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Wippold JA, Chu M, Renberg R, Li Y, Adams B, Han A. XPORT ENTRAP: A droplet microfluidic platform for enhanced DNA transfer between microbial species. N Biotechnol 2024; 81:10-19. [PMID: 38408724 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbt.2024.02.003] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024]
Abstract
A significant hurdle for the widespread implementation and use of synthetic biology is the challenge of highly efficient introduction of DNA into microorganisms. This is especially a barrier for the utilization of non-model organisms and/or novel chassis species for a variety of applications, ranging from molecular biology to biotechnology and biomanufacturing applications. Common approaches to episomal and chromosomal gene editing, which employ techniques such as chemical competence and electroporation, are typically only amenable to a small subset of microbial species while leaving the vast majority of microorganisms in nature genetically inaccessible. To address this challenge, we have employed the previously described B. subtilis broad-host conjugation strain, XPORT, which was modularly designed for loading DNA cargo and conjugating such DNA into recalcitrant microbes. In this current work, we have leveraged and adapted the XPORT strain for use in a droplet microfluidic platform to enable increased efficiency of conjugation-based DNA transfer. The system named DNA ENTRAP (DNA ENhanced TRAnsfer Platform) utilizes cell-encapsulated water-in-oil emulsion droplets as pico-liter-volume bioreactors that allows controlled contacts between the donor and receiver cells within the emulsion bioreactor. This allowed enhanced XPORT-mediated genetic transfer over the current benchtop XPORT process, demonstrated using two different Bacillus subtilis strains (donor and receiver), as well as increased throughput (e.g., number of successfully conjugated cells) due to the automated assay steps inherent to microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems. DNA ENTRAP paves the way for a streamlined automation of culturing and XPORT-mediated genetic transfer processes as well as future high-throughput cell engineering and screening applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose A Wippold
- United States Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory - DEVCOM ARL, Adelphi, MD, USA
| | - Monica Chu
- United States Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory - DEVCOM ARL, Adelphi, MD, USA
| | - Rebecca Renberg
- United States Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory - DEVCOM ARL, Adelphi, MD, USA
| | - Yuwen Li
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, USA
| | - Bryn Adams
- United States Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory - DEVCOM ARL, Adelphi, MD, USA.
| | - Arum Han
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, USA; Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
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2
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Lapizco-Encinas BH, Zhang YV. Microfluidic systems in clinical diagnosis. Electrophoresis 2023; 44:217-245. [PMID: 35977346 DOI: 10.1002/elps.202200150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The use of microfluidic devices is highly attractive in the field of biomedical and clinical assessments, as their portability and fast response time have become crucial in providing opportune therapeutic treatments to patients. The applications of microfluidics in clinical diagnosis and point-of-care devices are continuously growing. The present review article discusses three main fields where miniaturized devices are successfully employed in clinical applications. The quantification of ions, sugars, and small metabolites is examined considering the analysis of bodily fluids samples and the quantification of this type of analytes employing real-time wearable devices. The discussion covers the level of maturity that the devices have reached as well as cost-effectiveness. The analysis of proteins with clinical relevance is presented and organized by the function of the proteins. The last section covers devices that can perform single-cell metabolomic and proteomic assessments. Each section discusses several strategically selected recent reports on microfluidic devices successfully employed for clinical assessments, to provide the reader with a wide overview of the plethora of novel systems and microdevices developed in the last 5 years. In each section, the novel aspects and main contributions of each reviewed report are highlighted. Finally, the conclusions and future outlook section present a summary and speculate on the future direction of the field of miniaturized devices for clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blanca H Lapizco-Encinas
- Microscale Bioseparations Laboratory and Biomedical Engineering Department, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - Yan Victoria Zhang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA
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3
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Zhou J, Wei A, Bertsch A, Renaud P. High precision, high throughput generation of droplets containing single cells. Lab Chip 2022; 22:4841-4848. [PMID: 36416090 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00841f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The Poisson limit is a major problem for the isolation of single cells in different single-cell technologies and applications. In droplet-based single-cell assays, a scheme that is increasingly popular, the intrinsic randomness during single-cell encapsulation in droplets requires most of the created droplets to be empty, which has a profound impact on the efficiency and throughput of such techniques, and on the predictability of the combinatory droplet assays. Here we present a simple passive microfluidic system overcoming this limitation with unprecedented efficacy, allowing the generation of single-cell droplets for a wide range of operating conditions, with extremely high throughput (more than 22 000 single-cell loaded droplets per minute) and with an extremely low fault ratio (doublets or empty droplets), applicable to any cells and deformable particles. This versatile technique will shift the paradigm of single-cell encapsulation and will impact single-cell sequencing, rare cell isolation, multicellular/bead studies in immunology or cancer biology, etc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiande Zhou
