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Platelets Jul 2017
Topics: Animals; Blood Platelets; Humans; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; Microfluidics; Research
PubMed: 28700317
DOI: 10.1080/09537104.2017.1325187 -
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 -
Biosensors Jan 2023The utilizations of microfluidic chips for single RBC (red blood cell) studies have attracted great interests in recent years to filter, trap, analyze, and release... (Review)
Review
The utilizations of microfluidic chips for single RBC (red blood cell) studies have attracted great interests in recent years to filter, trap, analyze, and release single erythrocytes for various applications. Researchers in this field have highlighted the vast potential in developing micro devices for industrial and academia usages, including lab-on-a-chip and organ-on-a-chip systems. This article critically reviews the current state-of-the-art and recent advances of microfluidics for single RBC analyses, including integrated sensors and microfluidic platforms for microscopic/tomographic/spectroscopic single RBC analyses, trapping arrays (including bifurcating channels), dielectrophoretic and agglutination/aggregation studies, as well as clinical implications covering cancer, sepsis, prenatal, and Sickle Cell diseases. Microfluidics based RBC microarrays, sorting/counting and trapping techniques (including acoustic, dielectrophoretic, hydrodynamic, magnetic, and optical techniques) are also reviewed. Lastly, organs on chips, multi-organ chips, and drug discovery involving single RBC are described. The limitations and drawbacks of each technology are addressed and future prospects are discussed.
Topics: Humans; Microfluidics; Erythrocytes; Hematologic Tests; Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; Anemia, Sickle Cell; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques
PubMed: 36671952
DOI: 10.3390/bios13010117 -
WormBook : the Online Review of C.... Sep 2013Microfluidics has emerged as a set of powerful tools that have greatly advanced some areas of biological research, including research using C. elegans. The use of... (Review)
Review
Microfluidics has emerged as a set of powerful tools that have greatly advanced some areas of biological research, including research using C. elegans. The use of microfluidics has enabled many experiments that are otherwise impossible with conventional methods. Today there are many examples that demonstrate the main advantages of using microfluidics for C. elegans research, achieving precise environmental conditions and facilitating worm handling. Examples range from behavioral analysis under precise chemical or odor stimulation, locomotion studies in well-defined structural surroundings, and even long-term culture on chip. Moreover, microfluidics has enabled coupling worm handling and imaging thus facilitating genetic screens, optogenetic studies, and laser ablation experiments. In this article, we review some of the applications of microfluidics for C. elegans research and provide guides for the design, fabrication, and use of microfluidic devices for C. elegans research studies.
Topics: Animals; Caenorhabditis elegans; Microfluidics; Research Design
PubMed: 24065448
DOI: 10.1895/wormbook.1.162.1 -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Jul 2022A microfluidic device, or a Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC), performs lab operations on the microscale through the manipulation of fluids. The design and fabrication of such devices...
A microfluidic device, or a Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC), performs lab operations on the microscale through the manipulation of fluids. The design and fabrication of such devices usually is a tedious process, and auxiliary tools, such as simulators, can alleviate the necessary effort for the design process. Simulations of fluids exist in various forms and can be categorized according to how well they represent the underlying physics, into so-called abstraction levels. In this work, we consider simulation approaches in 1D, which are based on analytical solutions of simplified problems, and approaches in 2D and 3D, for which we use two different (CFD) methods-namely, the (FVM) and the (LBM). All these methods come with their pros and cons with respect to accuracy and required compute time, but unfortunately, most designers and researchers are not aware of the trade-off that can be made within the broad spectrum of available simulation approaches for microfluidics and end up choosing a simulation approach arbitrarily. We provide an overview of different simulation approaches as well as a case study of their performance to aid designers and researchers in their choice. To this end, we consider three representative use cases of pressure-driven and channel-based microfluidic devices (namely the non-Newtonian flow in a channel, the mixing of two fluids in a channel, and the behavior of droplets in channels). The considerations and evaluations raise the awareness and provide several insights for what simulation approaches can be utilized today when designing corresponding devices (and for what they cannot be utilized yet).
Topics: Computer Simulation; Hydrodynamics; Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; Microfluidics
PubMed: 35891071
DOI: 10.3390/s22145392 -
Biosensors Nov 2022This review is an account of methods that use various strategies to control microfluidic flow control with high accuracy. The reviewed systems are divided into two large... (Review)
Review
This review is an account of methods that use various strategies to control microfluidic flow control with high accuracy. The reviewed systems are divided into two large groups based on the way they create flow: passive systems (non-mechanical systems) and active (mechanical) systems. Each group is presented by a number of device fabrications. We try to explain the main principles of operation, and we list advantages and disadvantages of the presented systems. Mechanical systems are considered in more detail, as they are currently an area of increased interest due to their unique precision flow control and "multitasking". These systems are often applied as mini-laboratories, working autonomously without any additional operations, provided by humans, which is very important under complicated conditions. We also reviewed the integration of autonomous microfluidic systems with a smartphone or single-board computer when all data are retrieved and processed without using a personal computer. In addition, we discuss future trends and possible solutions for further development of this area of technology.
