Jonathan Briones
@merlninstitute.com
Cell Biology-Inspired Tissue Engineering (cBITE)
Institute for Technology-Inspired Regenerative Medicine (MERLN)
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Multidisciplinary, Biomedical Engineering, Biotechnology, Biophysics
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Jonathan C. Briones, Yuga Okui, Wilfred V. Espulgar, JeongHoon Park, Eri Itotagawa, Shohei Koyama, Eiichi Tamiya, Hyota Takamatsu, and Masato Saito
Elsevier BV
Yuhei Terada, Ain Obara, Jonathan Campos Briones, Xi Luo, Wilfred Villariza Espulgar, Masato Saito, Hyota Takamatsu, and Eiichi Tamiya
MDPI AG
Single-cell analysis has become increasingly important in uncovering cell heterogeneity, which has great implications in medicine and biology for a deep understanding of cell characteristics. Owing to its significance, it is vital to create novel devices that can reveal special or unique cells. In this work, we developed a single-cell secretion detection chip consisting of microwells that can trap single cells. Each well is surrounded by Au nanopillars capable of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) measurement. Using microfabrication and nanofabrication techniques, Au nanopillar and microwell structures were fabricated on a COP film. The Au nanopillar was modified with IL-6 antibodies for the direct detection of single-cell secreted IL-6 via LSPR absorbance peak shift. Specific IL-6 detection was successfully demonstrated using a null and IL-6 oversecreting Jurkat cell. A high single-cell trapping efficiency of over 80% was also achieved. Overall, the development of this single-cell secretion detection chip with a simple LSPR measurement setup represents a significant development in the field of cell biology and immunology, providing researchers with a powerful tool for studying individual cells and their secreted cytokines, and is useful for point-of-care testing (POCT) diagnostics.
Hiroki Ide, Taiki Aoshi, Masato Saito, Wilfred Villariza Espulgar, Jonathan Campos Briones, Masahito Hosokawa, Hiroko Matsunaga, Koji Arikawa, Haruko Takeyama, Shohei Koyama,et al.
Elsevier BV
Jonathan C. Briones, Wilfred V. Espulgar, Shohei Koyama, Hyota Takamatsu, Masato Saito, and Eiichi Tamiya
Springer US
Jonathan Briones, Wilfred Espulgar, Shohei Koyama, Hyota Takamatsu, Eiichi Tamiya, and Masato Saito
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractThe need for high throughput single cell screening platforms has been increasing with advancements in genomics and proteomics to identify heterogeneity, unique cell subsets or super mutants from thousands of cells within a population. For real-time monitoring of enzyme kinetics and protein expression profiling, valve-based microfluidics or pneumatic valving that can compartmentalize single cells is advantageous by providing on-demand fluid exchange capability for several steps in assay protocol and on-chip culturing. However, this technique is throughput limited by the number of compartments in the array. Thus, one big challenge lies in increasing the number of microvalves to several thousand that can be actuated in the microfluidic device to confine enzymes and substrates in picoliter volumes. This work explores the design and optimizations done on a microfluidic platform to achieve high-throughput single cell compartmentalization as applied to single-cell enzymatic assay for protein expression quantification. Design modeling through COMSOL Multiphysics was utilized to determine the circular microvalve’s optimized parameters, which can close thousands of microchambers in an array at lower sealing pressure. Multiphysical modeling results demonstrated the relationships of geometry, valve dimensions, and sealing pressure, which were applied in the fabrication of a microfluidic device comprising of up to 5000 hydrodynamic traps and corresponding microvalves. Comparing the effects of geometry, actuation media and fabrication technique, a sealing pressure as low as 0.04 MPa was achieved. Applying to single cell enzymatic assay, variations in granzyme B activity in Jurkat and human PBMC cells were observed. Improvement in the microfluidic chip’s throughput is significant in single cell analysis applications, especially in drug discovery and treatment personalization.
Jonathan Briones, Wilfred Espulgar, Shohei Koyama, Hyota Takamatsu, Eiichi Tamiya, and Masato Saito
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Jonathan C. Briones, Wilfred V. Espulgar, Shohei Koyama, Hiroyuki Yoshikawa, JeongHoon Park, Yujiro Naito, Atsushi Kumanogoh, Eiichi Tamiya, Hyota Takamatsu, and Masato Saito
Ivyspring International Publisher
Granzyme B (GrB) is an essential cytotoxic effector in cancer immunotherapy as it can be a potential biomarker to predict the efficacy of immunotherapies including checkpoint inhibitors. Monitoring the Granzyme B activity in cells would help determine a patient's clinical response to treatment and lead to better treatment strategies by preventing administration of ineffective therapies and avoid adverse events resulting in a delay in subsequent treatment. Methods: A microfluidic device with hydrodynamic traps and pneumatic valving system was fabricated using photo and soft lithography. Single cell Granzyme B (GrB) activity was detected and measured fluorometrically using a commercial assay kit with a peptide substrate containing GrB recognition sequence (Ac-IEPD-AFC) and AFC (7-Amino-4-trifluoromethylcoumarin) label. Fluorescence was observed and measured using a confocal microscope with CSU-W1 scanner unit and CCD camera as well as an inverted microscope with photodetector. Model cells (NK-92, GrB-transduced Jurkat, and THP1 cells) and human PBMCs from healthy donor and lung cancer patients including an anti-PD-1 antibody treated patient were profiled of its GrB activity as proof of concept. Results: GrB expression from the model cells was found to be markedly different. NK-92 cells were found to have higher GrB activity than the GrB-transduced Jurkat cells. THP-1 was found to have relatively no significant activity. A marked increase in GrB expression was also observed in anti-PD-1 treated lung cancer patient sample in comparison to PBMC from a healthy donor. TCR+ Ig-G4+ PBMC cells were found to have high activity which signifies a clear response to PD-1 blockade. Conclusion: As proof of concept, we have shown the capability of a microfluidic platform to measure GrB production through a single cell enzymatic activity assay. Our platform might be a promising tool for evaluating the sensitivity of immunotherapies and identifying specific T cell subset responsible for the anti-tumor response.
Jonathan C. Briones, Gwen Castillon, Michael P. Delmo, and Gil Nonato C. Santos
Hindawi Limited
We studied the effect of an external magnetic field (up to 0.31 T) on the growth of SnO2nanowires fabricated using the horizontal vapor phase growth (HPVG) technique. The morphology of the nanowires was characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the chemical composition was characterized by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. We found that the length of nanowires was significantly enhanced by the application of EMF. The aspect ratio, as well as the density of the fabricated nanowires, increased with increasing magnetic field intensity. Although the physics behind the morphology enhancement of the nanowires under magnetic field is still being investigated, nevertheless, we demonstrated that the magnetic field could be used as a key parameter to control the morphology of tin oxide nanomaterials grown via HPVG technique. The magnetically enhanced nanowires were used in the development of a gas sensor and were found to be sensitive to hydrogen sulfide gas and the headspace gas emitted by spoiling meat.