- Laboratory of Microsystems 4, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Amaury Wei
- Laboratory of Microsystems 4, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Arnaud Bertsch
- Laboratory of Microsystems 4, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Philippe Renaud
- Laboratory of Microsystems 4, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
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4
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Lin WN, Tay MZ, Wong JXE, Lee CY, Fong SW, Wang CI, Ng LFP, Renia L, Chen CH, Cheow LF. Rapid microfluidic platform for screening and enrichment of cells secreting virus neutralizing antibodies. Lab Chip 2022; 22:2578-2589. [PMID: 35694804 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00018k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
As part of the body's immune response, antibodies (Abs) have the ability to neutralize pathogenic viruses to prevent infection. To screen for neutralizing Abs (nAbs) from the immune repertoire, multiple screening techniques have been developed. However, conventional methods have a trade-off between screening throughput and the ability to screen for nAbs via their functional efficacy. Although droplet microfluidic platforms have the ability to bridge this disparity, the majority of such reported platforms still rely on Ab-binding assays as a proxy for function, which results in irrelevant hits. Herein, we report the multi-module Droplet-based Platform for Effective Antibody RetrievaL (DROP-PEARL) platform, which can achieve high-throughput enrichment of Ab-secreting cells (ASCs) based on the neutralizing activity of secreted nAbs against the a target virus. In this study, in-droplet Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection of host cells and neutralization was demonstrated via sequential delivery of viruses and host cells via picoinjection. In addition, we demonstrate the ability of the sorting system to accurately discriminate and isolate uninfected droplets from a mixed population of droplets at a rate of 150 000 cells per hour. As a proof of concept, a single-cell neutralization assay was performed on two populations of cells (nAb-producing and non-Ab producing cells), and up to 2.75-fold enrichment of ASCs was demonstrated. Finally, we demonstrated that DROP-PEARL is able to achieve similar enrichment for low frequency (∼2%) functional nAb-producing cells in a background of excess cells secreting irrelevant antibodies, highlighting its potential prospect as a first round enrichment platform for functional ASCs. We envision that the DROP-PEARL platform could potentially be used to accelerate the discovery of nAbs against other pathogenic viral targets, and we believe it will be a useful in the ongoing fight against biological threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weikang Nicholas Lin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
| | - Matthew Zirui Tay
- A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
| | - Joel Xu En Wong
- A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
| | | | - Siew-Wai Fong
- A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
| | | | - Lisa Fong Poh Ng
- A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
- National Institute of Health Research, Health Protection Research Unit in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
- Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Laurent Renia
- A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Chia-Hung Chen
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Lih Feng Cheow
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Institute for Health Innovation & Technology (iHealthtech), Singapore
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5
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Abstract
Microfluidics has enabled a new era of cellular and molecular assays due to the small length scales, parallelization, and the modularity of various analysis and actuation functions. Droplet microfluidics, in particular, has been instrumental in providing new tools for biology with its ability to quickly and reproducibly generate drops that act as individual reactors. A notable beneficiary of this technology has been single-cell RNA sequencing, which has revealed new heterogeneities and interactions for the fundamental unit of life. However, viruses far surpass the diversity of cellular life, affect the dynamics of all ecosystems, and are a chronic source of global health crises. Despite their impact on the world, high-throughput and high-resolution viral profiling has been difficult, with conventional methods being limited to population-level averaging, large sample volumes, and few cultivable hosts. Consequently, most viruses have not been identified and studied. Droplet microfluidics holds the potential to address many of these limitations and offers new levels of sensitivity and throughput for virology. This Feature highlights recent efforts that have applied droplet microfluidics to the detection and study of viruses, including for diagnostics, virus-host interactions, and cell-independent virus assays. In combination with traditional virology methods, droplet microfluidics should prove a potent tool toward achieving a better understanding of the most abundant biological species on Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenyang Jing
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
| | - Hee-Sun Han
- Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States.,Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois 61801, United States
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6
