51
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Cascading and Parallelising Curvilinear Inertial Focusing Systems for High Volume, Wide Size Distribution, Separation and Concentration of Particles. Sci Rep 2016; 6:36386. [PMID: 27808244 PMCID: PMC5093461 DOI: 10.1038/srep36386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2016] [Accepted: 10/14/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Inertial focusing is a microfluidic based separation and concentration technology that has expanded rapidly in the last few years. Throughput is high compared to other microfluidic approaches although sample volumes have typically remained in the millilitre range. Here we present a strategy for achieving rapid high volume processing with stacked and cascaded inertial focusing systems, allowing for separation and concentration of particles with a large size range, demonstrated here from 30 μm–300 μm. The system is based on curved channels, in a novel toroidal configuration and a stack of 20 devices has been shown to operate at 1 L/min. Recirculation allows for efficient removal of large particles whereas a cascading strategy enables sequential removal of particles down to a final stage where the target particle size can be concentrated. The demonstration of curved stacked channels operating in a cascaded manner allows for high throughput applications, potentially replacing filtration in applications such as environmental monitoring, industrial cleaning processes, biomedical and bioprocessing and many more.
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52
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Yan S, Zhang J, Yuan D, Li W. Hybrid microfluidics combined with active and passive approaches for continuous cell separation. Electrophoresis 2016; 38:238-249. [DOI: 10.1002/elps.201600386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2016] [Revised: 09/29/2016] [Accepted: 09/29/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Sheng Yan
- School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering; University of Wollongong; Wollongong Australia
| | - Jun Zhang
- School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering; University of Wollongong; Wollongong Australia
- School of Mechanical Engineering; Nanjing University of Science and Technology; Nanjing P. R. China
| | - Dan Yuan
- School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering; University of Wollongong; Wollongong Australia
| | - Weihua Li
- School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering; University of Wollongong; Wollongong Australia
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53
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54
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Rafeie M, Zhang J, Asadnia M, Li W, Warkiani ME. Multiplexing slanted spiral microchannels for ultra-fast blood plasma separation. LAB ON A CHIP 2016; 16:2791-802. [PMID: 27377196 DOI: 10.1039/c6lc00713a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Blood and blood products are critical components of health care. Blood components perform distinct functions in the human body and thus the ability to efficiently fractionate blood into its individual components (i.e., plasma and cellular components) is of utmost importance for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. Although conventional approaches like centrifugation and membrane filtration for blood processing have been successful in generating relatively pure fractions, they are largely limited by factors such as the required blood sample volume, component purity, clogging, processing time and operation efficiency. In this work, we developed a high-throughput inertial microfluidic system for cell focusing and blood plasma separation from small to large volume blood samples (1-100 mL). Initially, polystyrene beads and blood cells were used to investigate the inertial focusing performance of a single slanted spiral microchannel as a function of particle size, flow rate, and blood cell concentration. Afterwards, blood plasma separation was conducted using an optimised spiral microchannel with relatively large dimensions. It was found that the reject ratio of the slanted spiral channel is close to 100% for blood samples with haematocrit (HCT) values of 0.5% and 1% under an optimal flow rate of 1.5 mL min(-1). Finally, through a unique multiplexing approach, we built a high-throughput system consisting of 16 spiral channels connected together, which can process diluted samples with a total flow rate as high as 24 mL min(-1). The proposed multiplexed system can surmount the shortcomings of previously reported microfluidic systems for plasma separation and cell sorting in terms of throughput, yield and operation efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehdi Rafeie
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
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55
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Tay HM, Yeo DC, Wiraja C, Xu C, Hou HW. Microfluidic Buffer Exchange for Interference-free Micro/Nanoparticle Cell Engineering. J Vis Exp 2016. [PMID: 27500904 DOI: 10.3791/54327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Engineering cells with active-ingredient-loaded micro/nanoparticles (NPs) is becoming an increasingly popular method to enhance native therapeutic properties, enable bio imaging and control cell phenotype. A critical yet inadequately addressed issue is the significant number of particles that remain unbound after cell labeling which cannot be readily removed by conventional centrifugation. This leads to an increase in bio imaging background noise and can impart transformative effects onto neighboring non-target cells. In this protocol, we present an inertial microfluidics-based buffer exchange strategy termed as Dean Flow Fractionation (DFF) to efficiently separate labeled cells from free NPs in a high throughput manner. The developed spiral microdevice facilitates continuous collection (>90% cell recovery) of purified cells (THP-1 and MSCs) suspended in new buffer solution, while achieving >95% depletion of unbound fluorescent dye or dye-loaded NPs (silica or PLGA). This single-step, size-based cell purification strategy enables high cell processing throughput (10(6) cells/min) and is highly useful for large-volume cell purification of micro/nanoparticle engineered cells to achieve interference-free clinical application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Min Tay
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University
| | - David C Yeo
- School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University
| | - Christian Wiraja
- School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University
| | - Chenjie Xu
- School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University; NTU-Northwestern Institute of Nanomedicine, Nanyang Technological University;
| | - Han Wei Hou
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University;
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56
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Xavier M, Oreffo ROC, Morgan H. Skeletal stem cell isolation: A review on the state-of-the-art microfluidic label-free sorting techniques. Biotechnol Adv 2016; 34:908-923. [PMID: 27236022 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2016.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2016] [Revised: 05/13/2016] [Accepted: 05/22/2016] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Skeletal stem cells (SSC) are a sub-population of bone marrow stromal cells that reside in postnatal bone marrow with osteogenic, chondrogenic and adipogenic differentiation potential. SSCs reside only in the bone marrow and have organisational and regulatory functions in the bone marrow microenvironment and give rise to the haematopoiesis-supportive stroma. Their differentiation capacity is restricted to skeletal lineages and therefore the term SSC should be clearly distinguished from mesenchymal stem cells which are reported to exist in extra-skeletal tissues and, critically, do not contribute to skeletal development. SSCs are responsible for the unique regeneration capacity of bone and offer unlimited potential for application in bone regenerative therapies. A current unmet challenge is the isolation of homogeneous populations of SSCs, in vitro, with homogeneous regeneration and differentiation capacities. Challenges that limit SSC isolation include a) the scarcity of SSCs in bone marrow aspirates, estimated at between 1 in 10-100,000 mononuclear cells; b) the absence of specific markers and thus the phenotypic ambiguity of the SSC and c) the complexity of bone marrow tissue. Microfluidics provides innovative approaches for cell separation based on bio-physical features of single cells. Here we review the physical principles underlying label-free microfluidic sorting techniques and review their capacity for stem cell selection/sorting from complex (heterogeneous) samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Xavier
- Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.; Centre for Human Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration, Institute of Developmental Sciences, Southampton General Hospital, Tremona Road, SO16 6YD Southampton, United Kingdom..
| | - Richard O C Oreffo
- Centre for Human Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration, Institute of Developmental Sciences, Southampton General Hospital, Tremona Road, SO16 6YD Southampton, United Kingdom..
| | - Hywel Morgan
- Faculty of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom..
