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Orabi M, Lo JF. Emerging Advances in Microfluidic Hydrogel Droplets for Tissue Engineering and STEM Cell Mechanobiology. Gels 2023; 9:790. [PMID: 37888363 PMCID: PMC10606214 DOI: 10.3390/gels9100790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Revised: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Hydrogel droplets are biodegradable and biocompatible materials with promising applications in tissue engineering, cell encapsulation, and clinical treatments. They represent a well-controlled microstructure to bridge the spatial divide between two-dimensional cell cultures and three-dimensional tissues, toward the recreation of entire organs. The applications of hydrogel droplets in regenerative medicine require a thorough understanding of microfluidic techniques, the biocompatibility of hydrogel materials, and droplet production and manipulation mechanisms. Although hydrogel droplets were well studied, several emerging advances promise to extend current applications to tissue engineering and beyond. Hydrogel droplets can be designed with high surface-to-volume ratios and a variety of matrix microstructures. Microfluidics provides precise control of the flow patterns required for droplet generation, leading to tight distributions of particle size, shape, matrix, and mechanical properties in the resultant microparticles. This review focuses on recent advances in microfluidic hydrogel droplet generation. First, the theoretical principles of microfluidics, materials used in fabrication, and new 3D fabrication techniques were discussed. Then, the hydrogels used in droplet generation and their cell and tissue engineering applications were reviewed. Finally, droplet generation mechanisms were addressed, such as droplet production, droplet manipulation, and surfactants used to prevent coalescence. Lastly, we propose that microfluidic hydrogel droplets can enable novel shear-related tissue engineering and regeneration studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joe F. Lo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, 4901 Evergreen Road, Dearborn, MI 48128, USA;
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Rahman SM, Martin EC, Melvin AT. Co-culture of Two Different Cell Lines in a Two-Layer Microfluidic Device. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2535:33-47. [PMID: 35867220 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2513-2_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Microfluidic devices have become a promising alternative approach for cellular co-culture. Many approaches incorporate a semipermeable barrier to physically separate, yet chemically connect, two cell types; however, the majority of these approaches utilize batch culture conditions which can result in nutrient depletion and waste accumulation. This chapter describes an alternative approach that allows for the continuous infusion of media, relieving the constraints of batch culture. The microfluidic device consists of two separate layers: a bottom layer of 3% (w/v) agarose to facilitate chemical diffusion and a top polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer into which four parallel fluidic channels were imprinted. The microfluidic approach allows for facile visualization of cells with light microscopy and the ability to add (or subtract) drugs or biomolecules to interrogate the system or modulate the cellular response. Finally, the approach allows for terminal immunostaining of either (or both) cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharif M Rahman
- Cain Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | - Elizabeth C Martin
- Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | - Adam T Melvin
- Cain Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
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Shi Y, Ye P, Yang K, Meng J, Guo J, Pan Z, Bayin Q, Zhao W. Application of Microfluidics in Immunoassay: Recent Advancements. J Healthc Eng 2021; 2021:2959843. [PMID: 34326976 PMCID: PMC8302407 DOI: 10.1155/2021/2959843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, point-of-care testing has played an important role in immunoassay, biochemical analysis, and molecular diagnosis, especially in low-resource settings. Among various point-of-care-testing platforms, microfluidic chips have many outstanding advantages. Microfluidic chip applies the technology of miniaturizing conventional laboratory which enables the whole biochemical process including reagent loading, reaction, separation, and detection on the microchip. As a result, microfluidic platform has become a hotspot of research in the fields of food safety, health care, and environmental monitoring in the past few decades. Here, the state-of-the-art application of microfluidics in immunoassay in the past decade will be reviewed. According to different driving forces of fluid, microfluidic platform is divided into two parts: passive manipulation and active manipulation. In passive manipulation, we focus on the capillary-driven microfluidics, while in active manipulation, we introduce pressure microfluidics, centrifugal microfluidics, electric microfluidics, optofluidics, magnetic microfluidics, and digital microfluidics. Additionally, within the introduction of each platform, innovation of the methods used and their corresponding performance improvement will be discussed. Ultimately, the shortcomings of different platforms and approaches for improvement will be proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxing Shi
- School of Automation Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Peng Ye
