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Journal of Materials Chemistry. B Oct 2022As a popular clinical research topic, the use of functional materials to promote wound healing has attracted significant attention. Microfluidics has been demonstrated... (Review)
Review
As a popular clinical research topic, the use of functional materials to promote wound healing has attracted significant attention. Microfluidics has been demonstrated as one of the most promising and versatile technologies to fabricate high-performance functional materials contributing to all physiological stages of wound healing. In this respect, we review the state-of-the-art advances in the development of microfluidics for functional material preparation with key applications in wound healing. We first elaborate on the physiological principle of wound healing and the fundamentals of microfluidics. Then we categorize and depict a variety of microfluidic approaches to fabricate functional materials with well-tailored internal structures and integrated functions for wound treatment. We also summarize recent representative microfluidic-based functional materials to facilitate different stages of wound healing. This review concludes with our perspectives on the future directions and challenges in microfluidic investigation of functional wound healing materials, with an emphasize on its versatility in the clinic.
Topics: Microfluidics; Wound Healing
PubMed: 36222361
DOI: 10.1039/d2tb01464e -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2023Microfluidic technology is a powerful tool to enable the rapid, accurate, and on-site analysis of forensically relevant evidence on a crime scene. This review paper... (Review)
Review
Microfluidic technology is a powerful tool to enable the rapid, accurate, and on-site analysis of forensically relevant evidence on a crime scene. This review paper provides a summary on the application of this technology in various forensic investigation fields spanning from forensic serology and human identification to discriminating and analyzing diverse classes of drugs and explosives. Each aspect is further explained by providing a short summary on general forensic workflow and investigations for body fluid identification as well as through the analysis of drugs and explosives. Microfluidic technology, including fabrication methodologies, materials, and working modules, are touched upon. Finally, the current shortcomings on the implementation of the microfluidic technology in the forensic field are discussed along with the future perspectives.
Topics: Humans; Explosive Agents; Forensic Sciences; Microfluidics; Chemistry Techniques, Analytical; DNA; Illicit Drugs; Animals
PubMed: 37447704
DOI: 10.3390/s23135856 -
Small (Weinheim An Der Bergstrasse,... Mar 2020The emergence of micro/nanomaterials in recent decades has brought promising alternative approaches in various biomedicine-related fields such as pharmaceutics,... (Review)
Review
The emergence of micro/nanomaterials in recent decades has brought promising alternative approaches in various biomedicine-related fields such as pharmaceutics, diagnostics, and therapeutics. These micro/nanomaterials for specific biomedical applications shall possess tailored properties and functionalities that are closely correlated to their geometries, structures, and compositions, therefore placing extremely high demands for manufacturing techniques. Owing to the superior capabilities in manipulating fluids and droplets at microscale, microfluidics has offered robust and versatile platform technologies enabling rational design and fabrication of micro/nanomaterials with precisely controlled geometries, structures and compositions in high throughput manners, making them excellent candidates for a variety of biomedical applications. This review briefly summarizes the progress of microfluidics in the fabrication of various micro/nanomaterials ranging from 0D (particles), 1D (fibers) to 2D/3D (film and bulk materials) materials with controllable geometries, structures, and compositions. The applications of these microfluidic-based materials in the fields of diagnostics, drug delivery, organs-on-chips, tissue engineering, and stimuli-responsive biodevices are introduced. Finally, an outlook is discussed on the future direction of microfluidic platforms for generating materials with superior properties and on-demand functionalities. The integration of new materials and techniques with microfluidics will pave new avenues for preparing advanced micro/nanomaterials with enhanced performance for biomedical applications.
Topics: Drug Delivery Systems; Microfluidics; Nanostructures; Tissue Engineering
PubMed: 31650698
DOI: 10.1002/smll.201903798 -
Colloids and Surfaces. B, Biointerfaces Nov 2016Microfluidic flow-focusing devices (FFD) are widely used to generate monodisperse droplets and microgels with controllable size, shape and composition for various...
