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Damiati LA, El-Yaagoubi M, Damiati SA, Kodzius R, Sefat F, Damiati S. Role of Polymers in Microfluidic Devices. Polymers (Basel) 2022; 14:5132. [PMID: 36501526 PMCID: PMC9738615 DOI: 10.3390/polym14235132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Polymers are sustainable and renewable materials that are in high demand due to their excellent properties. Natural and synthetic polymers with high flexibility, good biocompatibility, good degradation rate, and stiffness are widely used for various applications, such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, and microfluidic chip fabrication. Indeed, recent advances in microfluidic technology allow the fabrication of polymeric matrix to construct microfluidic scaffolds for tissue engineering and to set up a well-controlled microenvironment for manipulating fluids and particles. In this review, polymers as materials for the fabrication of microfluidic chips have been highlighted. Successful models exploiting polymers in microfluidic devices to generate uniform particles as drug vehicles or artificial cells have been also discussed. Additionally, using polymers as bioink for 3D printing or as a matrix to functionalize the sensing surface in microfluidic devices has also been mentioned. The rapid progress made in the combination of polymers and microfluidics presents a low-cost, reproducible, and scalable approach for a promising future in the manufacturing of biomimetic scaffolds for tissue engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laila A. Damiati
- Department of Biology, Collage of Science, University of Jeddah, Jeddah 23890, Saudi Arabia
| | - Marwa El-Yaagoubi
- Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, 295 Cathedral Street, Glasgow G1 1XL, UK
| | - Safa A. Damiati
- Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rimantas Kodzius
- Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), 80539 Munich, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Farshid Sefat
- Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Polymer Science & Technology (Polymer IRC), University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, UK
- Department of Biomedical and Electronics Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Bradford, Bradford, BD7 1DP, UK
| | - Samar Damiati
- Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, United Arab Emirates
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Davidson SL, Niepa THR. Micro-Technologies for Assessing Microbial Dynamics in Controlled Environments. Front Microbiol 2022; 12:745835. [PMID: 35154021 PMCID: PMC8831547 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.745835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
With recent advances in microfabrication technologies, the miniaturization of traditional culturing techniques has provided ideal methods for interrogating microbial communities in a confined and finely controlled environment. Micro-technologies offer high-throughput screening and analysis, reduced experimental time and resources, and have low footprint. More importantly, they provide access to culturing microbes in situ in their natural environments and similarly, offer optical access to real-time dynamics under a microscope. Utilizing micro-technologies for the discovery, isolation and cultivation of "unculturable" species will propel many fields forward; drug discovery, point-of-care diagnostics, and fundamental studies in microbial community behaviors rely on the exploration of novel metabolic pathways. However, micro-technologies are still largely proof-of-concept, and scalability and commercialization of micro-technologies will require increased accessibility to expensive equipment and resources, as well as simpler designs for usability. Here, we discuss three different miniaturized culturing practices; including microarrays, micromachined devices, and microfluidics; advancements to the field, and perceived challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shanna-Leigh Davidson
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
| | - Tagbo H. R. Niepa
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- Center for Medicine and the Microbiome, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
- The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
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Uzoukwu EU, Phandanouvong-Lozano V, Usman H, Sfeir C, Niepa THR. Droplet-based microsystems as novel assessment tools for oral microbial dynamics. Biotechnol Adv 2022; 55:107903. [PMID: 34990774 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2021.107903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The human microbiome comprises thousands of microbial species that live in and on the body and play critical roles in human health and disease. Recent findings on the interplay among members of the oral microbiome, defined by a personalized set of microorganisms, have elucidated the role of bacteria and yeasts in oral health and diseases including dental caries, halitosis, and periodontal infections. However, the majority of these studies rely on traditional culturing methods which are limited in their ability of replicating the oral microenvironment, and therefore fail to evaluate key microbial interactions in microbiome dynamics. Novel culturing methods have emerged to address this shortcoming. Here, we reviewed the potential of droplet-based microfluidics as an alternative approach for culturing microorganisms and assessing the oral microbiome dynamics. We discussed the state of the art and recent progress in the field of oral microbiology. Although at its infancy, droplet-based microtechnology presents an interesting potential for elucidating oral microbial dynamics and pathophysiology. We highlight how new findings provided by current microfluidic-based methodologies could advance the investigation of the oral microbiome. We anticipate that our work involving the droplet-based microfluidic technique with a semipermeable membrane will lay the foundations for future microbial dynamics studies and further expand the knowledge of the oral microbiome and its implication in oral health.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Huda Usman
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Charles Sfeir
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Periodontics and Preventive Dentistry, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Oral Biology, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA; The Center for Craniofacial Regeneration, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA; The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tagbo H R Niepa
- Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Center for Medicine and the Microbiome, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA; The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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Lin L, Chung CK. PDMS Microfabrication and Design for Microfluidics and Sustainable Energy Application: Review. MICROMACHINES 2021; 12:1350. [PMID: 34832762 PMCID: PMC8625467 DOI: 10.3390/mi12111350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is popular for wide application in various fields of microfluidics, microneedles, biology, medicine, chemistry, optics, electronics, architecture, and emerging sustainable energy due to the intrinsic non-toxic, transparent, flexible, stretchable, biocompatible, hydrophobic, insulating, and negative triboelectric properties that meet different requirements. For example, the flexibility, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, good stability, and high transparency make PDMS a good candidate for the material selection of microfluidics, microneedles, biomedical, and chemistry microchips as well as for optical examination and wearable electronics. However, the hydrophobic surface and post-surface-treatment hydrophobic recovery impede the development of self-driven capillary microchips. How to develop a long-term hydrophilicity treatment for PDMS is crucial for capillary-driven microfluidics-based application. The dual-tone PDMS-to-PDMS casting for concave-and-convex microstructure without stiction is important for simplifying the process integration. The emerging triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) uses the transparent flexible PDMS as the high negative triboelectric material to make friction with metals or other positive-triboelectric material for harvesting sustainably mechanical energy. The morphology of PDMS is related to TENG performance. This review will address the above issues in terms of PDMS microfabrication and design for the efficient micromixer, microreactor, capillary pump, microneedles, and TENG for more practical applications in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chen-Kuei Chung
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Core Facility Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan;
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Dhand AP, Poling-Skutvik R, Osuji CO. Simple production of cellulose nanofibril microcapsules and the rheology of their suspensions. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:4517-4524. [PMID: 33710229 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm00225b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Microcapsules are commonly used in applications ranging from therapeutics to personal care products due to their ability to deliver encapsulated species through their porous shells. Here, we demonstrate a simple and scalable approach to fabricate microcapsules with porous shells by interfacial complexation of cellulose nanofibrils and oleylamine, and investigate the rheological properties of suspensions of the resulting microcapsules. The suspensions of neat capsules are viscous liquids whose viscosity increases with volume fraction according to a modified Kreiger-Dougherty relation with a maximum packing fraction of 0.74 and an intrinsic viscosity of 4.1. When polyacrylic acid (PAA) is added to the internal phase of the microcapsules, however, the suspensions become elastic and display yield stresses with power-law dependencies on capsule volume fraction and PAA concentration. The elasticity appears to originate from associative microcapsule interactions induced by PAA that is contained within and incorporated into the microcapsule shell. These results demonstrate that it is possible to tune the rheological properties of microcapsule suspensions by changing only the composition of the internal phase, thereby providing a novel method to tailor complex fluid rheology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhishek P Dhand
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
| | - Ryan Poling-Skutvik
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA.
| | - Chinedum O Osuji
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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