This review examines the properties of graphene from an experimental perspective. The intent is to review the most important experimental results at a level of detail appropriate for new graduate students who are interested in a general overview of the fascinating properties of graphene. While some introductory theoretical concepts are provided, including a discussion of the electronic band structure and phonon dispersion, the main emphasis is on describing relevant experiments and important results as well as some of the novel applications of graphene. In particular, this review covers graphene synthesis and characterization, field-effect behavior, electronic transport properties, magnetotransport, integer and fractional quantum Hall effects, mechanical properties, transistors, optoelectronics, graphene-based sensors, and biosensors. This approach attempts to highlight both the means by which the current understanding of graphene has come about and some tools for future contributions.

Microfluidic systems are increasingly being used for the culture and study of dissociated cells because they require only minute amounts of materials while enabling drug screening and chemotaxis studies down to the single cell level. However, the culture of organized tissue, such as brain slices, has been more difficult to adapt to microfluidic devices. Here, we present a microfluidic system, comprising (i) a perfusion chamber for the culture of organotypic slices that is compatible with high resolution imaging on inverted microscopes, and (ii) a novel transparent microfluidic probe (MFP) for the localized microperfusion of the brain tissue. The MFP is made in poly(dimethylsiloxane), features six micrometre-scale apertures and can be assembled within a few hours in a standard laboratory. Each aperture can indiscriminately be used either for the injection or aspiration of solutions, giving rise to many possible combinations. The MFP was successfully used for the perfusion of a small number of cells in a brain slice with concurrent confocal fluorescence imaging of the perfused dye and sub-cellular structures within the tissue.

The goal of this study was to characterize the vocal folds microstructure and elasticity using nonlinear laser scanning microscopy and atomic force microscopy-based indentation, respectively. As a pilot study, the vocal folds of fourteen rats were unilaterally injured by full removal of lamina propria; the uninjured folds of the same animals served as controls. The area fraction of collagen fibrils was found to be greater in scarred tissues two months after injury than the uninjured controls. A novel mathematical model was also proposed to relate collagen concentration and tissue bulk modulus. This work presents a first step towards systematic investigation of microstructural and mechanical characteristics in scarred vocal fold tissue.

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