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57
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Lau AKS, Shum HC, Wong KKY, Tsia KK. Optofluidic time-stretch imaging - an emerging tool for high-throughput imaging flow cytometry. LAB ON A CHIP 2016; 16:1743-56. [PMID: 27099993 DOI: 10.1039/c5lc01458a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Optical imaging is arguably the most effective tool to visualize living cells with high spatiotemporal resolution and in a nearly noninvasive manner. Driven by this capability, state-of-the-art cellular assay techniques have increasingly been adopting optical imaging for classifying different cell types/stages, and thus dissecting the respective cellular functions. However, it is still a daunting task to image and characterize cell-to-cell variability within an enormous and heterogeneous population - an unmet need in single-cell analysis, which is now widely advocated in modern biology and clinical diagnostics. The challenge stems from the fact that current optical imaging technologies still lack the practical speed and sensitivity for measuring thousands to millions of cells down to the single-cell precision. Adopting the wisdom in high-speed fiber-optics communication, optical time-stretch imaging has emerged as a completely new optical imaging concept which is now proven for ultrahigh-throughput optofluidic single-cell imaging, at least 1-2 orders-of-magnitude higher (up to ∼100 000 cells per second) compared to the existing imaging flow cytometers. It also uniquely enables quantification of intrinsic biophysical markers of individual cells - a largely unexploited class of single-cell signatures that is known to be correlated with the overwhelmingly investigated biochemical markers. With the aim of reaching a wider spectrum of experts specializing in cellular assay developments and applications, this paper highlights the essential basics of optical time-stretch imaging, followed by reviewing the recent developments and applications of optofluidic time-stretch imaging. We will also discuss the current challenges of this technology, in terms of providing new insights in basic biology and enriching the clinical diagnostic toolsets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andy K S Lau
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Ho Cheung Shum
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China
| | - Kenneth K Y Wong
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Kevin K Tsia
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
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58
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Reece A, Xia B, Jiang Z, Noren B, McBride R, Oakey J. Microfluidic techniques for high throughput single cell analysis. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2016; 40:90-96. [PMID: 27032065 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2016.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2015] [Revised: 02/13/2016] [Accepted: 02/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The microfabrication of microfluidic control systems and the development of increasingly sensitive molecular amplification tools have enabled the miniaturization of single cells analytical platforms. Only recently has the throughput of these platforms increased to a level at which populations can be screened at the single cell level. Techniques based upon both active and passive manipulation are now capable of discriminating between single cell phenotypes for sorting, diagnostic or prognostic applications in a variety of clinical scenarios. The introduction of multiphase microfluidics enables the segmentation of single cells into biochemically discrete picoliter environments. The combination of these techniques are enabling a class of single cell analytical platforms within great potential for data driven biomedicine, genomics and transcriptomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Reece
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82070, United States
| | - Bingzhao Xia
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82070, United States
| | - Zhongliang Jiang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82070, United States
| | - Benjamin Noren
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82070, United States
| | - Ralph McBride
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82070, United States
| | - John Oakey
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, WY 82070, United States.
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59
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Rennerfeldt DA, Van Vliet KJ. Concise Review: When Colonies Are Not Clones: Evidence and Implications of Intracolony Heterogeneity in Mesenchymal Stem Cells. Stem Cells 2016; 34:1135-41. [PMID: 26840390 DOI: 10.1002/stem.2296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2015] [Accepted: 12/08/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The emergence of heterogeneity in putative mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) populations during in vitro expansion is not appreciated fully by the various communities who study, engineer, and use such stem cells. However, this functional diversity holds direct implications for basic research and therapeutic applications of MSCs that require predictable phenotypic function and efficacy. Despite numerous clinical trials pursuing MSC therapies, the in vitro expansion of homogeneous populations to therapeutically relevant quantities remains an elusive goal. Variation in MSC cultures has been noted not only among donors and within populations expanded from the same donor, but also debatably within single-cell-derived colonies. The potential for even intracolony heterogeneity suggests that any purified subpopulation will inevitably become heterogeneous upon further expansion under current culture conditions. Here, we review the noted or retrospective evidence of intracolony MSC heterogeneity, to facilitate discussion of its possible causes and potential solutions to its mitigation. This analysis suggests that functional diversity within an MSC colony must be considered in design of experiments and trials for even nonclonal stem cell populations, and can be mitigated or even exploited when the mechanisms of onset are better understood. Stem Cells 2016;34:1135-1141.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deena A Rennerfeldt
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Krystyn J Van Vliet
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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60
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Wu Z, Chen Y, Wang M, Chung AJ. Continuous inertial microparticle and blood cell separation in straight channels with local microstructures. LAB ON A CHIP 2016; 16:532-42. [PMID: 26725506 DOI: 10.1039/c5lc01435b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Fluid inertia which has conventionally been neglected in microfluidics has been gaining much attention for particle and cell manipulation because inertia-based methods inherently provide simple, passive, precise and high-throughput characteristics. Particularly, the inertial approach has been applied to blood separation for various biomedical research studies mainly using spiral microchannels. For higher throughput, parallelization is essential; however, it is difficult to realize using spiral channels because of their large two dimensional layouts. In this work, we present a novel inertial platform for continuous sheathless particle and blood cell separation in straight microchannels containing microstructures. Microstructures within straight channels exert secondary flows to manipulate particle positions similar to Dean flow in curved channels but with higher controllability. Through a balance between inertial lift force and microstructure-induced secondary flow, we deterministically position microspheres and cells based on their sizes to be separated downstream. Using our inertial platform, we successfully sorted microparticles and fractionized blood cells with high separation efficiencies, high purities and high throughputs. The inertial separation platform developed here can be operated to process diluted blood with a throughput of 10.8 mL min(-1)via radially arrayed single channels with one inlet and two rings of outlets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenlong Wu
- Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 110 8th Street, Troy, NY 12180, USA. and School of Aeronautic Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Yu Chen
- Department of Engineering Mechanics, School of Aerospace, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Moran Wang
- Department of Engineering Mechanics, School of Aerospace, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Aram J Chung
- Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 110 8th Street, Troy, NY 12180, USA.
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61
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Zhang J, Yan S, Yuan D, Alici G, Nguyen NT, Ebrahimi Warkiani M, Li W. Fundamentals and applications of inertial microfluidics: a review. LAB ON A CHIP 2016; 16:10-34. [PMID: 26584257 DOI: 10.1039/c5lc01159k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 467] [Impact Index Per Article: 58.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
In the last decade, inertial microfluidics has attracted significant attention and a wide variety of channel designs that focus, concentrate and separate particles and fluids have been demonstrated. In contrast to conventional microfluidic technologies, where fluid inertia is negligible and flow remains almost within the Stokes flow region with very low Reynolds number (Re ≪ 1), inertial microfluidics works in the intermediate Reynolds number range (~1 < Re < ~100) between Stokes and turbulent regimes. In this intermediate range, both inertia and fluid viscosity are finite and bring about several intriguing effects that form the basis of inertial microfluidics including (i) inertial migration and (ii) secondary flow. Due to the superior features of high-throughput, simplicity, precise manipulation and low cost, inertial microfluidics is a very promising candidate for cellular sample processing, especially for samples with low abundant targets. In this review, we first discuss the fundamental kinematics of particles in microchannels to familiarise readers with the mechanisms and underlying physics in inertial microfluidic systems. We then present a comprehensive review of recent developments and key applications of inertial microfluidic systems according to their microchannel structures. Finally, we discuss the perspective of employing fluid inertia in microfluidics for particle manipulation. Due to the superior benefits of inertial microfluidics, this promising technology will still be an attractive topic in the near future, with more novel designs and further applications in biology, medicine and industry on the horizon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Zhang
- School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | - Sheng Yan
- School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | - Dan Yuan
- School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | - Gursel Alici
- School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | - Nam-Trung Nguyen
- Queensland Micro- and Nanotechnology Centre, Griffith University, Brisbane QLD 4111, Australia
| | - Majid Ebrahimi Warkiani
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Weihua Li
- School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
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62
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Ao Z, Moradi K, Cote RJ, Datar RH. Size-Based and Non-Affinity Based Microfluidic Devices for Circulating Tumor Cell Enrichment and Characterization. CIRCULATING TUMOR CELLS 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3363-1_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
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63
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Nathamgari SSP, Dong B, Zhou F, Kang W, Giraldo-Vela JP, McGuire T, McNaughton RL, Sun C, Kessler JA, Espinosa HD. Isolating single cells in a neurosphere assay using inertial microfluidics. LAB ON A CHIP 2015; 15:4591-7. [PMID: 26511875 PMCID: PMC4665643 DOI: 10.1039/c5lc00805k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Sphere forming assays are routinely used for in vitro propagation and differentiation of stem cells. Because the stem cell clusters can become heterogeneous and polyclonal, they must first be dissociated into a single cell suspension for further clonal analysis or differentiation studies. The dissociated population is marred by the presence of doublets, triplets and semi-cleaved/intact clusters which makes identification and further analysis of differentiation pathways difficult. In this work, we use inertial microfluidics to separate the single cells and clusters in a population of chemically dissociated neurospheres. In contrast to previous microfluidic sorting technologies which operated at high flow rates, we implement the spiral microfluidic channel in a novel focusing regime that occurs at lower flow rates. In this regime, the curvature-induced Dean's force focuses the smaller, single cells towards the inner wall and the larger clusters towards the center. We further demonstrate that sorting in this low flow rate (and hence low shear stress) regime yields a high percentage (>90%) of viable cells and preserves multipotency by differentiating the sorted neural stem cell population into neurons and astrocytes. The modularity of the device allows easy integration with other lab-on-a-chip devices for upstream mechanical dissociation and downstream high-throughput clonal analysis, localized electroporation and sampling. Although demonstrated in the case of the neurosphere assay, the method is equally applicable to other sphere forming assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Shiva P Nathamgari
- Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
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64
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Warkiani ME, Wu L, Tay AKP, Han J. Large-Volume Microfluidic Cell Sorting for Biomedical Applications. Annu Rev Biomed Eng 2015; 17:1-34. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-bioeng-071114-040818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Majid Ebrahimi Warkiani
- BioSystems and Micromechanics IRG, Singapore–MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre, Singapore 138602;
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia
| | - Lidan Wu
- Department of Biological Engineering and
| | - Andy Kah Ping Tay
- BioSystems and Micromechanics IRG, Singapore–MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre, Singapore 138602;
| | - Jongyoon Han
- BioSystems and Micromechanics IRG, Singapore–MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre, Singapore 138602;
- Department of Biological Engineering and
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
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65
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Chung AJ, Hur SC. High-Speed Microfluidic Manipulation of Cells. ADVANCED MICRO AND NANOSYSTEMS 2015. [DOI: 10.1002/9783527690237.ch1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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66
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Yeo DC, Wiraja C, Zhou Y, Tay HM, Xu C, Hou HW. Interference-free Micro/nanoparticle Cell Engineering by Use of High-Throughput Microfluidic Separation. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2015; 7:20855-20864. [PMID: 26355568 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b06167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Engineering cells with active-ingredient-loaded micro/nanoparticles is becoming increasingly popular for imaging and therapeutic applications. A critical yet inadequately addressed issue during its implementation concerns the significant number of particles that remain unbound following the engineering process, which inadvertently generate signals and impart transformative effects onto neighboring nontarget cells. Here we demonstrate that those unbound micro/nanoparticles remaining in solution can be efficiently separated from the particle-labeled cells by implementing a fast, continuous, and high-throughput Dean flow fractionation (DFF) microfluidic device. As proof-of-concept, we applied the DFF microfluidic device for buffer exchange to sort labeled suspension cells (THP-1) from unbound fluorescent dye and dye-loaded micro/nanoparticles. Compared to conventional centrifugation, the depletion efficiency of free dyes or particles was improved 20-fold and the mislabeling of nontarget bystander cells by free particles was minimized. The microfluidic device was adapted to further accommodate heterogeneous-sized mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Complete removal of unbound nanoparticles using DFF led to the usage of engineered MSCs without exerting off-target transformative effects on the functional properties of neighboring endothelial cells. Apart from its effectiveness in removing free particles, this strategy is also efficient and scalable. It could continuously process cell solutions with concentrations up to 10(7) cells·mL(-1) (cell densities commonly encountered during cell therapy) without observable loss of performance. Successful implementation of this technology is expected to pave the way for interference-free clinical application of micro/nanoparticle engineered cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C Yeo
- School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459
| | - Christian Wiraja
- School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459
| | - Yingying Zhou
- School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459
| | - Hui Min Tay
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University , 50 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637553
| | - Chenjie Xu
- School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University , 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459
- NTU-Northwestern Institute of Nanomedicine, Nanyang Technological University , 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798
| | - Han Wei Hou
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University , 50 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637553
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67
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Wang S, Luo C. Cell Cycle Synchronization Using a Microfluidic Synchronizer for Fission Yeast Cells. Methods Mol Biol 2015; 1342:259-68. [PMID: 26254929 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2957-3_15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2023]
Abstract
To produce synchronized cell colonies, many cell cycle synchronization technologies have been developed, among which the baby machine may be considered the most artifact-free. Baby machines incubate "mother cells" under normal conditions and collects their "babies," producing cell cultures that are similar not only in cell cycle phase but also in age. Several macroscale and microfluidic baby machines have been applied to synchronized cell research. However, for rod-shaped cells like fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe), it is still a challenge to immobilize only the mother cells in a microfluidic device. Here, we present a new baby machine suitable for fission yeast. The device fixes one end of the cell and releases the free-end daughter cell every time the cell finishes cytokinesis. A variety of structures for cell immobilization were attempted to find the optimal design. For the convenience of collection and to enable further assays, we integrated a cell screener into the baby machine, which exploits the deformation of polymer material to switch between open and closed states. The device, producing synchronous populations of fission yeast cells, provides a new on-chip tool for cell biology studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shujing Wang
- The State Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructures and Mesoscopic Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, 5 Yiheyuan Road, Haidian, Beijing, China
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68
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Nam J, Namgung B, Lim CT, Bae JE, Leo HL, Cho KS, Kim S. Microfluidic device for sheathless particle focusing and separation using a viscoelastic fluid. J Chromatogr A 2015; 1406:244-50. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2015.06.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2015] [Revised: 06/10/2015] [Accepted: 06/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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69
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Warkiani ME, Tay AKP, Guan G, Han J. Membrane-less microfiltration using inertial microfluidics. Sci Rep 2015; 5:11018. [PMID: 26154774 PMCID: PMC4495597 DOI: 10.1038/srep11018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2015] [Accepted: 05/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Microfiltration is a ubiquitous and often crucial part of many industrial processes, including biopharmaceutical manufacturing. Yet, all existing filtration systems suffer from the issue of membrane clogging, which fundamentally limits the efficiency and reliability of the filtration process. Herein, we report the development of a membrane-less microfiltration system by massively parallelizing inertial microfluidics to achieve a macroscopic volume processing rates (~ 500 mL/min). We demonstrated the systems engineered for CHO (10-20 μm) and yeast (3-5 μm) cells filtration, which are two main cell types used for large-scale bioreactors. Our proposed system can replace existing filtration membrane and provide passive (no external force fields), continuous filtration, thus eliminating the need for membrane replacement. This platform has the desirable combinations of high throughput, low-cost, and scalability, making it compatible for a myriad of microfiltration applications and industrial purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Majid Ebrahimi Warkiani
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- BioSystems and Micromechanics (BioSyM) IRG, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre, Singapore
| | - Andy Kah Ping Tay
- BioSystems and Micromechanics (BioSyM) IRG, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre, Singapore
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117575, Singapore
| | - Guofeng Guan
- BioSystems and Micromechanics (BioSyM) IRG, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre, Singapore
| | - Jongyoon Han
- BioSystems and Micromechanics (BioSyM) IRG, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre, Singapore
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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70
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Birch CM, Hou HW, Han J, Niles JC. Identification of malaria parasite-infected red blood cell surface aptamers by inertial microfluidic SELEX (I-SELEX). Sci Rep 2015; 5:11347. [PMID: 26126714 PMCID: PMC4486934 DOI: 10.1038/srep11347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2015] [Accepted: 05/14/2015] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites invade and remodel human red blood cells (RBCs) by trafficking parasite-synthesized proteins to the RBC surface. While these proteins mediate interactions with host cells that contribute to disease pathogenesis, the infected RBC surface proteome remains poorly characterized. Here we use a novel strategy (I-SELEX) to discover high affinity aptamers that selectively recognize distinct epitopes uniquely present on parasite-infected RBCs. Based on inertial focusing in spiral microfluidic channels, I-SELEX enables stringent partitioning of cells (efficiency ≥ 106) from unbound oligonucleotides at high volume throughput (~2 × 106 cells min−1). Using an RBC model displaying a single, non-native antigen and live malaria parasite-infected RBCs as targets, we establish suitability of this strategy for de novo aptamer selections. We demonstrate recovery of a diverse set of aptamers that recognize distinct, surface-displayed epitopes on parasite-infected RBCs with nanomolar affinity, including an aptamer against the protein responsible for placental sequestration, var2CSA. These findings validate I-SELEX as a broadly applicable aptamer discovery platform that enables identification of new reagents for mapping the parasite-infected RBC surface proteome at higher molecular resolution to potentially contribute to malaria diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccine efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina M Birch
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Han Wei Hou
- 1] Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA [2] BioSystems and Micromechanics (BioSyM) IRG, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre, 1 Create Way, #04-13/14 Enterprise Wing, Singapore 138602, SINGAPORE
| | - Jongyoon Han
- 1] Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA [2] Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA [3] BioSystems and Micromechanics (BioSyM) IRG, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre, 1 Create Way, #04-13/14 Enterprise Wing, Singapore 138602, SINGAPORE
| | - Jacquin C Niles
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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71
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Song S, Kim MS, Lee J, Choi S. A continuous-flow microfluidic syringe filter for size-based cell sorting. LAB ON A CHIP 2015; 15:1250-4. [PMID: 25599969 DOI: 10.1039/c4lc01417k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
This communication presents a microfluidic method for size-based cell sorting, which provides a simple and robust approach for cell cycle synchronization by manual and stand-alone operation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seungjeong Song
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, 1732 Deogyeong-daero, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 446-701, Republic of Korea.
