Minneapolis Saint Paul Regional Analysis: Demographics, Economy, Entrepreneurship and Innovation

This report is associated with Minneapolis Saint Paul Entrepreneurial Opportunity Survey Analysi

Production of Single Cell Protein and Astaxanthin Using Methanol as Carbon Source

Singlecell protein (SCP) is the biomass of unicellular organisms, such as bacteria or yeast, which is used commonly as a food source for animals. With a high protein content, a broad amino acid profile, and the ability to produce essential organic compounds and vitamins, SCP is a promising alternative to other classical sources of animal feed. Several processes have been developed to manufacture SCP for use in feedstocks for the sustainable farming of fish and other aquatic life, or aquaculture, which is one of the fastest growing food markets in the world. Here, a process is presented for the production of 8,800 MT of SCP per year using methanotrophic bacteria with methanol as the carbon source. To increase process profitability, the cells will be genetically engineered to produce astaxanthin, a carotenoid pigment found naturally in aquatic algae. When used as a feed supplement for farmed salmon, these SCP will serve as a nutritional additive and ensure that the salmon possess the pink pigmentation consumers expect. The final product is SCP with 0.3% by weight astaxanthin sold for $16,500/MT. The high market price of astaxanthin significantly improves the profitability of the process. According to a 10year profitability analysis, the predicted IRR is 41.9$129,000,000. In the third production year, the ROI will be 56.0%

A Label Free CMOS-Based Smart Petri Dish for Cellular Analysis

RÉSUMÉ Le dépistage de culture cellulaire à haut débit est le principal défi pour une variété d’applications des sciences de la vie, y compris la découverte de nouveaux médicaments et le suivi de la cytotoxicité. L’analyse classique de culture cellulaire est généralement réalisée à l’aide de techniques microscopiques non-intégrées avec le système de culture cellulaire. Celles-ci sont laborieuses spécialement dans le cas des données recueillies en temps réel ou à des fins de surveillance continue. Récemment, les micro-réseaux cellulaires in-vitro ont prouvé de nombreux avantages dans le domaine de surveillance des cellules en réduisant les coûts, le temps et la nécessité d’études sur des modèles animaux. Les microtechniques, y compris la microélectronique et la microfluidique,ont été récemment utilisé dans la biotechnologie pour la miniaturisation des systèmes biologiques et analytiques. Malgré les nombreux efforts consacrés au développement de dispositifs microfluidiques basés sur les techniques de microscopie optique, le développement de capteurs intégrés couplés à des micropuits pour le suivi des paramètres cellulaires tel que la viabilité, le taux de croissance et cytotoxicité a été limité. Parmi les différentes méthodes de détection disponibles, les techniques capacitives offrent une plateforme de faible complexité. Celles-ci ont été considérablement utilisées afin d’étudier l’interaction cellule-surface. Ce type d’interaction est le plus considéré dans la majorité des études biologiques. L’objectif de cette thèse est de trouver des nouvelles approches pour le suivi de la croissance cellulaire et la surveillance de la cytotoxicité à l’aide d’un réseau de capteurs capacitifs entièrement intégré. Une plateforme hybride combinant un circuit microélectronique et une structure microfluidique est proposée pour des applications de détection de cellules et de découverte de nouveaux médicaments. Les techniques biologiques et chimiques nécessaires au fonctionnement de cette plateforme sont aussi proposées. La technologie submicroniques Standard complementary metal-oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) (TSMC 0.35 μm) est utilisée pour la conception du circuit microélectronique de cette plateforme. En outre, les électrodes sont fabriquées selon le processus CMOS standard sans la nécessité d’étapes de post-traitement supplémentaires. Ceci rend la plateforme proposée unique par rapport aux plateformes de dépistage de culture cellulaire à haut débit existantes. Plusieurs défis ont été identifiés durant le développement de cette plateforme comme la sensibilité, la bio-compatibilité et la stabilité et les solutions correspondantes sont fournies.----------ABSTRACT High throughput cell culture screening is a key challenge for a variety of life science applications, including drug discovery and cytotoxicity monitoring. Conventional cell culture analysis is widely performed using microscopic techniques that are not integrated into the target cell culture system. Additionally, these techniques are too laborious in particular to be used for real-time and continuous monitoring purposes. Recently, it has been proved that invitro cell microarrays offer great advantages for cell monitoring applications by reducing cost, time, and the need for animal model studies. Microtechnologies, including microelectronics and microfluidics, have been recently used in biotechnology for miniaturization of biological and analytical systems. Despite many efforts in developing microfluidic devices using optical microscopy techniques, less attention have been paid on developing fully integrated sensors for monitoring cell parameters such as viability, growth rate, and cytotoxicity. Among various available sensing methods, capacitive techniques offer low complexity platforms. This technique has significantly attracted attentions for the study of cell-surface interaction which is widely considered in biological studies. This thesis focuses on new approaches for cell growth and cytotoxicity monitoring using a fully integrated capacitive sensor array. A hybrid platform combining microelectronic circuitry and microfluidic structure is proposed along with other required biological and chemical techniques for single cell detection and drug discovery applications. Standard submicron complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology (TSMC 0.35 μm) is used to develop the microelectronic part of this platform. Also, the sensing electrodes are fabricated in standard CMOS process without the need for any additional post processing step, which makes the proposed platform unique compared to other state of the art high throughput cell assays. Several challenges in implementing this platform such as sensitivity, bio-compatibility, and stability are discussed and corresponding solutions are provided. Specifically, a new surface functionalization method based on polyelectrolyte multilayers deposition is proposed to enhance cell-electrode adherence and to increase sensing electrodes’ life time. In addition, a novel technique for microwell fabrication and its integration with the CMOS chip is proposed to allow parallel screening of cells. With the potential to perform inexpensive, fast, and real-time cell analyses, the proposed platform opens up the possibility to transform from passive traditional cell assays to a smart on-line monitoring system

