The dynamics of surface acoustic wave-driven scaffold cell seeding

Strategy for Nonenzymatic Harvesting of Cells via Decoupling of Adhesive and Disjoining Domains of Nanostructured Stimulus-Responsive Polymer Films

The nanostructured polymer film introduces a novel mechanism of nonenzymatic cell harvesting by decoupling solid cell-adhesive and soft stimulus-responsive cell-disjoining areas on the surface. The key characteristics of this architecture are the decoupling of adhesion from detachment and the impermeability to the integrin protein complex of the adhesive domains. This surface design eliminates inherent limitations of thermoresponsive coatings, namely, the necessity for the precise thickness of the coating, grafting or cross-linking density, and material of the basal substrate. The concept is demonstrated with nanostructured thermoresponsive films made of cell-adhesive epoxy photoresist domains and cell-disjoining poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) brush domains.

Rapid prototyping of functional acoustic devices using laser manufacturing

Acoustic patterning of micro-particles has many important biomedical applications. However, fabrication of such microdevices is costly and labor-intensive. Among conventional fabrication methods, photo-lithography provides high resolution but is expensive and time consuming, and not ideal for rapid prototyping and testing for academic applications. In this work, we demonstrate a highly efficient method for rapid prototyping of acoustic patterning devices using laser manufacturing. With this method we can fabricate a newly designed functional acoustic device in 4 hours. The acoustic devices fabricated using this method can achieve sub-wavelength, complex and non-periodic patterning of microparticles and biological objects with a spatial resolution of 60 μm across a large active manipulation area of 10 × 10 mm2.

Current Development in Interdigital Transducer (IDT) Surface Acoustic Wave Devices for Live Cell In Vitro Studies: A Review

Acoustics have a wide range of uses, from noise-cancelling to ultrasonic imaging. There has been a surge in interest in developing acoustic-based approaches for biological and biomedical applications in the last decade. This review focused on the application of surface acoustic waves (SAW) based on interdigital transducers (IDT) for live-cell investigations, such as cell manipulation, cell separation, cell seeding, cell migration, cell characteristics, and cell behaviours. The approach is also known as acoustofluidic, because the SAW device is coupled with a microfluidic system that contains live cells. This article provides an overview of several forms of IDT of SAW devices on recently used cells. Conclusively, a brief viewpoint and overview of the future application of SAW techniques in live-cell investigations were presented.

The waves that make the pattern: a review on acoustic manipulation in biomedical research

Novel approaches, combining technology, biomaterial design, and cutting-edge cell culture, have been increasingly considered to advance the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Within this context, acoustic manipulation to remotely control spatial cellular organization within a carrier matrix has arisen as a particularly promising method during the last decade. Acoustic or sound-induced manipulation takes advantage of hydrodynamic forces exerted on systems of particles within a liquid medium by standing waves. Inorganic or organic particles, cells, or organoids assemble within the nodes of the standing wave, creating distinct patterns in response to the applied frequency and amplitude. Acoustic manipulation has advanced from micro- or nanoparticle arrangement in 2D to the assembly of multiple cell types or organoids into highly complex in vitro tissues. In this review, we discuss the past research achievements in the field of acoustic manipulation with particular emphasis on biomedical application. We survey microfluidic, open chamber, and high throughput devices for their applicability to arrange non-living and living units in buffer or hydrogels. We also investigate the challenges arising from different methods, and their prospects to gain a deeper understanding of in vitro tissue formation and application in the field of biomedical engineering.

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Work on sound waves to spatially control particulate systems is reviewed.

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Classification of surface acoustic waves, bulk acoustic waves, and Faraday waves.

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Sound can be used to arrange, separate, or filter polymer particles.

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Sound can pattern cells in 3D to induce morphogenesis.

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Long-term applied sound induces differentiation and tissue formation.

Tritoroidal particle rings formation in open microfluidics induced by standing surface acoustic waves

In this paper, the particle movements in a sessile droplet induced by standing surface acoustic waves (SSAWs) are studied. Tritoroidal particle rings are formed under the interaction of acoustic field and electric field. The experimental results demonstrate that the electric field plays an important role in patterning nanoparticles. The electric field can define the droplet shape due to electrowetting. When the droplet approximates a hemisphere, the acoustic radiation force induced by SSAWs drives the particles to form tritoroidal particle rings. When the droplet approximates a convex plate, the drag force induced by acoustic steaming drives the particle to move. The results will be useful for better understanding the nanoparticle movements in a sessile droplet, which is important to explain the mechanism that SSAWs enhance reaction and crystallization in droplet.