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72
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Kunze A, Che J, Karimi A, Di Carlo D. Research highlights: cell separation at the bench and beyond. LAB ON A CHIP 2015; 15:605-609. [PMID: 25519770 DOI: 10.1039/c4lc90122c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
We highlight recent progress in applying micro- and nanotechnology enabled cell separations to life sciences and clinical use. Microfluidic systems operate on a scale that matches that of cells (10-100 μm) and therefore allow interfacing and separations that are sensitive at this scale. Given the corresponding dimensions, it is not surprising that a wide array of microfluidic cell separation technologies have been developed using hydrodynamic, electrical, magnetic and optical forces, and have been applied to a range of biological and clinical problems in sample preparation. Passive separation approaches have distinct advantages for point of care applications or when downstream cell-based therapies are envisioned. We highlight a recent approach that allows for passive hydrodynamic filtering of cells over almost two orders of magnitude in flow conditions, which allowed the researchers to interface with a standard manual pipettor, creating a "microfluidic pipette tip". In a second work, passive separation by size yields distinct populations of mesenchymal stem cells that can be used therapeutically. The researchers report on other biophysical separations that would be expected to refine these cell populations further for the most efficacious cell-based therapies. In an intriguing twist, we highlight a creative idea in which stem cell populations could potentially also be extracted from a patient with less invasive surgeries, performing the separation using magnetic nanoparticles in vivo without bulk tissue disruption. New cell separation technologies will continue to be demonstrated, however, a major research thrust appears to be now developing these technologies to address unique application niches in point-of-care sample preparation for research and diagnostics or cell-based therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anja Kunze
- Department of Bioengineering, California NanoSystems Institute, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Los Angeles, 420 Westwood Plaza, 5121 Engineering V, Box 951600, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
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73
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Bean AC, Tuan RS. Fiber diameter and seeding density influence chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells seeded on electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) scaffolds. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 10:015018. [PMID: 25634427 DOI: 10.1088/1748-6041/10/1/015018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells is strongly influenced by the surrounding chemical and structural milieu. Since the majority of the native cartilage extracellular matrix is composed of nanofibrous collagen fibrils, much of recent cartilage tissue engineering research has focused on developing and utilizing scaffolds with similar nanoscale architecture. However, current literature lacks consensus regarding the ideal fiber diameter, with differences in culture conditions making it difficult to compare between studies. Here, we aimed to develop a more thorough understanding of how cell-cell and cell-biomaterial interactions drive in vitro chondrogenic differentiation of bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Electrospun poly(ε-caprolactone) microfibers (4.3 ± 0.8 µm diameter, 90 μm(2) pore size) and nanofibers (440 ± 20 nm diameter, 1.2 μm(2) pore size) were seeded with MSCs at initial densities ranging from 1 × 10(5) to 4 × 10(6) cells cm(-3)-scaffold and cultured under transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) induced chondrogenic conditions for 3 or 6 weeks. Chondrogenic gene expression, cellular proliferation, as well as sulfated glycosaminoglycan and collagen production were enhanced on microfiber in comparison to nanofiber scaffolds, with high initial seeding densities being required for significant chondrogenic differentiation and extracellular matrix deposition. Both cell-cell and cell-material interactions appear to play important roles in chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs in vitro and consideration of several variables simultaneously is essential for understanding cell behavior in order to develop an optimal tissue engineering strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison C Bean
- Center for Cellular and Molecular Engineering, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 450 Technology Drive, Room 221 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 USA
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74
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Pang L, Shen S, Ma C, Ma T, Zhang R, Tian C, Zhao L, Liu W, Wang J. Deformability and size-based cancer cell separation using an integrated microfluidic device. Analyst 2015; 140:7335-46. [DOI: 10.1039/c5an00799b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
We present an integrated microfluidic device for cell separation based on the cell size and deformability by combining the microstructure-constricted filtration and pneumatic microvalves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long Pang
- Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Science
- Northwest A&F University
- Yangling
- P. R. China
| | - Shaofei Shen
- Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Science
- Northwest A&F University
- Yangling
- P. R. China
| | - Chao Ma
- Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Science
- Northwest A&F University
- Yangling
- P. R. China
| | - Tongtong Ma
- Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Science
- Northwest A&F University
- Yangling
- P. R. China
| | - Rui Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics
- Texas A&M University College Station
- USA
| | - Chang Tian
- Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Science
- Northwest A&F University
- Yangling
- P. R. China
| | - Lei Zhao
- Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Science
- Northwest A&F University
- Yangling
- P. R. China
| | - Wenming Liu
- Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Science
- Northwest A&F University
- Yangling
- P. R. China
| | - Jinyi Wang
- Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Science
- Northwest A&F University
- Yangling
- P. R. China
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75
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Ranjan S, Zeming KK, Jureen R, Fisher D, Zhang Y. DLD pillar shape design for efficient separation of spherical and non-spherical bioparticles. LAB ON A CHIP 2014; 14:4250-62. [PMID: 25209150 DOI: 10.1039/c4lc00578c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Particle sorting methods in microfluidic platforms are gaining momentum for various biomedical applications. Bioparticles are found in different shapes and sizes. However, conventional separation techniques are mainly designed for separation of spherical particles. Thus, there is a need to develop new methods for effective separation of spherical and non-spherical bioparticles for various applications. Deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) microfluidic methods have become popular for high separation resolution, simplicity, and predictability. However, shape sorting in the DLD separation methods is not well researched. Recently, we explored this area and found that pillar shapes in DLD significantly affect bioparticle separation. In this work, we designed a group of different pillar shapes with protrusions and groove structures with the hypothesis that pillar protrusions will induce particle rotation while pillar grooves will confine the particle rotational movement in a directed path for effective separation in a DLD pillar array. Using combinations of protrusions and grooves, 3-dimensional spherical particles, 2-dimensional planar disc-shaped red blood cells and 1-dimensional rod-shaped bacteria were separated and two interesting phenomena were observed. Firstly, the arrangement of pillar protrusions and grooves induces inertial movements, enhancing the separation of spherical particles. Secondly, non-spherical particles experience dominant rotational movements due to the protrusions and grooves which help in changing their orientations. This gives an opportunity to perform efficient separation based on the desired orientation (the longest dimension of the particles) by restricting or containing their movement within a specific DLD path.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shashi Ranjan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117576.
