1
|
Mika T, Kalnins M, Spalvins K. The use of droplet-based microfluidic technologies for accelerated selection of Yarrowia lipolytica and Phaffia rhodozyma yeast mutants. Biol Methods Protoc 2024; 9:bpae049. [PMID: 39114747 PMCID: PMC11303513 DOI: 10.1093/biomethods/bpae049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2024] [Revised: 06/24/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Microorganisms are widely used for the industrial production of various valuable products, such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, biofuels, enzymes, amino acids, vaccines, etc. Research is constantly carried out to improve their properties, mainly to increase their productivity and efficiency and reduce the cost of the processes. The selection of microorganisms with improved qualities takes a lot of time and resources (both human and material); therefore, this process itself needs optimization. In the last two decades, microfluidics technology appeared in bioengineering, which allows for manipulating small particles (from tens of microns to nanometre scale) in the flow of liquid in microchannels. The technology is based on small-volume objects (microdroplets from nano to femtolitres), which are manipulated using a microchip. The chip is made of an optically transparent inert to liquid medium material and contains a series of channels of small size (<1 mm) of certain geometry. Based on the physical and chemical properties of microparticles (like size, weight, optical density, dielectric constant, etc.), they are separated using microsensors. The idea of accelerated selection of microorganisms is the application of microfluidic technologies to separate mutants with improved qualities after mutagenesis. This article discusses the possible application and practical implementation of microfluidic separation of mutants, including yeasts like Yarrowia lipolytica and Phaffia rhodozyma after chemical mutagenesis will be discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Taras Mika
- Institute of Energy Systems and Environment, Riga Technical University, 12 – K1 Āzene street, Riga, LV-1048, Latvia
| | - Martins Kalnins
- Institute of Energy Systems and Environment, Riga Technical University, 12 – K1 Āzene street, Riga, LV-1048, Latvia
| | - Kriss Spalvins
- Institute of Energy Systems and Environment, Riga Technical University, 12 – K1 Āzene street, Riga, LV-1048, Latvia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Li X, Tang S, Zhang Y, Zhu J, Forgham H, Zhao C, Zhang C, Davis TP, Qiao R. Tailored Fluorosurfactants through Controlled/Living Radical Polymerization for Highly Stable Microfluidic Droplet Generation. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202315552. [PMID: 38038248 PMCID: PMC10952479 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202315552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Droplet-based microfluidics represents a disruptive technology in the field of chemistry and biology through the generation and manipulation of sub-microlitre droplets. To avoid droplet coalescence, fluoropolymer-based surfactants are commonly used to reduce the interfacial tension between two immiscible phases to stabilize droplet interfaces. However, the conventional preparation of fluorosurfactants involves multiple steps of conjugation reactions between fluorinated and hydrophilic segments to form multiple-block copolymers. In addition, synthesis of customized surfactants with tailored properties is challenging due to the complex synthesis process. Here, we report a highly efficient synthetic method that utilizes living radical polymerization (LRP) to produce fluorosurfactants with tailored functionalities. Compared to the commercialized surfactant, our surfactants outperform in thermal cycling for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, and exhibit exceptional biocompatibility for cell and yeast culturing in a double-emulsion system. This breakthrough synthetic approach has the potential to revolutionize the field of droplet-based microfluidics by enabling the development of novel designs that generate droplets with superior stability and functionality for a wide range of applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiangke Li
- Australian Institute of Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandBrisbane, Queensland4072Australia
| | - Shi‐Yang Tang
- School of Electronics and Computer ScienceUniversity of SouthamptonSouthamptonSO17 1BJUK
| | - Yang Zhang
- School of Engineering, Faculty of Science and EngineeringMacquarie UniversitySydney, NSW2109Australia
| | - Jiayuan Zhu
- Australian Institute of Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandBrisbane, Queensland4072Australia
| | - Helen Forgham
- Australian Institute of Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandBrisbane, Queensland4072Australia
| | - Chun‐Xia Zhao
- Australian Institute of Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandBrisbane, Queensland4072Australia
- School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced MaterialsThe University of AdelaideAdelaide, SA5005Australia
| | - Cheng Zhang
- Australian Institute of Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandBrisbane, Queensland4072Australia
| | - Thomas P. Davis
- Australian Institute of Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandBrisbane, Queensland4072Australia
