Alvéole is a French company based in Paris and founded in 2010 by Quattrocento, a business accelerator company in the life science field, in collaboration with researchers from the

French National Center for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 engi ...

with expertise in

bioengineering Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number ...

and cell imaging. Alvéole is specialized in the development of devices for controlling microenvironment ''in vitro''. Its first product is Primo, a contactless and maskless photopatterning device allowing researchers to control the

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

(via

microfabrication Microfabrication is the process of fabricating miniature structures of micrometre scales and smaller. Historically, the earliest microfabrication processes were used for integrated circuit fabrication, also known as "semiconductor manufacturing" ...

) and

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

(via micropatterning) of cell microenvironment.

Products

Alvéole's first product is Primo, a photopatterning device which can be docked on standard inverted microscopes. Primo photopatterning technique is based on LIMAP technology and combines a maskless and contactless

photolithography Photolithography (also known as optical lithography) is a process used in the manufacturing of integrated circuits. It involves using light to transfer a pattern onto a substrate, typically a silicon wafer. The process begins with a photosensiti ...

system controlled by a dedicated software (Leonardo) and a specific photo-initiator. This system modulate UV-light illumination through an array of micromirrors ( digital micromirror device). The UV light is then projected through the objective of the microscope onto the substrate in order to either perform microfabrication or protein micropatterning. -

Microfabrication Microfabrication is the process of fabricating miniature structures of micrometre scales and smaller. Historically, the earliest microfabrication processes were used for integrated circuit fabrication, also known as "semiconductor manufacturing" ...

: The modulated UV light is projected on a photosensitive resist. The cured

photoresist A photoresist (also known simply as a resist) is a light-sensitive material used in several processes, such as photolithography and photoengraving, to form a patterned coating on a surface. This process is crucial in the electronics industry. T ...

can then be used as a mold to deposit PDMS and generate microstructured PDMS chips. - Protein micropatterning: The modulated UV light is projected onto a standard cell culture substrate previously coated with an anti-fouling polymer and reacts with the photo-initiator to locally degrade this coating. Adhesion proteins can then be adsorbed on the illuminated area only, allowing for the creation of proteins micropatterns on which cells can adhere.

Applications

By micropatterning adhesions proteins with a sub-cellular resolution, Primo enables to control

cell adhesion Cell adhesion is the process by which cells interact and attach to neighbouring cells through specialised molecules of the cell surface. This process can occur either through direct contact between cell surfaces such as Cell_junction, cell junc ...

and isolate single cells under highly reproducible conditions. This allows cell biology researchers from various fields – such as mechanobiology,

toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating ex ...

immunology Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of Immune system, immune systems in all Organism, organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the Physiology, physiological functioning of the immune system in ...

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

s – to control or study intracellular mechanisms or screen the effect of molecules on cell functions. On a larger scale, Primo also makes it possible to control complex cellular arrangements, to study

cell migration Cell migration is a central process in the development and maintenance of multicellular organisms. Tissue formation during embryogenesis, embryonic development, wound healing and immune system, immune responses all require the orchestrated movemen ...

, axon guidance. Furthermore, the micropatterning process with Primo can be performed on microstructures' sides, top or bottom, making it possible to confine single cells or multicellular arrangements in three-dimension. One last known possible application is the photopolymerization of photo-sensitive materials, such as resins for microfabrication or photosensitive hydrogel to include rheological cues in cell microenvironment or to create permeable membranes in microfluidic channels.

References

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External links

Official Website
Biotechnology companies of France Cell biology Microfluidics Lithography (microfabrication)