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76
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Multivariate biophysical markers predictive of mesenchymal stromal cell multipotency. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:E4409-18. [PMID: 25298531 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1402306111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The capacity to produce therapeutically relevant quantities of multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) via in vitro culture is a common prerequisite for stem cell-based therapies. Although culture expanded MSCs are widely studied and considered for therapeutic applications, it has remained challenging to identify a unique set of characteristics that enables robust identification and isolation of the multipotent stem cells. New means to describe and separate this rare cell type and its downstream progenitor cells within heterogeneous cell populations will contribute significantly to basic biological understanding and can potentially improve efficacy of stem and progenitor cell-based therapies. Here, we use multivariate biophysical analysis of culture-expanded, bone marrow-derived MSCs, correlating these quantitative measures with biomolecular markers and in vitro and in vivo functionality. We find that, although no single biophysical property robustly predicts stem cell multipotency, there exists a unique and minimal set of three biophysical markers that together are predictive of multipotent subpopulations, in vitro and in vivo. Subpopulations of culture-expanded stromal cells from both adult and fetal bone marrow that exhibit sufficiently small cell diameter, low cell stiffness, and high nuclear membrane fluctuations are highly clonogenic and also exhibit gene, protein, and functional signatures of multipotency. Further, we show that high-throughput inertial microfluidics enables efficient sorting of committed osteoprogenitor cells, as distinct from these mesenchymal stem cells, in adult bone marrow. Together, these results demonstrate novel methods and markers of stemness that facilitate physical isolation, study, and therapeutic use of culture-expanded, stromal cell subpopulations.
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77
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Abstract
Microfluidics has experienced massive growth in the past two decades, and especially with advances in rapid prototyping researchers have explored a multitude of channel structures, fluid and particle mixtures, and integration with electrical and optical systems towards solving problems in healthcare, biological and chemical analysis, materials synthesis, and other emerging areas that can benefit from the scale, automation, or the unique physics of these systems. Inertial microfluidics, which relies on the unconventional use of fluid inertia in microfluidic platforms, is one of the emerging fields that make use of unique physical phenomena that are accessible in microscale patterned channels. Channel shapes that focus, concentrate, order, separate, transfer, and mix particles and fluids have been demonstrated, however physical underpinnings guiding these channel designs have been limited and much of the development has been based on experimentally-derived intuition. Here we aim to provide a deeper understanding of mechanisms and underlying physics in these systems which can lead to more effective and reliable designs with less iteration. To place the inertial effects into context we also discuss related fluid-induced forces present in particulate flows including forces due to non-Newtonian fluids, particle asymmetry, and particle deformability. We then highlight the inverse situation and describe the effect of the suspended particles acting on the fluid in a channel flow. Finally, we discuss the importance of structured channels, i.e. channels with boundary conditions that vary in the streamwise direction, and their potential as a means to achieve unprecedented three-dimensional control over fluid and particles in microchannels. Ultimately, we hope that an improved fundamental and quantitative understanding of inertial fluid dynamic effects can lead to unprecedented capabilities to program fluid and particle flow towards automation of biomedicine, materials synthesis, and chemical process control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamed Amini
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, 420 Westwood Plaza, 5121 Engineering V, P.O. Box 951600, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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78
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Abstract
When Segré and Silberberg in 1961 witnessed particles in a laminar pipe flow congregating at an annulus in the pipe, scientists were perplexed and spent decades learning why such behavior occurred, finally understanding that it was caused by previously unknown forces on particles in an inertial flow. The advent of microfluidics opened a new realm of possibilities for inertial focusing in the processing of biological fluids and cellular suspensions and created a field that is now rapidly expanding. Over the past five years, inertial focusing has enabled high-throughput, simple, and precise manipulation of bodily fluids for a myriad of applications in point-of-care and clinical diagnostics. This review describes the theoretical developments that have made the field of inertial focusing what it is today and presents the key applications that will make inertial focusing a mainstream technology in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph M Martel
- BioMEMS Resource Center, Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgical Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Shriners Hospital for Children, Boston, Massachusetts 02114;
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79
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Zhou J, Giridhar PV, Kasper S, Papautsky I. Modulation of rotation-induced lift force for cell filtration in a low aspect ratio microchannel. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2014; 8:044112. [PMID: 25379097 PMCID: PMC4189218 DOI: 10.1063/1.4891599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2014] [Accepted: 07/18/2014] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Cell filtration is a critical step in sample preparation in many bioapplications. Herein, we report on a simple, filter-free, microfluidic platform based on hydrodynamic inertial migration. Our approach builds on the concept of two-stage inertial migration which permits precise prediction of microparticle position within the microchannel. Our design manipulates equilibrium positions of larger microparticles by modulating rotation-induced lift force in a low aspect ratio microchannel. Here, we demonstrate filtration of microparticles with extreme efficiency (>99%). Using multiple prostate cell lines (LNCaP and human prostate epithelial tumor cells), we show filtration from spiked blood, with 3-fold concentration and >83% viability. Results of a proliferation assay show normal cell division and suggest no negative effects on intrinsic properties. Considering the planar low-aspect-ratio structure and predictable focusing, we envision promising applications and easy integration with existing lab-on-a-chip systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Zhou
- BioMicroSystems Lab, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computing Systems, University of Cincinnati , Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, USA
| | - Premkumar Vummidi Giridhar
- Department of Environmental Health, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati , Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, USA
| | - Susan Kasper
- Department of Environmental Health, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati , Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, USA
| | - Ian Papautsky
- BioMicroSystems Lab, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computing Systems, University of Cincinnati , Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, USA
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80
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Jandt U, Platas Barradas O, Pörtner R, Zeng AP. Mammalian cell culture synchronization under physiological conditions and population dynamic simulation. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2014; 98:4311-9. [DOI: 10.1007/s00253-014-5553-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2013] [Revised: 01/14/2014] [Accepted: 01/18/2014] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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81
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Fan LL, He XK, Han Y, Du L, Zhao L, Zhe J. Continuous size-based separation of microparticles in a microchannel with symmetric sharp corner structures. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2014; 8:024108. [PMID: 24738015 PMCID: PMC3976469 DOI: 10.1063/1.4870253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2014] [Accepted: 03/21/2014] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
A new microchannel with a series of symmetric sharp corner structures is reported for passive size-dependent particle separation. Micro particles of different sizes can be completely separated based on the combination of the inertial lift force and the centrifugal force induced by the sharp corner structures in the microchannel. At appropriate flow rate and Reynolds number, the centrifugal force effect on large particles, induced by the sharp corner structures, is stronger than that on small particles; hence after passing a series of symmetric sharp corner structures, large particles are focused to the center of the microchannel, while small particles are focused at two particle streams near the two side walls of the microchannel. Particles of different sizes can then be completely separated. Particle separation with this device was demonstrated using 7.32 μm and 15.5 μm micro particles. Experiments show that in comparison with the prior multi-orifice flow fractionation microchannel and multistage-multiorifice flow fractionation microchannel, this device can completely separate two-size particles with narrower particle stream band and larger separation distance between particle streams. In addition, it requires no sheath flow and complex multi-stage separation structures, avoiding the dilution of analyte sample and complex operations. The device has potentials to be used for continuous, complete particle separation in a variety of lab-on-a-chip and biomedical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang-Liang Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
| | - Xu-Kun He
- State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu Han
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325-3903, USA
| | - Li Du
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325-3903, USA
| | - Liang Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiang Zhe
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325-3903, USA
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82
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Burke JM, Zubajlo RE, Smela E, White IM. High-throughput particle separation and concentration using spiral inertial filtration. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2014; 8:024105. [PMID: 24738012 PMCID: PMC3976465 DOI: 10.1063/1.4870399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2014] [Accepted: 03/24/2014] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