Enhancing greywater treatment via MHz-Order surface acoustic waves

There is a pressing need for efficient biological treatment systems for the removal of organic compounds in greywater given the rapid increase in household wastewater produced as a consequence of rapid urbanisation. Moreover, proper treatment of greywater allows its reuse that can significantly reduce the demand for freshwater supplies. Herein, we demonstrate the possibility of enhancing the removal efficiency of solid contaminants from greywater using MHz-order surface acoustic waves (SAWs). A key distinction of the use of these high frequency surface acoustic waves, compared to previous work on its lower frequency (kHz order) bulk ultrasound counterpart for wastewater treatment, is the absence of cavitation, which can inflict considerable damage on bacteria, thus limiting the intensity and duration, and hence the efficiency enhancement, associated with the acoustic exposure. In particular, we show that up to fivefold improvement in the removal efficiency can be obtained, primarily due to the ability of the acoustic pressure field in homogenizing and reducing the size of bacterial clusters in the sample, therefore providing a larger surface area that promotes greater bacteria digestion. Alternatively, the SAW exposure allows the reduction in the treatment duration to achieve a given level of removal efficiency, thus facilitating higher treatment rates and hence processing throughput. Given the low-cost of the miniature chipscale platform, these promising results highlight its possibility for portable greywater treatment for domestic use or for large-scale industrial wastewater processing through massive parallelization.

Micro/nano acoustofluidics: materials, phenomena, design, devices, and applications

Acoustic actuation of fluids at small scales may finally enable a comprehensive lab-on-a-chip revolution in microfluidics, overcoming long-standing difficulties in fluid and particle manipulation on-chip. In this comprehensive review, we examine the fundamentals of piezoelectricity, piezoelectric materials, and transducers; revisit the basics of acoustofluidics; and give the reader a detailed look at recent technological advances and current scientific discussions in the discipline. Recent achievements are placed in the context of classic reports for the actuation of fluid and particles via acoustic waves, both within sessile drops and closed channels. Other aspects of micro/nano acoustofluidics are examined: atomization, translation, mixing, jetting, and particle manipulation in the context of sessile drops and fluid mixing and pumping, particle manipulation, and formation of droplets in the context of closed channels, plus the most recent results at the nanoscale. These achievements will enable applications across the disciplines of chemistry, biology, medicine, energy, manufacturing, and we suspect a number of others yet unimagined. Basic design concepts and illustrative applications are highlighted in each section, with an emphasis on lab-on-a-chip applications.

Enzyme-free cell detachment mediated by resonance vibration with temperature modulation

Cell detachment is an essential process in adherent cell culture. However, trypsinization, which is the most popular detachment technique used in culture, damages cellular membranes. Reducing cellular membrane damage during detachment should improve the quality of cell culture. In this article, we propose an enzyme-free cell detachment method based on resonance vibration with temperature modulation. We developed a culture device that can excite a resonance vibration and control temperature. We then evaluated the cell detachment ratio and the growth response, observed the morphology, and analyzed the cellular protein of the collected cells-mouse myoblast cell line (C2C12). With the temperature of 10°C and the maximum vibration amplitude of 2 μm, 77.9% of cells in number were successfully detached compared with traditional trypsinization. The 72-h proliferation ratio of the reseeded cells was similar to that with trypsinization, whereas the proliferation ratio of proposed method was 12.6% greater than that of trypsinization after freezing and thawing. Moreover, the cells can be collected relatively intact and both intracellular and cell surface proteins in the proposed method were less damaged than in trypsinization. These results show that this method has definite advantages over trypsinization, which indicates that it could be applied to subcultures of cells that are more susceptible to trypsin damage for mass culture of sustainable clinical use. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 2279-2288. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cell agglomeration in the wells of a 24-well plate using acoustic streaming

Cell agglomeration is essential both to the success of drug testing and to the development of tissue engineering. Here, a MHz-order acoustic wave is used to generate acoustic streaming in the wells of a 24-well plate to drive particle and cell agglomeration. Acoustic streaming is known to manipulate particles in microfluidic devices, and even provide concentration in sessile droplets, but concentration of particles or cells in individual wells has never been shown, principally due to the drag present along the periphery of the fluid in such a well. The agglomeration time for a range of particle sizes suggests that shear-induced migration plays an important role in the agglomeration process. Particles with a diameter of 45 μm agglomerated into a suspended pellet under exposure to 2.134 MHz acoustic waves at 1.5 W in 30 s. Additionally, BT-474 cells also agglomerated as adherent masses at the center bottom of the wells of tissue-culture treated 24-well plates. By switching to low cell binding 24-well plates, the BT-474 cells formed suspended agglomerations that appeared to be spheroids, fully fifteen times larger than any cell agglomerates without the acoustic streaming. In either case, the viability and proliferation of the cells were maintained despite acoustic irradiation and streaming. Intermittent excitation was effective in avoiding temperature excursions, consuming only 75 mW per well on average, presenting a convenient means to form fully three-dimensional cellular masses potentially useful for tissue, cancer, and drug research.

