Gianluca GRENCI
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore
Facility Manager, Nano and Microfabrication Core
mbigg@nus.edu.sg
Level 10 T-Lab
National University of Singapore
5A Engineering Drive 1
Singapore 117411
What are filopodia?
What are filopodia? Filopodia (singular filopodium) are thin membrane protrusions that act as antennae for a cell to probe the surrounding environment [1][2][3]. Nonprotruding filopodia are mechanistically related to microspikes [4]. Filopodia are commonly [...]
What is the first step in filopodium formation?
What is the first step in filopodium formation? Actin nucleation initiates filopodium formation The first step in the formation of a filopodium is the nucleation of actin filaments from G-actin monomers. This is facilitated [...]
How does cross-linking of actin filaments aid in filopodia extension?
How does cross-linking of actin filaments aid in filopodia extension? Once nucleation has taken place, actin filaments begin to extend. This process is primarily facilitated by members of the formin family of proteins, however [...]
How do filopodia attach to the surrounding substrate?
How do filopodia attach to the surrounding substrate? A diverse array of cellular responses can result when a filopodium makes contact with a ligand or substrate. These responses are dependent on the coupling of [...]
How do filopodia move dynamically?
What causes filopodia retraction and collapse? Binding of filopodia to certain ligands or substratum may hinder filament assembly, thereby leading to changes that promote retraction, collapse or growth cone turning [1][2]. For example, substrate [...]
What are lamellipodia and lamella?
What are lamellipodia and lamella? The lamellipodia and lamella are plate-like extensions of the cell that play crucial roles in both cell motility and migration, and mechanosensing. These structures form and function over distinct [...]
Gianluca Grenci
Research Assistant Professor, Facility Manager
Research Interests
Microfluidics, Micro-optical systems for live cell imaging
Our laboratory is primarily interested in the application of micro/nano fabrication technology to biological science. We exploit standard and advanced micro-fabrication tools in order to design and produce systems and devices for cell culturing and imaging. Examples of such devices are: topographically and/or chemically micro-textured environments, microfluidic devices, micro-optical systems and more.
We are also interested in developing microfluidic devices for FTIR spectromicroscopy of living cells. FTIR is an imaging technique that is intrinsically label-free and requires minimal sample preparation; when coupled with microscopy and high brilliance IR sources it allows the acquisition of chemical maps at a resolution which is diffraction limited. Absorption of IR photons induces very low or no damage at all, therefore it is in principle possible to observe for prolonged time the behaviour of living cells. Our research activity is intended to develope microfludic platforms suitable for FTIR (key parameters are optical transparency and low IR absorption) while keeping cells alive and healthy; a beneficial feature provided by micro-fabrication approach is the possibility to control of the chemical environment at the micro-scale.
Research Areas
Micro/nano engineering, microfluidic, FTIR
Biography
Dr Gianluca Grenci joined MBI in 2012 as a research fellow and head of the Micro Fabrication Core facility. Previously he was employed at the LILIT micro/nano fabrication group (IOM-CNR, Trieste, IT) for a total of 6 years, during which he was mainly involved in the design and fabrication of microfluidic devices for synchrotron-light related spectroscopic techniques, such as SAXS and FTIR. He thus developed extensive practical knowledge on all the major lithographic technologies (UV and EB lithography, wet/dry etching, soft-lithography, thin films deposition), plus some less usual and/or more advanced technique, such as X-ray Lithography and LIGA.
He did his PhD in the field of applied superconductivity, in a project aimed to develop a current cryo-comparator (CCC) using high critical temperature superconductors of the cuprate family (YBCO) in the form of a thick film deposited onto a large area, complex shaped silver substrate.
