Projects

Two platforms for imaging brain tissue slices over several days. PHIROS keeps slices alive under continuous, oxygenated perfusion in a sealed chip for multiple days, enabling subcellular-resolution imaging and compound delivery with precise temporal resolution. The platform was used to visualize astrocyte calcium activity, medulloblastoma–astrocyte interactions and mitochondrial transfer between tumor cells. A newer modular insert works in standard well plates and in an automated microfluidic instrument, so the same slice can be imaged repeatedly, as demonstrated with cerebellar astrocytes and Purkinje cells exposed to glutamate. The projects were carried out in collaboration with researchers at Kispi Zurich and Lunaphore SA.

Papers: PHIROS, bioRxiv 2026 · On-demand imaging, bioRxiv 2026

A pump-free, gravity-driven chip that combines a 3D blood-brain barrier model (endothelial cells, astrocytes, pericytes) with transparent electrodes and live imaging for continuous monitoring of barrier tightness via both high-resolution imaging and TEER. We showed that barrier resistance drops before structure visibly changes under stroke-like conditions. The next generation adds tumor spheroids in a 32-unit plate format: on patient-derived models of a pediatric brain tumor, the barrier strongly limited drug effects, and some drugs caused barrier disruption at non-toxic doses. Multiple subsequent projects on cellular barrier models in the group stemmed from these platforms.

Links: Advanced Science, 2023 · Microsystems & Nanoengineering, 2026 · ETH news, 2023

A platform to maintain suspension cells and static microtissues in co-culture over multiple days. Tilting the chip results in medium flow, which ensures continuous resuspension of cells and their recirculation around microtissue spheroids, without requiring pumps or tubing. Here we showed that primary immune cells and tissue models stayed viable for multiple days, and we used this system to test the efficacy of antibody-based treatment against a pediatric brain tumor. The platform was developed in collaboration with InSphero AG, which now commercializes it.

Paper: Microsystems & Nanoengineering, 2025

A microfluidic platform for the co-culture of patient-derived leukemia cells, bone marrow stromal cells and liver microtissues, to promote paracrine interactions between cells, while avoiding direct physical contact between liver tissues and leukemia cells. The project aimed to investigate the efficacy of liver-activated prodrugs, here ifosfamide, against leukemia cells, something that standard well-plate assays struggle to capture. Our assay revealed differences in sensitivity between patient samples. The project was carried out in collaboration with researchers at Kispi Zurich.

Paper: Advanced Healthcare Materials, 2023

Schistosomiasis affects more than 200 million people worldwide, and few new drugs are currently under development. To increase the throughput of antischistosomal drug screening and provide a quantitative evaluation of efficacy, which currently relies largely on the operator’s experience, we built an impedance-based platform that monitors the viability of S. mansoni larvae continuously and automatically over 72 hours. We measured 128 wells in parallel and tested 57 repurposed compounds, five of which reduced larval viability by more than 70%. Real-time dose-response curves showed that four of them were potent and fast-acting, making them candidates for tests on adult worms. The project was a collaboration with TPH Basel.

Papers: iScience, 2022 · Advanced Biosystems, 2020 · Inside cover

Mass measurements with micromechanical mass correlation spectroscopy showed that porous metal-organic framework nanoparticles take up the components of a solvent mixture unevenly: their effective density changed with the solvent and with the chemistry of the inner surface, so the liquid in and around the particles differs from the bulk. Our work on nanoparticle characterization also led us to publish a review outlining different methods to characterize and investigate nanoparticle properties (size, shape, surface charge, pore structure), and what each technique can and cannot tell us.

Papers: Small, 2018 · Cover page, Small · Advanced Materials, 2019 · Cover page, Advanced Materials