Microfluidic flow-focusing devices (FFD) are widely used to generate monodisperse droplets and microgels with controllable size, shape and composition for various biomedical applications. However, highly inconsistent and often low viability of cells encapsulated within the microgels prepared via microfluidic FFD has been a major concern, and yet this aspect has not been systematically explored. In this study, we demonstrate that the biocompatibility of microfluidic FFD to fabricate cell-laden microgels can be significantly enhanced by controlling the channel geometry. When a single emulsion ("single") microfluidic FFD is used to fabricate cell-laden microgels, there is a significant decrease and batch-to-batch variability in the cell viability, regardless of their size and composition. It is determined that during droplet generation, some of the cells are exposed to the oil phase which is shown to have a cytotoxic effect. Therefore, a microfluidic device with a sequential ('double') flow-focusing channels is employed instead, in which a secondary aqueous phase containing cells enters the primary aqueous phase, so the cells' exposure to the oil phase is minimized by directing them to the center of droplets. This microfluidic channel geometry significantly enhances the biocompatibility of cell-laden microgels, while maintaining the benefits of a typical microfluidic process. This study therefore provides a simple and yet highly effective strategy to improve the biocompatibility of microfluidic fabrication of cell-laden microgels.
Topics: Animals; Cell Survival; Gels; Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; Materials Testing; Mice; Microfluidics; NIH 3T3 Cells
PubMed: 27478957
DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2016.07.041 -
Chemical Society Reviews Mar 2010Microfluidics has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach cell biology research. The dimensions of microfluidic channels are well suited to the physical scale... (Review)
Review
Microfluidics has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach cell biology research. The dimensions of microfluidic channels are well suited to the physical scale of biological cells, and the many advantages of microfluidics make it an attractive platform for new techniques in biology. One of the key benefits of microfluidics for basic biology is the ability to control parameters of the cell microenvironment at relevant length and time scales. Considerable progress has been made in the design and use of novel microfluidic devices for culturing cells and for subsequent treatment and analysis. With the recent pace of scientific discovery, it is becoming increasingly important to evaluate existing tools and techniques, and to synthesize fundamental concepts that would further improve the efficiency of biological research at the microscale. This tutorial review integrates fundamental principles from cell biology and local microenvironments with cell culture techniques and concepts in microfluidics. Culturing cells in microscale environments requires knowledge of multiple disciplines including physics, biochemistry, and engineering. We discuss basic concepts related to the physical and biochemical microenvironments of the cell, physicochemical properties of that microenvironment, cell culture techniques, and practical knowledge of microfluidic device design and operation. We also discuss the most recent advances in microfluidic cell culture and their implications on the future of the field. The goal is to guide new and interested researchers to the important areas and challenges facing the scientific community as we strive toward full integration of microfluidics with biology.
Topics: Cell Culture Techniques; Endothelium; Humans; Microfluidics; Muscle, Smooth
PubMed: 20179823
DOI: 10.1039/b909900j -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) 2012Paper-based sensors are a new alternative technology for fabricating simple, low-cost, portable and disposable analytical devices for many application areas including... (Review)
Review
Paper-based sensors are a new alternative technology for fabricating simple, low-cost, portable and disposable analytical devices for many application areas including clinical diagnosis, food quality control and environmental monitoring. The unique properties of paper which allow passive liquid transport and compatibility with chemicals/biochemicals are the main advantages of using paper as a sensing platform. Depending on the main goal to be achieved in paper-based sensors, the fabrication methods and the analysis techniques can be tuned to fulfill the needs of the end-user. Current paper-based sensors are focused on microfluidic delivery of solution to the detection site whereas more advanced designs involve complex 3-D geometries based on the same microfluidic principles. Although paper-based sensors are very promising, they still suffer from certain limitations such as accuracy and sensitivity. However, it is anticipated that in the future, with advances in fabrication and analytical techniques, that there will be more new and innovative developments in paper-based sensors. These sensors could better meet the current objectives of a viable low-cost and portable device in addition to offering high sensitivity and selectivity, and multiple analyte discrimination. This paper is a review of recent advances in paper-based sensors and covers the following topics: existing fabrication techniques, analytical methods and application areas. Finally, the present challenges and future outlooks are discussed.