Topics: Humans; Microfluidics; Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; Smartphone; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques
PubMed: 36354465
DOI: 10.3390/bios12110956 -
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry Jun 2012The application of microfluidic droplet PCR for single-molecule amplification and analysis has recently been extensively studied. Microfluidic droplet technology has the... (Review)
Review
The application of microfluidic droplet PCR for single-molecule amplification and analysis has recently been extensively studied. Microfluidic droplet technology has the advantages of compartmentalizing reactions into discrete volumes, performing highly parallel reactions in monodisperse droplets, reducing cross-contamination between droplets, eliminating PCR bias and nonspecific amplification, as well as enabling fast amplification with rapid thermocycling. Here, we have reviewed the important technical breakthroughs of microfluidic droplet PCR in the past five years and their applications to single-molecule amplification and analysis, such as high-throughput screening, next generation DNA sequencing, and quantitative detection of rare mutations. Although the utilization of microfluidic droplet single-molecule PCR is still in the early stages, its great potential has already been demonstrated and will provide novel solutions to today's biomedical engineering challenges in single-molecule amplification and analysis.
Topics: Animals; DNA; Emulsions; Equipment Design; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; Humans; Microfluidics; Polymerase Chain Reaction
PubMed: 22451171
DOI: 10.1007/s00216-012-5914-x -
Molecular Pharmaceutics Dec 2020Drug delivery systems (DDSs) have great potential for improving the treatment of several diseases, especially microbial infections and cancers. However, the formulation... (Review)
Review
Drug delivery systems (DDSs) have great potential for improving the treatment of several diseases, especially microbial infections and cancers. However, the formulation procedures of DDSs remain challenging, especially at the nanoscale. Reducing batch-to-batch variation and enhancing production rate are some of the essential requirements for accelerating the translation of DDSs from a small scale to an industrial level. Microfluidic technologies have emerged as an alternative to the conventional bench methods to address these issues. By providing precise control over the fluid flows and rapid mixing, microfluidic systems can be used to fabricate and engineer different types of DDSs with specific properties for efficient delivery of a wide range of drugs and genetic materials. This review discusses the principles of controlled rapid mixing that have been employed in different microfluidic strategies for producing DDSs. Moreover, the impact of the microfluidic device design and parameters on the type and properties of DDS formulations was assessed, and recent applications in drug and gene delivery were also considered.
Topics: Drug Compounding; Drug Delivery Systems; Gene Transfer Techniques; Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; Microfluidics; Nanomedicine; Nanoparticles
PubMed: 33213144
DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.0c00913 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Jul 2016This article reviews recent developments in droplet microfluidics enabling high-throughput single-cell analysis. Five key aspects in this field are included in this... (Review)
Review
This article reviews recent developments in droplet microfluidics enabling high-throughput single-cell analysis. Five key aspects in this field are included in this review: (1) prototype demonstration of single-cell encapsulation in microfluidic droplets; (2) technical improvements of single-cell encapsulation in microfluidic droplets; (3) microfluidic droplets enabling single-cell proteomic analysis; (4) microfluidic droplets enabling single-cell genomic analysis; and (5) integrated microfluidic droplet systems enabling single-cell screening. We examine the advantages and limitations of each technique and discuss future research opportunities by focusing on key performances of throughput, multifunctionality, and absolute quantification.
Topics: Animals; Genomics; High-Throughput Screening Assays; Humans; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; Microfluidics; Proteomics; Single-Cell Analysis
PubMed: 27399651
DOI: 10.3390/molecules21070881 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2012Bacterial biofilms-aggregations of bacterial cells and extracellular polymeric substrates (EPS)-are an important subject of research in the fields of biology and medical... (Review)
Review
Bacterial biofilms-aggregations of bacterial cells and extracellular polymeric substrates (EPS)-are an important subject of research in the fields of biology and medical science. Under aquatic conditions, bacterial cells form biofilms as a mechanism for improving survival and dispersion. In this review, we discuss bacterial biofilm development as a structurally and dynamically complex biological system and propose microfluidic approaches for the study of bacterial biofilms. Biofilms develop through a series of steps as bacteria interact with their environment. Gene expression and environmental conditions, including surface properties, hydrodynamic conditions, quorum sensing signals, and the characteristics of the medium, can have positive or negative influences on bacterial biofilm formation. The influences of each factor and the combined effects of multiple factors may be addressed using microfluidic approaches, which provide a promising means for controlling the hydrodynamic conditions, establishing stable chemical gradients, performing measurement in a high-throughput manner, providing real-time monitoring, and providing in vivo-like in vitro culture devices. An increased understanding of biofilms derived from microfluidic approaches may be relevant to improving our understanding of the contributions of determinants to bacterial biofilm development.
Topics: Bacteria; Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; Biofilms; Microfluidics
PubMed: 22895027
DOI: 10.3390/molecules17089818