In situ generation of tunable porosity gradients in hydrogel-based scaffolds for microfluidic cell culture

Compared with preformed anisotropic matrices, an anisotropic matrix that allows users to alter its properties and structure in situ after synthesis offers the important advantage of being able to mimic dynamic in vivo microenvironments, such as in tissues undergoing morphogenesis or in wounds undergoing tissue repair. In this study, porous gradients are generated in situ in a hydrogel comprising enzymatically crosslinked gelatin hydroxyphenylpropionic acid (GTN-HPA) conjugate and carboxylmethyl cellulose tyramine (CMC-TYR) conjugate. The GTN-HPA component acts as the backbone of the hydrogel, while CMC-TYR acts as a biocompatible sacrificial polymer. The hydrogel is then used to immobilize HT1080 human fibrosarcoma cells in a microfluidic chamber. After diffusion of a biocompatible cellulase enzyme through the hydrogel in a spatially controlled manner, selective digestion of the CMC component of the hydrogel by the cellulase gives rise to a porosity gradient in situ instead of requiring its formation during hydrogel synthesis as with other methods. The influence of this in situ tunable porosity gradient on the chemotactic response of cancer cells is subsequently studied both in the absence and presence of chemoattractant. This platform illustrates the potential of hydrogel-based microfluidics to mimic the 3D in vivo microenvironment for tissue engineering and diagnostic applications.

Fluid Mechanics, Arterial Disease, and Gene Expression

This review places modern research developments in vascular mechanobiology in the context of hemodynamic phenomena in the cardiovascular system and the discrete localization of vascular disease. The modern origins of this field are traced, beginning in the 1960s when associations between flow characteristics, particularly blood flow-induced wall shear stress, and the localization of atherosclerotic plaques were uncovered, and continuing to fluid shear stress effects on the vascular lining endothelial) cells (ECs), including their effects on EC morphology, biochemical production, and gene expression. The earliest single-gene studies and genome-wide analyses are considered. The final section moves from the ECs lining the vessel wall to the smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts within the wall that are fluid me chanically activated by interstitial flow that imposes shear stresses on their surfaces comparable with those of flowing blood on EC surfaces. Interstitial flow stimulates biochemical production and gene expression, much like blood flow on ECs.

Ultrasound assisted particle and cell manipulation on-chip

Ultrasonic fields are able to exert forces on cells and other micron-scale particles, including microbubbles. The technology is compatible with existing lab-on-chip techniques and is complementary to many alternative manipulation approaches due to its ability to handle many cells simultaneously over extended length scales. This paper provides an overview of the physical principles underlying ultrasonic manipulation, discusses the biological effects relevant to its use with cells, and describes emerging applications that are of interest in the field of drug development and delivery on-chip.

Off-the-shelf microsponge arrays for facile and efficient construction of miniaturized 3D cellular microenvironments for versatile cell-based assays

The integration of microfabrication and biomaterials enables construction of miniaturized 3D microenvironments with biomimetic micro-architectural and functional features to advance cell-based assays for mechanism investigation of physio/pathology and for prediction of drug responses. However, current biomaterials-assisted constructions of miniaturized 3D cellular microenvironments usually involve cells in the microfabrication process, limiting their wide application in most biomedical labs, where expertise and facilities are not readily available. Here we tackle this challenge by developing off-the-shelf microsponge arrays as pre-formed micro-patterned templates which can separate the microfabrication steps from the cell-handling steps and miniaturize the cell-based assays. The microsponge arrays with tailored microarchitectures (e.g. micropillar/well arrays or bifurcated vascular network) could be stored and delivered to distant locations as ready-to-use chips. The highly porous and microscale sponges enabled automatic and uniform loading of cellular niche components (cells, matrices and soluble factors) by simply pipetting, making it accessible to any lab with basic cell culture setups. Meanwhile, the chips containing miniaturized 3D cellular microenvironments with versatile micro-architectural designs could be integrated (i.e. by autoloading and sandwiching) to enable novel 3D cell-based assays (e.g. discrete gradient-based cytotoxicity test and horizontal 3D invasion assay) in an efficient and parallel manner. The off-the-shelf platform based on microsponge array is expected to be widely applicable across multiple disciplines in cell biology, cell/tissue engineering and pharmacological science.