- School of Automation Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Kuojun Yang
- School of Automation Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Jie Meng
- School of Automation Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Jiuchuan Guo
- School of Automation Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Zhixiang Pan
- School of Automation Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Qiaoge Bayin
- School of Automation Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Wenhao Zhao
- School of Automation Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
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Thiriet PE, Medagoda D, Porro G, Guiducci C. Rapid Multianalyte Microfluidic Homogeneous Immunoassay on Electrokinetically Driven Beads. Biosensors (Basel) 2020; 10:212. [PMID: 33371213 PMCID: PMC7766682 DOI: 10.3390/bios10120212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The simplicity of homogeneous immunoassays makes them suitable for diagnostics of acute conditions. Indeed, the absence of washing steps reduces the binding reaction duration and favors a rapid and compact device, a critical asset for patients experiencing life-threatening diseases. In order to maximize analytical performance, standard systems employed in clinical laboratories rely largely on the use of high surface-to-volume ratio suspended moieties, such as microbeads, which provide at the same time a fast and efficient collection of analytes from the sample and controlled aggregation of collected material for improved readout. Here, we introduce an integrated microfluidic system that can perform analyte detection on antibody-decorated beads and their accumulation in confined regions within 15 min. We employed the system to the concomitant analysis of clinical concentrations of Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL) and Cystatin C in serum, two acute kidney injury (AKI) biomarkers. To this end, high-aspect-ratio, three-dimensional electrodes were integrated within a microfluidic channel to impart a controlled trajectory to antibody-decorated microbeads through the application of dielectrophoretic (DEP) forces. Beads were efficiently retained against the fluid flow of reagents, granting an efficient on-chip analyte-to-bead binding. Electrokinetic forces specific to the beads' size were generated in the same channel, leading differently decorated beads to different readout regions of the chip. Therefore, this microfluidic multianalyte immunoassay was demonstrated as a powerful tool for the rapid detection of acute life-threatening conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre-Emmanuel Thiriet
- Laboratory of Life Sciences Electronics, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; (D.M.); (G.P.); (C.G.)
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Chen W, Shao F, Xianyu Y. Microfluidics-Implemented Biochemical Assays: From the Perspective of Readout. Small 2020; 16:e1903388. [PMID: 31532891 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201903388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2019] [Revised: 08/20/2019] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Over the past decades, microfluidics has emerged as an increasingly important tool to perform biochemical assays for diagnosis and healthcare. The precise fluid control and molecule manipulation within microfluidics greatly contribute to developing assays with simplicity and convenience. The advantages of microfluidics, including decreased consumption of reagents and samples, lower operating and analysis time, much lower cost, and higher integration and automation over traditional systems, offer a great platform to meet the needs of point-of-care applications. In this Review, versatile strategies are outlined and recent advances in microfluidics-implemented assays are discussed from the perspective of readout, because a convenient and straightforward readout is what a biochemical assay requires and the end user desires. Functions and properties arising from each readout are reviewed and the advantages and limitations of each readout are discussed together with current challenges and future perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenwen Chen
- Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen, 518055, China
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Fangchi Shao
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Yunlei Xianyu
- Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
- College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob B. Nielsen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602-5700, USA
| | - Robert L. Hanson
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602-5700, USA
| | - Haifa M. Almughamsi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602-5700, USA
| | - Chao Pang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602-5700, USA
| | - Taylor R. Fish
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602-5700, USA
| | - Adam T. Woolley
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602-5700, USA
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Hemmig E, Temiz Y, Gökçe O, Lovchik RD, Delamarche E. Transposing Lateral Flow Immunoassays to Capillary-Driven Microfluidics Using Self-Coalescence Modules and Capillary-Assembled Receptor Carriers. Anal Chem 2019; 92:940-946. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.9b03792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Hemmig
- IBM Research − Zurich, 8803 Rüschlikon, Switzerland
| | - Yuksel Temiz
- IBM Research − Zurich, 8803 Rüschlikon, Switzerland