Topics: Diagnosis; Environmental Monitoring; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; Microfluidics; Paper; Sensitivity and Specificity
PubMed: 23112667
DOI: 10.3390/s120911505 -
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in... 2008
Topics: Electrodes; Emulsions; Fluorocarbons; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; Microfluidics; Particle Size; Surface Properties; Water
PubMed: 18264960
DOI: 10.1002/anie.200704903 -
Advances in Biochemical... 2022Microfluidic analysis proved to be very sufficient in supporting biotechnological studies. This is due to the wide range of new analysis methods that provide further...
Microfluidic analysis proved to be very sufficient in supporting biotechnological studies. This is due to the wide range of new analysis methods that provide further insight into biotechnological questions but also to intrinsic advantages of the systems themselves. To name two of them, only very small sample amounts are needed, and the analytics are very fast. In this overview paper, microfluidic analysis methods are introduced with a special focus on electric analysis methods. The aim of this work is to shed light on the special advantages of miniaturized electrical analysis in microfluidics; the main theoretical aspects of the methods are given together with the potential scientific insight that can be gained by the respective methods.
Topics: Electricity; Electrophoresis; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; Microfluidics
PubMed: 32772118
DOI: 10.1007/10_2020_131 -
Electrophoresis Sep 2009Microfluidics, especially droplet microfluidics, attracts more and more researchers from diverse fields, because it requires fewer materials and less time, produces less... (Review)
Review
Microfluidics, especially droplet microfluidics, attracts more and more researchers from diverse fields, because it requires fewer materials and less time, produces less waste and has the potential of highly integrated and computer-controlled reaction processes for chemistry and biology. Electrorheological fluid, especially giant electrorheological fluid (GERF), which is considered as a kind of smart material, has been applied to the microfluidic systems to achieve active and precise control of fluid by electrical signal. In this review article, we will introduce recent results of microfluidic droplet manipulation, GERF and some pertinent achievements by introducing GERF into microfluidic system: digital generation, manipulation of "smart droplets" and droplet manipulation by GERF. Once it is combined with real-time detection, integrated chip with multiple functions can be realized.
Topics: Electrochemical Techniques; Microfluidics; Models, Theoretical; Particle Size
PubMed: 19722203
DOI: 10.1002/elps.200900119 -
Journal of Laboratory Automation Aug 2016The open-source release of self-replicating rapid prototypers (RepRaps) has created a rich opportunity for low-cost distributed digital fabrication of complex 3-D...
The open-source release of self-replicating rapid prototypers (RepRaps) has created a rich opportunity for low-cost distributed digital fabrication of complex 3-D objects such as scientific equipment. For example, 3-D printable reactionware devices offer the opportunity to combine open hardware microfluidic handling with lab-on-a-chip reactionware to radically reduce costs and increase the number and complexity of microfluidic applications. To further drive down the cost while improving the performance of lab-on-a-chip paper-based microfluidic prototyping, this study reports on the development of a RepRap upgrade capable of converting a Prusa Mendel RepRap into a wax 3-D printer for paper-based microfluidic applications. An open-source hardware approach is used to demonstrate a 3-D printable upgrade for the 3-D printer, which combines a heated syringe pump with the RepRap/Arduino 3-D control. The bill of materials, designs, basic assembly, and use instructions are provided, along with a completely free and open-source software tool chain. The open-source hardware device described here accelerates the potential of the nascent field of electrochemical detection combined with paper-based microfluidics by dropping the marginal cost of prototyping to nearly zero while accelerating the turnover between paper-based microfluidic designs.
Topics: Microfluidics; Paper; Printing, Three-Dimensional; Software
PubMed: 26763294
DOI: 10.1177/2211068215624408