(Issue 4, Oct) Harbouring Healthcare @IITH

The development of Healthcare is thus of prime importance to humanity. Research @IITH is trying to uncover new theories, inventions that will help in the advancement of Healthcare, thereby contributing to humankind's improvement in its own unique way. Hence, we thought it was relevant to dedicate this entire issue to the research undertaken at IITH in nurturing Healthcare and named this issue, किरIITH The Crowning Glory #HarbouringHealthcare. Read More..

Foundations and applications of human-machine-interaction

Der vorliegende Tagungsband zur 10. Berliner Werkstatt Mensch-Maschine-Systeme gibt einen Einblick in die aktuelle Forschung im Bereich der Mensch-Maschine- Interaktion. Einen besonderen Fokus stellt das Wechselspiel von Grundlagenforschung und anwendungsbezogener Forschung dar, was sich im breiten Themenspektrum widerspiegelt, welches von theoretischen und methodischen Betrachtungen bis hin zu anwendungsnahen Fragestellungen reicht. Dabei finden Inhalte aus allen Phasen des Forschungsprozesses Beachtung, sodass auch im Rahmen der 10. Berliner Werkstatt MMS wieder sowohl neue Untersuchungskonzepte als auch abschließende Befunde diskutiert werden. Zentrale Themengebiete sind u. a. Fahrer-Fahrzeug-Interaktion, Assistenzsysteme, User Experience, Usability, Ubiquitous Computing, Mixed & Virtual Reality, Robotics & Automation, Wahrnehmungsspezifika sowie Psychophysiologie und Beanspruchung in der Mensch-Maschine-Interaktion.The proceedings of the 10th Berlin Workshop Human-Machine-Systems provide an insight into the current research in the field of human-machine-interaction. The main focus lies on the interplay between basic and applied research, which is reflected in the wide range of subjects: from theoretical and methodological issues to application oriented considerations. Again all stages of the research process are represented in the contributions of the 10th Berlin Workshop HMS. This means new research concepts as well as final results are subject of this volume. Central topics include driver-vehicleinteraction, assistance systems, user experience, usability, ubiquitous computing, mixed and virtual reality, robotics & automation, perception specifics, as well as psychophysiology and workload in human-machine-interaction