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 is exocytosis?
What is exocytosis? Exocytosis is defined as the transport and fusion of secretory vesicles with the plasma membrane and the extracellular space. There are three exocytosis pathways that deliver vesicles to the plasma membrane. [...]
What is autophagy?
What is autophagy? Autophagy, meaning self-eating, is an intracellular degradation system wherein unwanted cargo, such as old or damaged organelles, unneeded proteins, as well as pathogenic agents, are digested and the macromolecular contents from [...]
What is caveolar endocytosis?
What is caveolar endocytosis? Macropinocytosis or ‘cell drinking’ is a type of endocytosis that involves the nonspecific uptake of extracellular material, such as soluble molecules, nutrients, and antigens. First observed in 1931 by Warren [...]
What is phagocytosis?
What is phagocytosis? Phagocytosis is a process by which cells ingest large particles (> 0.5 micrometers) into membrane-bound vesicles called phagosomes, which are then targeted to the lysosomes for enzymatic degradation. The internalization of [...]
Genome Regulation
Genome Regulation Genome regulation encompasses all facets of gene expression, from the biochemical modifications of DNA, to the physical arrangement of chromosomes and the activity of the transcription machinery. The genome regulation programs that [...]
How does the nucleus facilitate mechanotransduction?
What properties of the nucleus facilitate mechanotransduction? Similar to the concept of long distance force propagation along the cytoskeleton, the prestressed nuclear state, which counterbalances intracellular forces from the cytoskeleton, enables mechanotransduction [1][2]. Both [...]
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
Kyle David Buchan
Alumni, Kenney Group
Anne Beghin
Research Assistant Professor, Facility Manager, Microscopy Core
Signaling in cell fate specifcation
Both when and where matter
MBI 10th Anniversary Celebration: 6-12 NOV 2018
One of five Research Centres of Excellence established by the NRF and MOE, the Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, was created 10 years ago. This November MBI will celebrate its 10th with the following events: Women in Science Satellite Meeting on the 6th, MBI's 10th Anniversary Conference from the 7th to 11th, and our Graduate Student Congress from the 11th to the 12th.
Taking pole positions
How polarity proteins localize at opposite poles during symmetry breaking
MBI Roadshow in China
The MBI Roadshow in China will take place in Guangzhou at the South China University of Technology, and in Shenzhen at the Southern University of Science & Technology, from 12 to 15 October, 2018.
Mario Adan Mendieta Serrano
Research Fellow, Saunders Group
Bi Feng
Alumni, Kanchanawong Group
Corey Bryen Lingam
Alumni, Hanry Yu Group
Zhao Zixuan
PhD Student, Class of August 2018, Yu Group
Zhong Xueying
PhD Student, Class of August 2018, Kanchanawong Group
Xiao Jingwei
PhD Student, Class of August 2018, Low Group
Former Lab Members
Kyle David Buchan
Alumni, Kenney Group
Anne Beghin
Research Assistant Professor, Facility Manager, Microscopy Core
Signaling in cell fate specifcation
Both when and where matter
MBI 10th Anniversary Celebration: 6-12 NOV 2018
One of five Research Centres of Excellence established by the NRF and MOE, the Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, was created 10 years ago. This November MBI will celebrate its 10th with the following events: Women in Science Satellite Meeting on the 6th, MBI's 10th Anniversary Conference from the 7th to 11th, and our Graduate Student Congress from the 11th to the 12th.
Taking pole positions
How polarity proteins localize at opposite poles during symmetry breaking
MBI Roadshow in China
The MBI Roadshow in China will take place in Guangzhou at the South China University of Technology, and in Shenzhen at the Southern University of Science & Technology, from 12 to 15 October, 2018.
Mario Adan Mendieta Serrano
Research Fellow, Saunders Group
Bi Feng
Alumni, Kanchanawong Group
Corey Bryen Lingam
Alumni, Hanry Yu Group
Zhao Zixuan
PhD Student, Class of August 2018, Yu Group
Zhong Xueying
PhD Student, Class of August 2018, Kanchanawong Group
Xiao Jingwei
PhD Student, Class of August 2018, Low Group