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Sun H, Hu N, Wang J. Application of Microfluidic Technology in Antibody Screening. Biotechnol J 2022; 17:e2100623. [PMID: 35481726 DOI: 10.1002/biot.202100623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Specific antibodies are widely used in the biomedical field. Current screening methods for specific antibodies mainly involve hybridoma technology and antibody engineering techniques. However, these technologies suffer from tedious screening processes, long preparation periods, high costs, low efficiency, and a degree of automation, which have become a bottleneck for the screening of specific antibodies. To overcome these difficulties, microfluidics has been developed as a promising technology for high-throughput screening and high purity of antibody. In this review, we provide an overview of the recent advances in microfluidic applications for specific antibody screening. In particular, hybridoma technology and four antibody engineering techniques (including phage display, single B cell antibody screening, antibody expression, and cell-free protein synthesis) based on microfluidics have been introduced, challenges, and the future outlook of these technologies are also discussed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heng Sun
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China
| | - Ning Hu
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China
| | - Jianhua Wang
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China
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7
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Verma N, Kulkarni R, Pandya A. Microfluidic tools for veterinary and zoonotic disease diagnostics. Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci 2022; 187:281-293. [PMID: 35094778 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2021.07.026] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Animal disease diagnostics has linked as the cause and cure of any disease. It also plays a vital role in disease management and prevention. A small outbreak of disease can pose a threat to the entire animal community as we realized in corona pandemic. Thus, to ensure the overall welfare of animals and disease spread monitoring, the development of detection tools for veterinary diagnosis becomes essential. Currently, the animal disease diagnosis is relied on laboratory-based testing. There is a parallel necessity for rapid, reliable and low-cost diagnostic tests to be done by intervention of growing area such as microfluidic platform. Therefore, in this chapter, we have discussed about various microfluidic platform and their application for early diagnosis of veterinary disease. Followed by, we also lightened on future perspective of role of microfluidic in animal disease diagnostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nidhi Verma
- Department of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
| | - Rutuparna Kulkarni
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
| | - Alok Pandya
- Department of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Institute of Advanced Research, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
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8
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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: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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9
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Escobar A, Chiu P, Qu J, Zhang Y, Xu CQ. Integrated Microfluidic-Based Platforms for On-Site Detection and Quantification of Infectious Pathogens: Towards On-Site Medical Translation of SARS-CoV-2 Diagnostic Platforms. Micromachines (Basel) 2021; 12:1079. [PMID: 34577722 PMCID: PMC8470930 DOI: 10.3390/mi12091079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The rapid detection and quantification of infectious pathogens is an essential component to the control of potentially lethal outbreaks among human populations worldwide. Several of these highly infectious pathogens, such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), have been cemented in human history as causing epidemics or pandemics due to their lethality and contagiousness. SARS-CoV-2 is an example of these highly infectious pathogens that have recently become one of the leading causes of globally reported deaths, creating one of the worst economic downturns and health crises in the last century. As a result, the necessity for highly accurate and increasingly rapid on-site diagnostic platforms for highly infectious pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2, has grown dramatically over the last two years. Current conventional non-microfluidic diagnostic techniques have limitations in their effectiveness as on-site devices due to their large turnaround times, operational costs and the need for laboratory equipment. In this review, we first present criteria, both novel and previously determined, as a foundation for the development of effective and viable on-site microfluidic diagnostic platforms for several notable pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2. This list of criteria includes standards that were set out by the WHO, as well as our own "seven pillars" for effective microfluidic integration. We then evaluate the use of microfluidic integration to improve upon currently, and previously, existing platforms for the detection of infectious pathogens. Finally, we discuss a stage-wise means to translate our findings into a fundamental framework towards the development of more effective on-site SARS-CoV-2 microfluidic-integrated platforms that may facilitate future pandemic diagnostic and research endeavors. Through microfluidic integration, many limitations in currently existing infectious pathogen diagnostic platforms can be eliminated or improved upon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andres Escobar
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; (A.E.); (J.Q.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Phyllis Chiu
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada;
| | - Jianxi Qu
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; (A.E.); (J.Q.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Yushan Zhang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; (A.E.); (J.Q.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Chang-qing Xu
- School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; (A.E.); (J.Q.); (Y.Z.)
