small biomimetic drones are designed to mimic the flight capabilities of small creatures such as birds and insects. Typically, these drones are made of synthetic materials due to their lightweight and durable properties. Now, there is growing interest in developing these drones using biomaterials, as they offer several advantages, including biodegradability, sustainability, and the potential for integration with biological living systems. With the BacWing project, Mariana Popescu (CiTG) and Kunal Masania (LR) wish to investigate the possibility of developing a 3D knitted metamaterial that acts as scaffold for growing a biofilm into a minimal surface that can be deployed as a biomimetic wing for small drones.

Project title: BacWing: 3D-knitted scaffolds for growing hybrid deployable bio-based aerial robotics wings
BEI PIs: Mariana Popescu (CiTG) and Kunal Masania (LR)

>> Unveiling blood flow in the brain

It is important to assess brain microvasculature, so we can better understand problems that have been linked to it, such as cognitive impairment and dementia. Current clinical imaging techniques have limited resolution, hampering our ability to evaluate cerebral blood flow. Ultrasound Localization Microscopy (ULM) offers high-resolution vascular imaging, but is unable to inform on blood pulse-pressure, a critical biomarker in vascular damage. To overcome this limitation, vascular digital twins provide a powerful solution. In this project, Selene Pirola (3mE/BME) and David Maresca (TNW/ImPhys) will harness the synergistic potential of ULM and vascular digital twins to achieve a comprehensive evaluation of cerebral haemodynamics across multiple scales.

Project title: Unveiling cerebrovascular haemodynamics by integrating ultrasound localization microscopy and vascular digital twins
BEI PIs: Selene Pirola (3mE/BME) and David Maresca (TNW/ImPhys)

>> Exploring microbial lipid production using purple phototrophic bacteria

This project aims to harness the potential of purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) for sustainable production of microbial lipids, essential for various industries. Microbial lipids from PPB offer economic benefits, such as serving as feedstock, nutraceuticals and food colorants. Current limitations in full-scale applications stem from low yields and microbial cultivation challenges. PPBs, using their unique light-harvesting complex, can be selectively enriched in mixed cultures, showing promise in lipid and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) production. In this project, Ralph Lindeboom (CiTG/WM) and Samarpita Roy (TNW/BT) seek to unravel cellular mechanisms influencing lipid over PHA storage, employing cultivation strategies, stress conditions, multi-omics tools, and mathematical modelling for enhanced lipid productivity.

Project title: Purple Daze: exploring microbial lipid production using purple phototrophic bacteria
BEI PIs: Ralph Lindeboom (CiTG/WM) and Samarpita Roy (TNW/BT)

>> Disentangling the brain’s fiber network using 3D-nanofabrication and scattered light

Our brain contains billions of nerve fibers which form a highly complex, densely packed fiber network. An accurate map of this entangled network as well as biofidelic 3D biomaterial replica, are crucial to improve brain surgery and better understand brain diseases. However, established imaging techniques fail to reconstruct the individual fiber pathways over large volumes. Computational Scattered Light Imaging (ComSLI) has shown the potential to fill this gap and two-photon polymerization can create sub-micrometric features. In this project, BEI PIs Miriam Menzel (TNW/Imphys) and Angelo Accardo (3mE/PME) combine their expertises in scattered light microscopy and nanofabrication to 3D-manufacture and disentangle highly complex nerve fiber networks in the brain.

Project title: Disentangling the brain’s fiber network using 3D-nanofabrication and scattered light
BEI PIs: Miriam Menzel (TNW/ImPhys) and Angelo Accardo (3mE/PME)

>> Innovative 3D-printed heatsink antennas for wireless body area networks

Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) hold immense potential in modern healthcare, offering wireless connectivity of body sensors with outside for continuous monitoring of vital parameters of patients. This necessitates real-time data transmission, requiring a network of pattern-adaptive antennas driven by power amplifiers. A key challenge is managing the heat generated by these amplifiers without consuming energy. In this project, BEI PIs Yanki Aslan (EWI/ME) and Jie Zhou (3mE/BME) and their teams suggest an innovative approach to address this problem. Their ambition is to use heatsinks as antennas for co-functionality in a compact design. By prototyping complex-shaped 3D-printed heatsink structures, the researchers aim to demonstrate, for the first time, the promising practical performance of their passively cooled WBAN antennas.

Project title: Innovative 3D-printed heatsink antennas for wireless body area networks
BEI PIs: Yanki Aslan (EWI/ME) and Jie Zhou (3mE/BME)

Media Contact:

Kees Verhagen
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k.verhagen@tudelft.nl

SOURCE: Delft University of Technology