Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
hydrophilicity:
he physical property of a molecule (or, in general, a body, such as a surface)
that is attracted to a mass of water.
hydrophobic force:
In bodies that have an uneven distribution of polar groups and nonpolar
groups, the net repulsion that the nonpolar groups exert in contact with water in con-
trast with the strong (attractive) associations between the polar groups and water.
hydrophobic surface:
A surface that is repelled by water, such that a droplet of water deposited
on that surface beads up into a round sphere.
hydrophobicity:
he physical property of a molecule (or, in general, a body, such as a surface)
that is repelled by a mass of water.
I
IL-8:
See
interleukin-8.
immunoassay:
A biochemical test that measures the concentration of a biomolecule by the
binding of an antibody to its corresponding antigen (which is not necessarily the bio-
molecule of interest directly).
immunoblotting:
See
Western blot.
immunological synapse:
Interface between an antigen-presenting cell and a lymphocyte.
in vitro
:
Latin expression (“within glass”) that refers to studies conducted outside of the organ-
ism on a petri dish, a glass slide, etc.
in vivo
:
Latin expression (“within the living”) that refers to studies conducted inside a living
organism.
injection molding:
Molding technique for high-speed production of plastic parts that consists
of injecting a molten (thermoset or thermoplastic) polymer at high pressure into a hard
mold followed by a rapid cooldown.
integrins:
A family of heterodimeric transmembrane proteins that on the cytoplasmic side of
the membrane are linked to the cytoskeleton and on the extracellular side of the mem-
brane recognize speciic peptide sequences (such as RGD) present in the extracellular
matrix;
see
RGD, ECM.
interleukin-8:
A chemokine (of the CXC subfamily) produced by macrophages (and other cell
types, e.g., epithelial cells).
isoelectric focusing:
A technique for separating proteins with diferent isoelectric points.
isotropic etch:
Chemical etch that proceeds in all directions at the same rate.
K
keratinocyte:
Predominant cell type of the epidermis (outer layer of the human skin).
kinematic viscosity:
he ratio of the absolute viscosity (also called “dynamic viscosity”) to the
density of the luid;
see
dynamic viscosity.
L
L1:
A neuronal cell adhesion transmembrane protein that is involved in axon guidance and cell
migration; it is also known as L1CAM.
Lab-CD:
A spinning microluidic platform invented by Gamera Bioscience in 1998 that makes
use of the centrifugal force to modulate capillary forces, which act to ill microchannels
and to open/close burst microvalves.
laminar low:
Flow characterized by the absence of turbulence; in general, the luid lows in
parallel streamlines, without forming eddies.