- Department of Engineering Physics, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada;
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10
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Abstract
Droplet-based microfluidics has emerged as an important subfield within the microfluidic and general analytical communities. Indeed, several unique applications such as digital assay readout and single-cell sequencing now have commercial systems based on droplet microfluidics. Yet there remains room for this research area to grow. To date, most analytical readouts are optical in nature, relatively few studies have integrated sample preparation, and passive means for droplet formation and manipulation have dominated the field. Analytical scientists continue to expand capabilities by developing droplet-compatible method adaptations, for example, by interfacing to mass spectrometers or automating droplet sampling for temporally resolved analysis. In this review, we highlight recently developed fluidic control techniques and unique integrations of analytical methodology with droplet microfluidics-focusing on automation and the connections to analog/digital domains-and we conclude by offering a perspective on current challenges and future applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Shi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849, USA;
| | - Md Mohibullah
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849, USA;
| | - Christopher J Easley
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849, USA;
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11
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Jiang Y, Zhang H, Wippold JA, Gupta J, Dai J, de Figueiredo P, Leibowitz JL, Han A. Sub-second heat inactivation of coronavirus using a betacoronavirus model. Biotechnol Bioeng 2021; 118:2067-2075. [PMID: 33615450 PMCID: PMC8013827 DOI: 10.1002/bit.27720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2021] [Revised: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Heat treatment denatures viral proteins that comprise the virion, making the virus incapable of infecting a host. Coronavirus (CoV) virions contain single-stranded RNA genomes with a lipid envelope and four proteins, three of which are associated with the lipid envelope and thus are thought to be easily denatured by heat or surfactant-type chemicals. Prior studies have shown that a temperature as low as 75°C with a treatment duration of 15 min can effectively inactivate CoV. The degree of CoV heat inactivation greatly depends on the length of heat treatment time and the temperature applied. With the goal of finding whether sub-second heat exposure of CoV can sufficiently inactivate CoV, we designed and developed a simple fluidic system that can measure sub-second heat inactivation of CoV. The system is composed of a stainless-steel capillary immersed in a temperature-controlled oil bath followed by an ice bath, through which virus solution can flow at various speeds. Flowing virus solution at different speeds, along with temperature control and monitoring system, allows the virus to be exposed to the desired temperature and treatment durations with high accuracy. Using mouse hepatitis virus, a betacoronavirus, as a model CoV system, we identified that 71.8°C for 0.51 s exposure is sufficient to obtain >5 Log10 reduction in viral titer (starting titer: 5 × 107 PFU/ml), and that when exposed to 83.4°C for 1.03 s, the virus was completely inactivated (>6 Log10 reduction).
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqian Jiang
- Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringTexas A&M UniversityCollege StationTexasUSA
| | - Han Zhang
- Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringTexas A&M UniversityCollege StationTexasUSA
| | - Jose A. Wippold
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringTexas A&M UniversityCollege StationTexasUSA
| | - Jyotsana Gupta
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and ImmunologyTexas A&M UniversityCollege StationTexasUSA
| | - Jing Dai
- Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringTexas A&M UniversityCollege StationTexasUSA
| | - Paul de Figueiredo
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and ImmunologyTexas A&M UniversityCollege StationTexasUSA
| | - Julian L. Leibowitz
- Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and ImmunologyTexas A&M UniversityCollege StationTexasUSA
| | - Arum Han
- Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringTexas A&M UniversityCollege StationTexasUSA
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringTexas A&M UniversityCollege StationTexasUSA
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12
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Valldorf B, Hinz SC, Russo G, Pekar L, Mohr L, Klemm J, Doerner A, Krah S, Hust M, Zielonka S. Antibody display technologies: selecting the cream of the crop. Biol Chem 2021; 403:455-477. [PMID: 33759431 DOI: 10.1515/hsz-2020-0377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Antibody display technologies enable the successful isolation of antigen-specific antibodies with therapeutic potential. The key feature that facilitates the selection of an antibody with prescribed properties is the coupling of the protein variant to its genetic information and is referred to as genotype phenotype coupling. There are several different platform technologies based on prokaryotic organisms as well as strategies employing higher eukaryotes. Among those, phage display is the most established system with more than a dozen of therapeutic antibodies approved for therapy that have been discovered or engineered using this approach. In recent years several other technologies gained a certain level of maturity, most strikingly mammalian display. In this review, we delineate the most important selection systems with respect to antibody generation with an emphasis on recent developments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernhard Valldorf
- Chemical and Pharmaceutical Development, Merck KGaA, Frankfurter Strasse 250, D-64293Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Steffen C Hinz
- Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Alarich-Weiss-Strasse 4, D-64287Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Giulio Russo
- Abcalis GmbH, Inhoffenstrasse 7, D-38124Braunschweig, Germany.,Institut für Biochemie, Biotechnologie und Bioinformatik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstrasse 7, D-38106Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Lukas Pekar