Acoustofluidics 17: theory and applications of surface acoustic wave devices for particle manipulation

In this paper, number 17 of the thematic tutorial series "Acoustofluidics-exploiting ultrasonic standing waves, forces and acoustic streaming in microfluidic systems for cell and particle manipulation", we present the theory of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) and some related microfluidic applications. The equations describing SAWs are derived for a solid-vacuum interface before generalisations are made about solid-solid and solid-fluid interfaces. Techniques for SAW generation are discussed before an overview of applications is presented.

Surface acoustic wave induced particle manipulation in a PDMS channel--principle concepts for continuous flow applications

A device for acoustic particle manipulation in the 40 MHz range for continuous-flow operation in a 50 μm wide PDMS channel has been evaluated. Unidirectional interdigital transducers on a Y-cut Z-propagation lithium nixobate wafer were used to excite a surface acoustic wave that generated an acoustic standing wave inside the microfluidic channel. It was shown that particle alignment nodes with different inter-node spacing could be obtained, depending on device design and driving frequency. The observed inter-node spacing differed from the standard half-wavelength inter-node spacing generally employed in bulk acoustic transducer excited resonant systems. This effect and the related issue of acoustic node positions relative the channel walls, which is fundamental for most continuous flow particle manipulation operations in channels, was evaluated in measurements and simulations. Specific applications of particle separation and alignment where these systems can offer benefits relative state-of the art designs were identified.

Acoustofluidics 9: Modelling and applications of planar resonant devices for acoustic particle manipulation

This article introduces the design, construction and applications of planar resonant devices for particle and cell manipulation. These systems rely on the pistonic action of a piezoelectric layer to generate a one dimensional axial variation in acoustic pressure through a system of acoustically tuned layers. The resulting acoustic standing wave is dominated by planar variations in pressure causing particles to migrate to planar pressure nodes (or antinodes depending on particle and fluid properties). The consequences of lateral variations in the fields are discussed, and rules for designing resonators with high energy density within the appropriate layer for a given drive voltage presented.

Cytocentrifugation: a convenient and efficient method for seeding tendon-derived cells into monolayer cultures or 3-D tissue engineering scaffolds

Tendon and ligament injuries are very common, requiring some 200,000 reconstructions per year in the USA. Autografting can be used to repair these but donor tissue is limited and harvesting leads to morbidity at the graft sites. Tissue engineering has been used to grow simple tissues such as skin, cartilage and bone and due to their low vascularity and simple structure, tendons should be ideal candidates for such an approach. Scaffolds are essential for tissue engineering as they provide structure and signals that regulate growth. However, they present a physical barrier to cell seeding with the majority of the cells congregating at the scaffold surface. To address this we used centrifugation to enhance penetration of tendon-derived cells to the centres of 3-D scaffolds. The process had no apparent deleterious effects on the cells and both plating efficiency and cell distribution improved. After attachment the cells continued to proliferate and deposit a collagenous matrix. Scaffold penetration was investigated using layers of Azowipes allowing the separation and examination of individual leaves. At relatively low g-forces, cells penetrated a stack of 6 Azowipes leaving cells attached to each leaf. These data suggest that cytocentrifugation improves the penetration and homogeneity of tendon derived cells in 3-D and monolayer cultures.

A novel automated cell-seeding device for tissue engineering of tubular scaffolds: design and functional validation

Obtaining an efficient, uniform and reproducible cell seeding of porous tubular scaffolds constitutes a major challenge for the successful development of tissue-engineered vascular grafts. In this study, a novel automated cell-seeding device utilizing direct cell deposition, patterning techniques and scaffold rotation was designed to improve the cell viability, uniformity and seeding efficiency of tubular constructs. Quantification methods and imaging techniques were used to evaluate these parameters on the luminal and abluminal sides of fibrous polymer scaffolds. With the automated seeding method, a high cell-seeding efficiency (~89%), viability (~85%) and uniformity (~85-92%) were achieved for both aortic smooth muscle cells (AoSMCs) and aortic endothelial cells (AoECs). The duration of the seeding process was < 8 min. Initial cell density, cell suspension in matrix-containing media, duration of seeding process and scaffold rotation were found to affect the seeding efficiency. After few days of culture, a uniform longitudinal and circumferential cell distribution was achieved without affecting cell viability. Both cell types were viable and spread along the fibres after 28 h and 6 days of static incubation. This new automated cell-seeding method for tubular scaffolds is efficient, reliable and meets all the requirements for clinical applicability.