A spiral inertial filtration (SIFT) device that is capable of high-throughput (1 ml/min), high-purity particle separation while concentrating recovered target particles by more than an order of magnitude is reported. This device is able to remove large fractions of sample fluid from a microchannel without disruption of concentrated particle streams by taking advantage of particle focusing in inertial spiral microfluidics, which is achieved by balancing inertial lift forces and Dean drag forces. To enable the calculation of channel geometries in the SIFT microsystem for specific concentration factors, an equivalent circuit model was developed and experimentally validated. Large particle concentration factors were then achieved by maintaining either the average fluid velocity or the Dean number throughout the entire length of the channel during the incremental removal of sample fluid. The SIFT device was able to separate MCF7 cells spiked into whole blood from the non-target white blood cells (WBC) with a recovery of nearly 100% while removing 93% of the sample volume, which resulted in a concentration enhancement of the MCF7 cancer cells by a factor of 14.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey M Burke
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
| | - Rebecca E Zubajlo
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
| | - Elisabeth Smela
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
| | - Ian M White
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
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83
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Burger R, Ducrée J. Handling and analysis of cells and bioparticles on centrifugal microfluidic platforms. Expert Rev Mol Diagn 2014; 12:407-21. [DOI: 10.1586/erm.12.28] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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84
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Warkiani ME, Guan G, Luan KB, Lee WC, Bhagat AAS, Chaudhuri PK, Tan DSW, Lim WT, Lee SC, Chen PCY, Lim CT, Han J. Slanted spiral microfluidics for the ultra-fast, label-free isolation of circulating tumor cells. LAB ON A CHIP 2014; 14:128-37. [PMID: 23949794 DOI: 10.1039/c3lc50617g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 248] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The enumeration and characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), found in the peripheral blood of cancer patients, provide a potentially accessible source for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. This work reports on a novel spiral microfluidic device with a trapezoidal cross-section for ultra-fast, label-free enrichment of CTCs from clinically relevant blood volumes. The technique utilizes the inherent Dean vortex flows present in curvilinear microchannels under continuous flow, along with inertial lift forces which focus larger CTCs against the inner wall. Using a trapezoidal cross-section as opposed to a traditional rectangular cross-section, the position of the Dean vortex core can be altered to achieve separation. Smaller hematologic components are trapped in the Dean vortices skewed towards the outer channel walls and eventually removed at the outer outlet, while the larger CTCs equilibrate near the inner channel wall and are collected from the inner outlet. By using a single spiral microchannel with one inlet and two outlets, we have successfully isolated and recovered more than 80% of the tested cancer cell line cells (MCF-7, T24 and MDA-MB-231) spiked in 7.5 mL of blood within 8 min with extremely high purity (400-680 WBCs mL(-1); ~4 log depletion of WBCs). Putative CTCs were detected and isolated from 100% of the patient samples (n = 10) with advanced stage metastatic breast and lung cancer using standard biomarkers (CK, CD45 and DAPI) with the frequencies ranging from 3-125 CTCs mL(-1). We expect this simple and elegant approach can surmount the shortcomings of traditional affinity-based CTC isolation techniques as well as enable fundamental studies on CTCs to guide treatment and enhance patient care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Majid Ebrahimi Warkiani
- BioSystems and Micromechanics (BioSyM) IRG, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre, Singapore.
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85
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Lee WC, Bhagat AAS, Lim CT. High-throughput synchronization of mammalian cell cultures by spiral microfluidics. Methods Mol Biol 2014; 1104:3-13. [PMID: 24297405 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-62703-733-4_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The development of mammalian cell cycle synchronization techniques has greatly advanced our understanding of many cellular regulatory events and mechanisms specific to different phases of the cell cycle. In this chapter, we describe a high-throughput microfluidic-based approach for cell cycle synchronization. By exploiting the relationship between cell size and its phase in the cell cycle, large numbers of synchronized cells can be obtained by size fractionation in a spiral microfluidic channel. Protocols for the synchronization of primary cells such as mesenchymal stem cells, and immortal cell lines such as Chinese hamster ovarian cells (CHO-CD36) and HeLa cells are provided as examples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wong Cheng Lee
- NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
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86
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Warkiani ME, Khoo BL, Tan DSW, Bhagat AAS, Lim WT, Yap YS, Lee SC, Soo RA, Han J, Lim CT. An ultra-high-throughput spiral microfluidic biochip for the enrichment of circulating tumor cells. Analyst 2014; 139:3245-55. [DOI: 10.1039/c4an00355a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 150] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
We demonstrate the high-throughput and high-resolution separation of rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood using a multiplexed spiral microfluidic device.
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Affiliation(s)
- Majid Ebrahimi Warkiani
- BioSystems and Micromechanics (BioSyM) IRG
- Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre
- Singapore
| | - Bee Luan Khoo
- Mechanobiology Institute
- National University of Singapore
- Singapore
- Department of Biomedical Engineering
- National University of Singapore
| | | | | | - Wan-Teck Lim
- Department of Medical Oncology
- National Cancer Centre Singapore
- Singapore
| | - Yoon Sim Yap
- Department of Medical Oncology
- National Cancer Centre Singapore
- Singapore
| | - Soo Chin Lee
- Department of Hematology-Oncology
- National University Hospital
- Singapore
| | - Ross A. Soo
- Department of Hematology-Oncology
- National University Hospital
- Singapore
| | - Jongyoon Han
- BioSystems and Micromechanics (BioSyM) IRG
- Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre
- Singapore
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Department of Biological Engineering
| | - Chwee Teck Lim
- BioSystems and Micromechanics (BioSyM) IRG
- Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre
- Singapore
- Mechanobiology Institute
- National University of Singapore
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87
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Zhou J, Kasper S, Papautsky I. Enhanced size-dependent trapping of particles using microvortices. MICROFLUIDICS AND NANOFLUIDICS 2013; 15:10.1007/s10404-013-1176-y. [PMID: 24187531 PMCID: PMC3810988 DOI: 10.1007/s10404-013-1176-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Inertial microfluidics has been attracting considerable interest for size-based separation of particles and cells. The inertial forces can be manipulated by expanding the microchannel geometry, leading to formation of microvortices which selectively isolate and trap particles or cells from a mixture. In this work, we aim to enhance our understanding of particle trapping in such microvortices by developing a model of selective particle trapping. Design and operational parameters including flow conditions, size of the trapping region, and target particle concentration are explored to elucidate their influence on trapping behavior. Our results show that the size dependence of trapping is characterized by a threshold Reynolds number, which governs the selective entry of particles into microvortices from the main flow. We show that concentration enhancement on the order of 100,000× and isolation of targets at concentrations in the 1/mL is possible. Ultimately, the insights gained from our systematic investigation suggest optimization solutions that enhance device performance (efficiency, size selectivity, and yield) and are applicable to selective isolation and trapping of large rare cells as well as other applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Zhou
- BioMicroSystems Lab, School of Electronic and Computing Systems, University of Cincinnati
| | - Susan Kasper
- Department of Environmental Health, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati
| | - Ian Papautsky
- BioMicroSystems Lab, School of Electronic and Computing Systems, University of Cincinnati
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88
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Tian Y, Luo C, Ouyang Q. A microfluidic synchronizer for fission yeast cells. LAB ON A CHIP 2013; 13:4071-4077. [PMID: 23966136 DOI: 10.1039/c3lc50639h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Among all the cell cycle synchronization technologies, the baby machine may be considered as the most artifact-free method. A baby machine incubates "mother cells" under normal conditions and collects their "babies", producing cell cultures that are similar not only in cell cycle phase but also in age. Unlike many other synchronization methods, no cell-cycle-blocking agent or metabolic stress is introduced in this method. Several macroscale and microfluidic baby machines have been developed for producing synchronized cell colonies. However, for rod-shaped cells like fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe), it is still a challenge to immobilize only the mother cells in a microfluidic device. Here we presented a new baby machine suitable for fission yeast. The device is fixed one end of the cell and releases the free-end daughter cell every time the cell finishes cytokinesis. A variety of structures for cell immobilization were attempted to find the optimal design. For the convenience of collection and further assay, we integrated into our baby machine chip a cell screener, which exploited the deformation of polymer material to switch between opening and closing states. Synchronous populations of fission yeast cells were produced with this device, its working detail was analyzed and performance was evaluated. The device provides a new on-chip tool for cell biology studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Tian
- Center for Microfluidic and Nanotechnology, The State Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructures and Mesoscopic Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China.