- Protein Engineering and Antibody Technologies, Merck KGaA, Frankfurter Strasse 250, D-64293Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Laura Mohr
- Institute of Cell Biology and Neuroscience and Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, University of Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 13, D-60438Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Janina Klemm
- Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Alarich-Weiss-Strasse 4, D-64287Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Achim Doerner
- Protein Engineering and Antibody Technologies, Merck KGaA, Frankfurter Strasse 250, D-64293Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Simon Krah
- Protein Engineering and Antibody Technologies, Merck KGaA, Frankfurter Strasse 250, D-64293Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Michael Hust
- Institut für Biochemie, Biotechnologie und Bioinformatik, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Spielmannstrasse 7, D-38106Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Stefan Zielonka
- Protein Engineering and Antibody Technologies, Merck KGaA, Frankfurter Strasse 250, D-64293Darmstadt, Germany
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13
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Gaa R, Menang-Ndi E, Pratapa S, Nguyen C, Kumar S, Doerner A. Versatile and rapid microfluidics-assisted antibody discovery. MAbs 2021; 13:1978130. [PMID: 34586015 PMCID: PMC8489958 DOI: 10.1080/19420862.2021.1978130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent years have seen unparalleled development of microfluidic applications for antibody discovery in both academic and pharmaceutical research. Microfluidics can support native chain-paired library generation as well as direct screening of antibody secreting cells obtained by rodent immunization or from the human peripheral blood. While broad diversities of neutralizing antibodies against infectious diseases such as HIV, Ebola, or COVID-19 have been identified from convalescent individuals, microfluidics can expedite therapeutic antibody discovery for cancer or immunological disease indications. In this study, a commercially available microfluidic device, Cyto-Mine, was used for the rapid identification of natively paired antibodies from rodents or human donors screened for specific binding to recombinant antigens, for direct screening with cells expressing the target of interest, and, to our knowledge for the first time, for direct broad functional IgG antibody screening in droplets. The process time from cell preparation to confirmed recombinant antibodies was four weeks. Application of this or similar microfluidic devices and methodologies can accelerate and enhance pharmaceutical antibody hit discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramona Gaa
- Protein Engineering and Antibody Technologies, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Emmanuel Menang-Ndi
- Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, University of Bodenkultur, Vienna, Austria
| | - Shruti Pratapa
- Protein Engineering and Antibody Technologies, EMD Serono, Billerica, MA, USA
| | - Christine Nguyen
- Protein Engineering and Antibody Technologies, EMD Serono, Billerica, MA, USA
| | - Satyendra Kumar
- Protein Engineering and Antibody Technologies, EMD Serono, Billerica, MA, USA
| | - Achim Doerner
- Protein Engineering and Antibody Technologies, Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon F. Berlanda
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Maximilian Breitfeld
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Claudius L. Dietsche
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Petra S. Dittrich
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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15
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Zhang H, Guzman AR, Wippold JA, Li Y, Dai J, Huang C, Han A. An ultra high-efficiency droplet microfluidics platform using automatically synchronized droplet pairing and merging. Lab Chip 2020; 20:3948-3959. [PMID: 32935710 DOI: 10.1039/d0lc00757a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Droplet microfluidics systems hold great promise in their ability to conduct high-throughput assays for a broad range of life science applications. Despite their promise in the field and capability to conduct complex liquid handling steps, currently, most droplet microfluidic systems used for real assays utilize only a few droplet manipulation steps connected in series, and are often not integrated together on a single chip or platform. This is due to the fact that linking multiple sequential droplet functions within a single chip to operate at high efficiency over long periods of time remains technically challenging. Considering sequential manipulation is often required to conduct high-throughput screening assays on large cellular and molecular libraries, advancements in sequential operation and integration are required to advance the field. This current limitation greatly reduces the type of assays that can be realized in a high-throughput droplet format and becomes more prevalent in large library screening applications. Here we present an integrated multi-layer droplet microfluidic platform that can handle large numbers of droplets with high efficiency and minimum error. The platform combines two-photon photolithography-fabricated curved microstructures that allow high-efficiency (99.9%) re-flow of droplets and a unique droplet cleaving that automatically synchronizes paired droplets enabling high-efficiency (99.9%) downstream merging. We demonstrate that this method is applicable to a broad range of droplet sizes, including relatively large droplet sizes (hundreds of micrometers in diameter) that are typically more difficult to manipulate with high efficiency, yet are required in many cell assay applications requiring large organisms or multiple incubation steps. The utility of this highly efficient integrated droplet microfluidic platform was demonstrated by conducting a mock antibiotic screening assay against a bacterial pathogen. The approach and system presented here provides new avenues for the realization of ultra-high-efficiency multi-step droplet microfluidic systems with minimal error.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Zhang
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843, USA.