| | - Onur Gökçe
- IBM Research − Zurich, 8803 Rüschlikon, Switzerland
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Salva ML, Temiz Y, Rocca M, Arango YC, Niemeyer CM, Delamarche E. Programmable hydraulic resistor for microfluidic chips using electrogate arrays. Sci Rep 2019; 9:17242. [PMID: 31754240 PMCID: PMC6872553 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53885-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 10/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Flow rates play an important role in microfluidic devices because they affect the transport of chemicals and determine where and when (bio)chemical reactions occur in these devices. Flow rates can conveniently be determined using external peripherals in active microfluidics. However, setting specific flow rates in passive microfluidics is a significant challenge because they are encoded on a design and fabrication level, leaving little freedom to users for adjusting flow rates for specific applications. Here, we present a programmable hydraulic resistor where an array of "electrogates" routes an incoming liquid through a set of resistors to modulate flow rates in microfluidic chips post-fabrication. This approach combines a battery-powered peripheral device with passive capillary-driven microfluidic chips for advanced flow rate control and measurement. We specifically show a programmable hydraulic resistor composed of 7 parallel resistors and 14 electrogates. A peripheral and smartphone application allow a user to activate selected electrogates and resistors, providing 127 (27-1) flow resistance combinations with values spanning on a 500 fold range. The electrogates feature a capillary pinning site (i.e. trench across the flow path) to stop a solution and an electrode, which can be activated in a few ms using a 3 V bias to resume flow based on electrowetting. The hydraulic resistor and microfluidic chip shown here enable flow rates from ~0.09 nL.s-1 up to ~5.66 nL.s-1 with the resistor occupying a footprint of only 15.8 mm2 on a 1 × 2 cm2 microfluidic chip fabricated in silicon. We illustrate how a programmable hydraulic resistor can be used to set flow rate conditions for laminar co-flow of 2 liquids and the enzymatic conversion of a substrate by stationary enzymes (alkaline phosphatase) downstream of the programmable hydraulic resistor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie L Salva
- IBM Research - Zurich, Säumerstrasse 4, 8803, Rüschlikon, Switzerland
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) - Institute for Biological Interfaces (IBG-1), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Yuksel Temiz
- IBM Research - Zurich, Säumerstrasse 4, 8803, Rüschlikon, Switzerland
| | - Marco Rocca
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) - Institute for Biological Interfaces (IBG-1), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
| | - Yulieth C Arango
- IBM Research - Zurich, Säumerstrasse 4, 8803, Rüschlikon, Switzerland
| | - Christof M Niemeyer
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) - Institute for Biological Interfaces (IBG-1), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany
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Pham NM, Rusch S, Temiz Y, Beck HP, Karlen W, Delamarche E. Immuno-gold silver staining assays on capillary-driven microfluidics for the detection of malaria antigens. Biomed Microdevices 2019; 21:24. [PMID: 30810808 DOI: 10.1007/s10544-019-0376-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Accurate and affordable rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are indispensable but often lacking for many infectious diseases. Specifically, there is a lack of highly sensitive malaria RDTs that can detect low antigen concentration at the onset of infection. Here, we present a strategy to improve the sensitivity of malaria RDTs by using capillary-driven microfluidic chips and combining sandwich immunoassays with electroless silver staining. We used 5 μm fluorescent beads functionalized with capture antibodies (cAbs). These beads are self-assembled by capillary action in recessed "bead lanes", which cross the main flow path of chips microfabricated in Si and SU-8. The binding of analytes to detection antibodies (dAbs) and secondary antibodies (2ndAbs) conjugated to gold nanoparticles (NPs) allows the formation of a silver film on the beads. Such silver film masks the fluorescent core of the bead inversely proportional to the concentration of antigen in a sample. We illustrate this method using the recombinant malaria antigen Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich-protein 2 (rPfHRP2) spiked in human serum. This antigen was a recombinant HRP2 protein expressed in Escherichia coli, which is also the standard reference material. The limit of detection (LOD) of our immunoassay was found to be less than 6 ng mL-1 of rPfHRP2 within 20 min, which is approaching the desired sensitivity needed in the Target Product Profile (TPP) for malaria elimination settings. The concept presented here is flexible and may also be utilized for implementing fluorescence immunoassays for the parallel detection of biomarkers on capillary-driven microfluidic chips.
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Abstract
A simple and sensitive capillary-driven microfluidic platform is designed and demonstrated for direct and sandwich microparticle-labeled immunoassays.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jungkyu Kim
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Texas Tech University
- Lubbock
- USA
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