Exploitation of physical and chemical constraints for three-dimensional microtissue construction in microfluidics

There are a plethora of approaches to construct microtissues as building blocks for the repair and regeneration of larger and complex tissues. Here we focus on various physical and chemical trapping methods for engineering three-dimensional microtissue constructs in microfluidic systems that recapitulate the in vivo tissue microstructures and functions. Advances in these in vitro tissue models have enabled various applications, including drug screening, disease or injury models, and cell-based biosensors. The future would see strides toward the mesoscale control of even finer tissue microstructures and the scaling of various designs for high throughput applications. These tools and knowledge will establish the foundation for precision engineering of complex tissues of the internal organs for biomedical applications.

Microfluidic devices for bioapplications

Harnessing the ability to precisely and reproducibly actuate fluids and manipulate bioparticles such as DNA, cells, and molecules at the microscale, microfluidics is a powerful tool that is currently revolutionizing chemical and biological analysis by replicating laboratory bench-top technology on a miniature chip-scale device, thus allowing assays to be carried out at a fraction of the time and cost while affording portability and field-use capability. Emerging from a decade of research and development in microfluidic technology are a wide range of promising laboratory and consumer biotechnological applications from microscale genetic and proteomic analysis kits, cell culture and manipulation platforms, biosensors, and pathogen detection systems to point-of-care diagnostic devices, high-throughput combinatorial drug screening platforms, schemes for targeted drug delivery and advanced therapeutics, and novel biomaterials synthesis for tissue engineering. The developments associated with these technological advances along with their respective applications to date are reviewed from a broad perspective and possible future directions that could arise from the current state of the art are discussed.

Perfusion cell seeding on large porous PLA/calcium phosphate composite scaffolds in a perfusion bioreactor system under varying perfusion parameters

A promising approach to bone tissue engineering lies in the use of perfusion bioreactors where cells are seeded and cultured on scaffolds under conditions of enhanced nutrient supply and removal of metabolic products. Fluid flow alterations can stimulate cell activity, making the engineering of tissue more efficient. Most bioreactor systems are used to culture cells on thin scaffold discs. In clinical use, however, bone substitutes of large dimensions are needed. In this study, MG63 osteoblast-like cells were seeded on large porous PLA/glass scaffolds with a custom developed perfusion bioreactor system. Cells were seeded by oscillating perfusion of cell suspension through the scaffolds. Applicable perfusion parameters for successful cell seeding were determined by varying fluid flow velocity and perfusion cycle number. After perfusion, cell seeding, the cell distribution, and cell seeding efficiency were determined. A fluid flow velocity of 5 mm/s had to be exceeded to achieve a uniform cell distribution throughout the scaffold interior. Cell seeding efficiencies of up to 50% were achieved. Results suggested that perfusion cycle number influenced cell seeding efficiency rather than fluid flow velocities. The cell seeding conducted is a promising basis for further long term cell culture studies in large porous scaffolds.

Effect of surface acoustic waves on the viability, proliferation and differentiation of primary osteoblast-like cells

Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) have been used as a rapid and efficient technique for driving microparticles into a three-dimensional scaffold matrix, raising the possibility that SAW may be effective in seeding live cells into scaffolds, that is, if the cells were able to survive the infusion process. Primary osteoblast-like cells were used to specifically address this issue: To investigate the effects of SAW on the cells' viability, proliferation, and differentiation. Fluorescence-labeled osteoblast-like cells were seeded into polycaprolactone scaffolds using the SAW method with a static method as a control. The cell distribution in the scaffold was assessed through image analysis. The cells were far more uniformly driven into the scaffold with the SAW method compared to the control, and the seeding process with SAW was also significantly faster: Cells were delivered into the scaffold in seconds compared to the hour-long process of static seeding. Over 80% of the osteoblast-like cells were found to be viable after being treated with SAW at 20 MHz for 10-30 s with an applied power of 380 mW over a wide range of cell suspension volumes (10-100 mul) and cell densities (1000-8000 cellsmul). After determining the optimal cell seeding parameters, we further found that the treated cells offered the same functionality as untreated cells. Taken together, these results show that the SAW method has significant potential as a practical scaffold cell seeding method for tissue and orthopedic engineering.