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Berkenbrock JA, Grecco-Machado R, Achenbach S. Microfluidic devices for the detection of viruses: aspects of emergency fabrication during the COVID-19 pandemic and other outbreaks. Proc Math Phys Eng Sci 2020; 476:20200398. [PMID: 33363440 PMCID: PMC7735301 DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2020.0398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Extensive testing of populations against COVID-19 has been suggested as a game-changer quest to control the spread of this contagious disease and to avoid further disruption in our social, healthcare and economical systems. Nonetheless, testing millions of people for a new virus brings about quite a few challenges. The development of effective tests for the new coronavirus has become a worldwide task that relies on recent discoveries and lessons learned from past outbreaks. In this work, we review the most recent publications on microfluidics devices for the detection of viruses. The topics of discussion include different detection approaches, methods of signalling and fabrication techniques. Besides the miniaturization of traditional benchtop detection assays, approaches such as electrochemical analyses, field-effect transistors and resistive pulse sensors are considered. For emergency fabrication of quick test kits, the local capabilities must be evaluated, and the joint work of universities, industries, and governments seems to be an unequivocal necessity.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Alvim Berkenbrock
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Rafaela Grecco-Machado
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Sven Achenbach
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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Huang C, Wippold JA, Stratis-Cullum D, Han A. Eliminating air bubble in microfluidic systems utilizing integrated in-line sloped microstructures. Biomed Microdevices 2020; 22:76. [PMID: 33090275 DOI: 10.1007/s10544-020-00529-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In most microfluidic systems, formation and accumulation of air and other gas bubbles can be detrimental to their operation. Air bubbles in a microfluidic channel induce a pressure profile fluctuation and therefore disturb the stability of the system. Once an air bubble is generated, it is also extremely difficult to remove such bubbles from the microfluidic systems. In tissue and cell culture microfluidic systems, a single air bubble can completely shear off cells that are being cultured. Air bubbles can be especially problematic in microfluidic systems that have to operate for long periods of time, since completely eliminating the generation of air bubbles for prolonged periods of time, where a single air bubble can ruin an entire multi-day/multi-week experiment, is extremely challenging. Several in-line and off-chip bubble traps have been developed so far, but cannot completely eliminate air bubbles from the system or are relatively difficult to integrate into microfluidic systems. Recent advancements in two-photon polymerization (2PP)-based microfabrication method eliminates the restriction in Z-axis control in conventional two-dimensional microfabrication methods, and thus enables complex 3D structures to be fabricated at sub-micrometer resolution. In this work, by utilizing this 2PP technique, we developed a sloped microfluidic structure that is capable of both trapping and real-time removal of air bubbles from the system in a consistent and reliable manner. The novel structures and designs developed in this work present a unique opportunity to overcome many limitations of current methods, bring state-of-the-art solutions in air bubble removal, and enable a multifunctional microfluidic device to operate seamlessly free from air bubble disruption. The microfabricated system was tested in both droplet microfluidics and continuous-flow microfluidics applications, and demonstrated to be effective in preventing air bubble aggregation over time. This simple sloped microstructure can be easily integrated into broad ranges of microfluidic devices to minimize bubble introduction, which will contribute to creating a stable and bubble-free microfluidic platform amenable for long-term operation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Can Huang
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Jose A Wippold
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | | | - Arum Han
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA. .,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA. .,Faculty of Texas A&M Health Science Center, College Station, TX, USA. .,Faculty of Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience, College Station, TX, USA.
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