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89
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Whitfield MJ, Lee WCJ, Van Vliet KJ. Onset of heterogeneity in culture-expanded bone marrow stromal cells. Stem Cell Res 2013; 11:1365-77. [PMID: 24103495 DOI: 10.1016/j.scr.2013.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2013] [Revised: 09/10/2013] [Accepted: 09/11/2013] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Inconsistencies among in vitro and in vivo experiments using adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) confound development of therapeutic, regenerative medicine applications, and in vitro expansion is typically required to achieve sufficient cell numbers for basic research or clinical trials. Though heterogeneity in both morphology and differentiation capacity of culture-expanded cells is noted, sources and consequences are not well understood. Here, we endeavored to observe the onset of population heterogeneity by conducting long-term continuous in vitro observation of human adult bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) populations, a subset of which has been shown to be stem cells (also known as bone marrow-derived MSCs). Semi-automated identification and tracking of cell division and migration enabled construction of cell lineage maps that incorporated cell morphology. We found that all BMSCs steadily grew larger over time; this growth was interrupted only when a cell divided, producing two equally sized, morphologically similar daughter cells. However, a finite probability existed that one or both of these daughters then continued to increase in size without dividing, apparently exiting the cell cycle. Thus, larger BMSCs are those cells that have exited the normal cell cycle. These results hold important implications for MSC in vitro culture expansion and biophysical sorting strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Whitfield
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
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90
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Spiral microchannel with rectangular and trapezoidal cross-sections for size based particle separation. Sci Rep 2013; 3:1475. [PMID: 23502529 PMCID: PMC3600595 DOI: 10.1038/srep01475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 152] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2012] [Accepted: 02/28/2013] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The paper reports a new method for three-dimensional observation of the location of focused particle streams along both the depth and width of the channel cross-section in spiral inertial microfluidic systems. The results confirm that particles are focused near the top and bottom walls of the microchannel cross-section, revealing clear insights on the focusing and separation mechanism. Based on this detailed understanding of the force balance, we introduce a novel spiral microchannel with a trapezoidal cross-section that generates stronger Dean vortices at the outer half of the channel. Experiments show that particles focusing in such device are sensitive to particle size and flow rate, and exhibits a sharp transition from the inner half to the outer half equilibrium positions at a size-dependent critical flow rate. As particle equilibration positions are well segregated based on different focusing mechanisms, a higher separation resolution is achieved over conventional spiral microchannels with rectangular cross-section.
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91
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Xiang N, Yi H, Chen K, Sun D, Jiang D, Dai Q, Ni Z. High-throughput inertial particle focusing in a curved microchannel: Insights into the flow-rate regulation mechanism and process model. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2013; 7:44116. [PMID: 24404049 PMCID: PMC3751952 DOI: 10.1063/1.4818445] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2013] [Accepted: 07/31/2013] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we design and fabricate a miniaturized spiral-shaped microchannel device which can be used for high-throughput particle/cell ordering, enrichment, and purification. To probe into the flow rate regulation mechanism, an experimental investigation is carried out on the focusing behaviors of particles with significantly different sizes in this device. A complete picture of the focusing position shifting process is unfolded to clarify the confusing results obtained from flow regimes with different dominant forces in past research. Specifically, with the increase of the flow rate, particles are observed to first move towards the inner wall under the dominant inertial migration, then stabilize at a specific position and finally shift away from the inner wall due to the alternation of the dominant force. Novel phenomena of focusing instability, co-focusing, and focusing position interchange of differently sized particles are also observed and investigated. Based on the obtained experimental data, we develop and validate, for the first time, a five-stage model of the particle focusing process with increasing flow rate for interpreting particle behaviors in terms of the competition between inertial lift and Dean drag forces. These new experimental findings and the proposed process model provide an important supplement to the existing mechanism of inertial particle flow and enable more flexible and precise particle manipulation. Additionally, we examine the focusing behaviors of bioparticles with a polydisperse size distribution to validate the explored mechanisms and thus help realize efficient enrichment and purification of these particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Xiang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
| | - Hong Yi
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
| | - Ke Chen
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
| | - Dongke Sun
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
| | - Di Jiang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
| | - Qing Dai
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
| | - Zhonghua Ni
- School of Mechanical Engineering, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Design and Manufacture of Micro-Nano Biomedical Instruments, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
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92
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Chung AJ, Pulido D, Oka JC, Amini H, Masaeli M, Di Carlo D. Microstructure-induced helical vortices allow single-stream and long-term inertial focusing. LAB ON A CHIP 2013; 13:2942-9. [PMID: 23665981 DOI: 10.1039/c3lc41227j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Fluid inertia has been used to position microparticles in confined channels because it leads to precise and predictable particle migration across streamlines in a high-throughput manner. To focus particles, typically two inertial effects have been employed: inertial migration of particles in combination with geometry-induced secondary flows. Still, the strong scaling of inertial effects with fluid velocity or channel flow rate have made it challenging to design inertial focusing systems for single-stream focusing using large-scale microchannels. Use of large-scale microchannels (≥100 μm) reduces clogging over long durations and could be suitable for non-single-use flow cells in cytometry systems. Here, we show that microstructure-induced helical vortices yield single-stream focusing of microparticles with continuous and robust operation. Numerical and experimental results demonstrate how structures contribute to improve focusing in these larger channels, through controllable cross-stream particle migration, aided by locally-tuned secondary flows from sequential obstacles that act to bring particles closer to a single focusing equilibrium position. The large-scale inertial focuser developed here can be operated in a high-throughput manner with a maximum throughput of approximately 13,000 particles per s.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aram J Chung
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California NanoSystems Institute, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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93
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Wang L, Asghar W, Demirci U, Wan Y. Nanostructured substrates for isolation of circulating tumor cells. NANO TODAY 2013; 8:347-387. [PMID: 24944563 PMCID: PMC4059613 DOI: 10.1016/j.nantod.2013.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) originate from the primary tumor mass and enter into the peripheral bloodstream. CTCs hold the key to understanding the biology of metastasis and also play a vital role in cancer diagnosis, prognosis, disease monitoring, and personalized therapy. However, CTCs are rare in blood and hard to isolate. Additionally, the viability of CTCs can easily be compromised under high shear stress while releasing them from a surface. The heterogeneity of CTCs in biomarker expression makes their isolation quite challenging; the isolation efficiency and specificity of current approaches need to be improved. Nanostructured substrates have emerged as a promising biosensing platform since they provide better isolation sensitivity at the cost of specificity for CTC isolation. This review discusses major challenges faced by CTC isolation techniques and focuses on nanostructured substrates as a platform for CTC isolation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lixue Wang
- Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southeast University, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210003, PR China
| | - Waseem Asghar
- Bio-Acoustic MEMS in Medicine (BAMM) Laboratories, Center for Biomedical Engineering, Renal Division and Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Utkan Demirci
- Bio-Acoustic MEMS in Medicine (BAMM) Laboratories, Center for Biomedical Engineering, Renal Division and Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Yuan Wan
- Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southeast University, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210003, PR China
- Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, Adelaide, SA 5095, Australia
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94
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Song S, Choi S. Design rules for size-based cell sorting and sheathless cell focusing by hydrophoresis. J Chromatogr A 2013; 1302:191-6. [PMID: 23838306 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2013.06.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2013] [Revised: 06/11/2013] [Accepted: 06/13/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