Education
PhD Polytechnic of Torino, DISPEA
Recent Publications
- Zhang Z, Canela A, Kurisu J, Zou P, Kawaue T, Nakazawa N, Takeda N, Saeki M, Utsunomiya M, Bilgic M, Ishidate F, Grenci G, Furuta T, Kishi Y, Sasanuma H, and Kengaku M. Confined migration induces non-lethal DNA damage in developing neurons. Nature 2026;. [PMID: 42310452]
- Gandin A, Torresan V, Panciera T, Grenci G, Vanni G, Citron A, Marchionni M, Battilana G, Pelosin M, Busetto R, Piccolo S, and Brusatin G. Flexible high-resolution ECM micropatterning. Nat Protoc 2026;. [PMID: 42129485]
- Dunsing-Eichenauer V, Hummert J, Chardès C, Schönau T, Guignard L, Galland R, Grenci G, Tillmann M, Koberling F, Nock C, Sibarita J, Viasnoff V, Antolovic IM, Erdmann R, and Lenne P. Fast volumetric fluorescence lifetime imaging of multicellular systems using single-objective light-sheet microscopy. Commun Biol 2025;. [PMID: 41315677]
- Jiang X, Xu P, Feng F, Grenci G, and Saw TB. Revealing Electromechanical Control of Tissue Homeostasis Using a Two-Layer Microfluidic Device. J Vis Exp 2025;(223). [PMID: 41052031]
- Cabillic M, Forriere H, Bettarel L, Butler C, Neuhaus A, Idrissi I, Sambrano-Lopez ME, Rossbroich J, Müller L, Ries J, Grenci G, Viasnoff V, Levet F, Sibarita J, and Galland R. In-depth single molecule localization microscopy using adaptive optics and single objective light-sheet microscopy. Nat Commun 2025; 16(1):8362. [PMID: 40993142]
- Mu B, Rutkowski DM, Grenci G, Vavylonis D, and Zhang D. Ca2+-dependent vesicular and non-vesicular lipid transfer controls hypoosmotic plasma membrane expansion. BMC Biol 2025; 23(1):207. [PMID: 40629316]
- Ong HT, Karatas E, Poquillon T, Grenci G, Furlan A, Dilasser F, Mohamad Raffi SB, Blanc D, Drimaracci E, Mikec D, Galisot G, Johnson BA, Liu AZ, Thiel C, Ullrich O, , Racine V, and Beghin A. Digitalized organoids: integrated pipeline for high-speed 3D analysis of organoid structures using multilevel segmentation and cellular topology. Nat Methods 2025;. [PMID: 40369245]
- Arora A, Rizvi MS, Grenci G, Dilasser F, Fu C, Ganguly M, Vaishnavi S, Paramsivam K, Budnar S, Noordstra I, Yap AS, and Viasnoff V. Viscous dissipation in the rupture of cell-cell contacts. Nat Mater 2025;. [PMID: 40355570]
- Nakazawa N, Grenci G, Kameo Y, Takeda N, Sawada T, Kurisu J, Zhang Z, Toma K, Adachi T, Nonomura K, and Kengaku M. PIEZO1-dependent mode switch of neuronal migration in heterogeneous microenvironments in the developing brain. Cell Rep 2025; 44(3):115405. [PMID: 40053456]
- Suryana M, Produit T, Yang H, Birarda G, Shanmugar JV, Krivitsky L, Paterova A, and Grenci G. Infrared imaging with visible light in microfluidic devices: the water absorption barrier. Analyst 2024;. [PMID: 39692693]
Selected Publications
- Mona Suryana, Jegan V. Shanmugarajah, Sivakumar M. Maniam, Gianluca Grenci. Soft Lithographic Procedure for Producing Plastic Microfluidic Devices with View-ports Transparent to Visible and Infrared Light
- Mohammed Ashraf, Sree V. Sundararajan, Gianluca Grenci. Low-power, low-pressure reactive-ion etching process for silicon etching with vertical and smooth walls for mechanobiology application
Lab Members
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Arikta Biswas
Research Fellow, Chan Group
Xu Mengqing
PhD Student, Class of August 2021, Kanchanawong Group
Ng Boon Heng
PhD Student, Class of August 2021, Chan Group
Huang Zengxin
PhD Student, Class of August 2021, Kanchanawong Group
Kuo Xuan
PhD Student, Class of August 2021, Kanchanawong Group, Zhao Group
Li Yixuan
PhD Student, Class of August 2021, Holle Group
Chen Dixiao
PhD Student, Class of August 2021, Young Group
Chin Lingzi
Research Assistant, Huang Group
Huang Yameng
Research Fellow, Low Group
Ang Jing Wen
Research Fellow, Class of August 2021, Low Group
Zuyang Aaron Fong
Research Assistant, Low Group
Former Lab Members
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Arikta Biswas
Research Fellow, Chan Group
Xu Mengqing
PhD Student, Class of August 2021, Kanchanawong Group
Ng Boon Heng
PhD Student, Class of August 2021, Chan Group
Huang Zengxin
PhD Student, Class of August 2021, Kanchanawong Group
Kuo Xuan
PhD Student, Class of August 2021, Kanchanawong Group, Zhao Group
Li Yixuan
PhD Student, Class of August 2021, Holle Group
Chen Dixiao
PhD Student, Class of August 2021, Young Group
Chin Lingzi
Research Assistant, Huang Group
Huang Yameng
Research Fellow, Low Group
Ang Jing Wen
Research Fellow, Class of August 2021, Low Group
Zuyang Aaron Fong
Research Assistant, Low Group
