The 14th IEEE International Conference on Nano/Micro Engineered and Molecular Systems (IEEE-NEMS Conference) was recently held in Bangkok, Thailand. Two academic papers were accepted by the conference, authored by 2016 undergraduate students Niu Jinchuan and Zhang Hongyong, respectively, from Assistant Professor Hu Chengzhi’s group in the Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech). Niu Jinchuan gave an oral presentation at the conference.

Zhang Hongyong made a poster presentation on the pathology of glaucoma based on the in vitro construction of artificial cell spheroids by a microfluidics platform. The paper was titled “Development of Retina Cell-laden Alginate Microbeads for Study of Glaucoma.” The project delved into the fabrication method of three-dimensional cell spheroids based on a flow-focusing microfluidic system to realize high-speed cell encapsulation in the hydrogel. Finally, the cell spheroids are built-in Vitro with distinguishing inner shell and outer shell, which mimics the structural characteristics of the eyeball in the human body and is highly beneficial for study the pathology of glaucoma.

Niu Jinchuan introduced the project based on electrodeposition technology to realize the alginate microcapsule for targeted drug release. The paper was titled “Electrodeposition of Magnetic Alginate-poly-L-lysine Microcapsules for Targeted Drug Delivery.” The study presented a method for preparing magnetic microcapsules by using microelectrode technology to assist the electrodeposition of alginate hydrogel. The proposed method is non-toxic, stable, and enabling high resolution and high flexibility during batch fabrication. After the electrodeposition of alginate microbeads, polyethylene lysine (PLL) was coated on the surface of the alginate, and magnetic nanoparticles were embedded in the PLL membrane. The prepared magnetic microcapsules can be remotely controlled by the applied magnetic field to realize the targeted drug delivery.

The IEEE-NEMS series is a high-level academic conference in the field of Micro, Nano and Molecular Systems, hosted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The purpose of the conference was to bring together researchers from various countries to make thematic discussions in academia and to promote both the latest research results and new developments in scientific research and technology. As one of the few invited undergraduates in the conference, SUSTech’s students shared their latest research results with experts and scholars from all over the world, which was affirmed and appreciated by many scholars present.