We describe the effects of geometric and operational parameters on the performances of hydrophoresis devices for optimal size-based cell sorting and sheathless cell focusing. Hydrophoresis has been recently demonstrated to precisely control cells in a continuous flow with advantages of sheathless, high resolution, and easy parallelization. To date, key parameters for optimal design and operation of hydrophoresis systems have yet to be fully studied. In this study we have investigated geometric parameters such as channel width and oblique angle of slanted grooves, and an operational parameter, flow rate that can potentially influence the device performances. The channel width is found to be the most significant geometric factor that affects the device performances, while the oblique angle of slanted grooves has no significant influence. Size-based separation of cells having size diversity (≈11% in a coefficient of variation (CV)), as well as sheathless cell focusing, was performed with optimal designs, demonstrating the potential use of hydrophoresis as a microfluidic component to precisely control cells for integrated cell sorting and analysis systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seungjeong Song
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, 1732 Deogyeong-daero, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 446-701, Republic of Korea
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95
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Zhou J, Giridhar PV, Kasper S, Papautsky I. Modulation of aspect ratio for complete separation in an inertial microfluidic channel. LAB ON A CHIP 2013; 13:1919-29. [PMID: 23529341 DOI: 10.1039/c3lc50101a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Inertial microfluidics has been attracting considerable interest in recent years due to immensely promising applications in cell separations and sorting. Despite the intense attention, the moderate efficiencies and low purity of the reported devices have hindered their widespread acceptance. In this work, we report on a simple inertial microfluidic system with high efficiency (>99%) and purity (>90%). Our system builds on the concept of two-stage inertial migration which permits precise prediction of particle or cell position within the microchannel. Our design manipulates the inertial equilibrium positions by modulating channel aspect ratio to achieve a complete separation. Here, we successfully demonstrate a complete separation of particles and isolation of rare cells in blood spiked with human prostate epithelial tumor (HPET) cells. Based on the planar structure, large separation spacing and predictable focusing, we envision promising applications and easy integration of our system with existing lab-on-a-chip systems for cell separations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Zhou
- BioMicroSystems Laboratory, School of Electronic and Computing Systems, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
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96
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Karimi A, Yazdi S, Ardekani AM. Hydrodynamic mechanisms of cell and particle trapping in microfluidics. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2013; 7:21501. [PMID: 24404005 PMCID: PMC3631262 DOI: 10.1063/1.4799787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2013] [Accepted: 03/21/2013] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Focusing and sorting cells and particles utilizing microfluidic phenomena have been flourishing areas of development in recent years. These processes are largely beneficial in biomedical applications and fundamental studies of cell biology as they provide cost-effective and point-of-care miniaturized diagnostic devices and rare cell enrichment techniques. Due to inherent problems of isolation methods based on the biomarkers and antigens, separation approaches exploiting physical characteristics of cells of interest, such as size, deformability, and electric and magnetic properties, have gained currency in many medical assays. Here, we present an overview of the cell/particle sorting techniques by harnessing intrinsic hydrodynamic effects in microchannels. Our emphasis is on the underlying fluid dynamical mechanisms causing cross stream migration of objects in shear and vortical flows. We also highlight the advantages and drawbacks of each method in terms of throughput, separation efficiency, and cell viability. Finally, we discuss the future research areas for extending the scope of hydrodynamic mechanisms and exploring new physical directions for microfluidic applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Karimi
- Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
| | - S Yazdi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
| | - A M Ardekani
- Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
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97
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Hou HW, Warkiani ME, Khoo BL, Li ZR, Soo RA, Tan DSW, Lim WT, Han J, Bhagat AAS, Lim CT. Isolation and retrieval of circulating tumor cells using centrifugal forces. Sci Rep 2013. [PMID: 23405273 DOI: 10.1038/srep01259
] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Presence and frequency of rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in bloodstreams of cancer patients are pivotal to early cancer detection and treatment monitoring. Here, we use a spiral microchannel with inherent centrifugal forces for continuous, size-based separation of CTCs from blood (Dean Flow Fractionation (DFF)) which facilitates easy coupling with conventional downstream biological assays. Device performance was optimized using cancer cell lines (> 85% recovery), followed by clinical validation with positive CTCs enumeration in all samples from patients with metastatic lung cancer (n = 20; 5-88 CTCs per mL). The presence of CD133⁺ cells, a phenotypic marker characteristic of stem-like behavior in lung cancer cells was also identified in the isolated subpopulation of CTCs. The spiral biochip identifies and addresses key challenges of the next generation CTCs isolation assay including antibody independent isolation, high sensitivity and throughput (3 mL/hr); and single-step retrieval of viable CTCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Wei Hou
- Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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98
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Hou HW, Warkiani ME, Khoo BL, Li ZR, Soo RA, Tan DSW, Lim WT, Han J, Bhagat AAS, Lim CT. Isolation and retrieval of circulating tumor cells using centrifugal forces. Sci Rep 2013; 3:1259. [PMID: 23405273 PMCID: PMC3569917 DOI: 10.1038/srep01259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 502] [Impact Index Per Article: 45.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2012] [Accepted: 01/28/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Presence and frequency of rare circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in bloodstreams of cancer patients are pivotal to early cancer detection and treatment monitoring. Here, we use a spiral microchannel with inherent centrifugal forces for continuous, size-based separation of CTCs from blood (Dean Flow Fractionation (DFF)) which facilitates easy coupling with conventional downstream biological assays. Device performance was optimized using cancer cell lines (> 85% recovery), followed by clinical validation with positive CTCs enumeration in all samples from patients with metastatic lung cancer (n = 20; 5-88 CTCs per mL). The presence of CD133⁺ cells, a phenotypic marker characteristic of stem-like behavior in lung cancer cells was also identified in the isolated subpopulation of CTCs. The spiral biochip identifies and addresses key challenges of the next generation CTCs isolation assay including antibody independent isolation, high sensitivity and throughput (3 mL/hr); and single-step retrieval of viable CTCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Wei Hou
- Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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99
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Cima I, Wen Yee C, Iliescu FS, Phyo WM, Lim KH, Iliescu C, Tan MH. Label-free isolation of circulating tumor cells in microfluidic devices: Current research and perspectives. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2013; 7:11810. [PMID: 24403992 PMCID: PMC3568085 DOI: 10.1063/1.4780062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2012] [Accepted: 12/17/2012] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
This review will cover the recent advances in label-free approaches to isolate and manipulate circulating tumor cells (CTCs). In essence, label-free approaches do not rely on antibodies or biological markers for labeling the cells of interest, but enrich them using the differential physical properties intrinsic to cancer and blood cells. We will discuss technologies that isolate cells based on their biomechanical and electrical properties. Label-free approaches to analyze CTCs have been recently invoked as a valid alternative to "marker-based" techniques, because classical epithelial and tumor markers are lost on some CTC populations and there is no comprehensive phenotypic definition for CTCs. We will highlight the advantages and drawbacks of these technologies and the status on their implementation in the clinics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Igor Cima
- Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, 31 Biopolis Way, The Nanos #04-01, Singapore 138669
| | - Chay Wen Yee
- National Cancer Centre Singapore, 11 Hospital Drive, Singapore 169610
| | | | - Wai Min Phyo
- Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, 31 Biopolis Way, The Nanos #04-01, Singapore 138669
| | - Kiat Hon Lim
- Department of Pathology, Singapore General Hospital, Outram Road, Singapore 169608
| | - Ciprian Iliescu
- Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, 31 Biopolis Way, The Nanos #04-01, Singapore 138669
| | - Min Han Tan
- Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, 31 Biopolis Way, The Nanos #04-01, Singapore 138669 ; National Cancer Centre Singapore, 11 Hospital Drive, Singapore 169610
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100
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Mu X, Zheng W, Sun J, Zhang W, Jiang X. Microfluidics for manipulating cells. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2013; 9:9-21. [PMID: 22933509 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201200996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2012] [Revised: 07/05/2012] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Microfluidics, a toolbox comprising methods for precise manipulation of fluids at small length scales (micrometers to millimeters), has become useful for manipulating cells. Its uses range from dynamic management of cellular interactions to high-throughput screening of cells, and to precise analysis of chemical contents in single cells. Microfluidics demonstrates a completely new perspective and an excellent practical way to manipulate cells for solving various needs in biology and medicine. This review introduces and comments on recent achievements and challenges of using microfluidics to manipulate and analyze cells. It is believed that microfluidics will assume an even greater role in the mechanistic understanding of cell biology and, eventually, in clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuan Mu
- Key Laboratory for Biological Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Center for NanoScience and Technology, No. 11, Beiyitiao, ZhongGuanCun, Beijing 100190, PR China
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