| | - Ruirui Qiao
- Australian Institute of Bioengineering and NanotechnologyThe University of QueenslandBrisbane, Queensland4072Australia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Xiao Q, Wang Y, Fan J, Yi Z, Hong H, Xie X, Huang QA, Fu J, Ouyang J, Zhao X, Wang Z, Zhu Z. A computer vision and residual neural network (ResNet) combined method for automated and accurate yeast replicative aging analysis of high-throughput microfluidic single-cell images. Biosens Bioelectron 2024; 244:115807. [PMID: 37948914 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2023] [Revised: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
With the rapid development of microfluidic platforms in high-throughput single-cell culturing, laborious operation to manipulate massive budding yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) in replicative aging studies has been greatly simplified and automated. As a result, large datasets of microscopy images bring challenges to fast and accurately determine yeast replicative lifespan (RLS), which is the most important parameter to study cell aging. Based on our microfluidic diploid yeast long-term culturing (DYLC) chip that features 1100 traps to immobilize single cells and record their proliferation and aging via time-lapse imaging, herein, a dedicated algorithm combined with computer vision and residual neural network (ResNet) was presented to efficiently process tremendous micrographs in a high-throughput and automated manner. The image-processing algorithm includes following pivotal steps: (i) segmenting multi-trap micrographs into time-lapse single-trap sub-images, (ii) labeling 8 yeast budding features and training the 18-layer ResNet, (iii) converting the ResNet predictions in analog values into digital signals, (iv) recognizing cell dynamic events, and (v) determining yeast RLS and budding time interval (BTI) ultimately. The ResNet algorithm achieved high F1 scores (over 92%) demonstrating the effectiveness and accuracy in the recognition of yeast budding events, such as bud appearance, daughter dissection and cell death. Therefore, the results conduct that similar deep learning algorithms could be tailored to analyze high-throughput microscopy images and extract multiple cell behaviors in microfluidic single-cell analysis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qin Xiao
- Southeast University, School of Integrated Circuits, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of MEMS of Ministry of Education, Sipailou 2, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Yingying Wang
- Southeast University, School of Integrated Circuits, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of MEMS of Ministry of Education, Sipailou 2, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Juncheng Fan
- Southeast University, School of Integrated Circuits, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of MEMS of Ministry of Education, Sipailou 2, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Zhenxiang Yi
- Southeast University, School of Integrated Circuits, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of MEMS of Ministry of Education, Sipailou 2, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Hua Hong
- Southeast University, School of Integrated Circuits, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of MEMS of Ministry of Education, Sipailou 2, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Xiao Xie
- Southeast University, School of Integrated Circuits, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of MEMS of Ministry of Education, Sipailou 2, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Qing-An Huang
- Southeast University, School of Integrated Circuits, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of MEMS of Ministry of Education, Sipailou 2, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Jiaming Fu
- Nanjing Forestry University, College of Chemical Engineering, Longpan Road 159, Nanjing, 210037, China
| | - Jia Ouyang
- Nanjing Forestry University, College of Chemical Engineering, Longpan Road 159, Nanjing, 210037, China
| | - Xiangwei Zhao
- Southeast University, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Sipailou 2, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Zixin Wang
- Sun Yat-Sen University, School of Electronics and Information Technology, Waihuan Dong Road 132, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
| | - Zhen Zhu
- Southeast University, School of Integrated Circuits, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of MEMS of Ministry of Education, Sipailou 2, Nanjing, 210096, China.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Torello Pianale L, Caputo F, Olsson L. Four ways of implementing robustness quantification in strain characterisation. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2023; 16:195. [PMID: 38115067 PMCID: PMC10729505 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-023-02445-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In industrial bioprocesses, microorganisms are generally selected based on performance, whereas robustness, i.e., the ability of a system to maintain a stable performance, has been overlooked due to the challenges in its quantification and implementation into routine experimental procedures. This work presents four ways of implementing robustness quantification during strain characterisation. One Saccharomyces cerevisiae laboratory strain (CEN.PK113-7D) and two industrial strains (Ethanol Red and PE2) grown in seven different lignocellulosic hydrolysates were assessed for growth-related functions (specific growth rate, product yields, etc.) and eight intracellular parameters (using fluorescent biosensors). RESULTS Using flasks and high-throughput experimental setups, robustness was quantified in relation to: (i) stability of growth functions in response to the seven hydrolysates; (ii) stability of growth functions across different strains to establish the impact of perturbations on yeast metabolism; (iii) stability of intracellular parameters over time; (iv) stability of intracellular parameters within a cell population to indirectly quantify population heterogeneity. Ethanol Red was the best-performing strain under all tested conditions, achieving the highest growth function robustness. PE2 displayed the highest population heterogeneity. Moreover, the intracellular environment varied in response to non-woody or woody lignocellulosic hydrolysates, manifesting increased oxidative stress and unfolded protein response, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Robustness quantification is a powerful tool for strain characterisation as it offers novel information on physiological and biochemical parameters. Owing to the flexibility of the robustness quantification method, its implementation was successfully validated at single-cell as well as high-throughput levels, showcasing its versatility and potential for several applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luca Torello Pianale
- Industrial Biotechnology Division, Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Fabio Caputo
- Industrial Biotechnology Division, Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Lisbeth Olsson
- Industrial Biotechnology Division, Department of Life Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Zhuang S, Liu H, Inglis DW, Li M. Tuneable Cell-Laden Double-Emulsion Droplets for Enhanced Signal Detection. Anal Chem 2023; 95:2039-2046. [PMID: 36634052 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c04697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) or double-emulsion (DE) droplets have been widely used for cellular assays at a single-cell level because of their stability and biocompatibility. The oil shell of w/o/w droplets plays the role of a semipermeable membrane that allows substances with low molecular weight (e.g., water) to travel through but restricts those with high molecular weight (e.g., fluorescent biomarkers). Therefore, the core of DEs can be manipulated using osmosis, resulting in the shrinking or swelling of the core. Water leaves the inner aqueous phase to the outer phase via the oil shell when the osmotic pressure of the outer phase is higher than that in the inner phase, causing the shrinkage of DEs and vice versa. These processes can be achieved by transferring the DEs to hypertonic or hypotonic solutions. Manipulation of the core size of DEs can be beneficial to cellular assays. First, due to the selectivity of the oil shell of DEs, the concentration of biomarkers in the core increases when the inner aqueous phase is shrunk, resulting in the enhancement of biosignals. We demonstrate this by encapsulating the Bgl3 enzyme-secreting yeast with a substrate that displays fluorescence after hydrolyzation. In a second application, a single GFP-tagged yeast cell was encapsulated in DEs. After swelling the core of DEs, we observe that the larger core of DEs promotes cell growth compared to those with the smaller cores, leading to more intracellular proteins (green-fluorescent protein) for screening. These osmotic manipulations provide new tools for droplet-based biochemistry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Siyuan Zhuang
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Hangrui Liu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - David W Inglis
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Ming Li
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
- Biomolecular Discovery Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Recent advances of integrated microfluidic systems for fungal and bacterial analysis. Trends Analyt Chem 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2022.116850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
|
7
|
Zhang T, Liu H, Okano K, Tang T, Inoue K, Yamazaki Y, Kamikubo H, Cain AK, Tanaka Y, Inglis DW, Hosokawa Y, Yaxiaer Y, Li M. Shape-based separation of drug-treated Escherichia coli using viscoelastic microfluidics. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:2801-2809. [PMID: 35642562 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00339b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Here, we achieve shape-based separation of drug-treated Escherichia coli (E. coli) by viscoelastic microfluidics. Since shape is critical for modulating biological functions of E. coli, the ability to prepare homogeneous E. coli populations adopting uniform shape or sort bacterial sub-population based on their shape has significant implications for a broad range of biological, biomedical and environmental applications. A proportion of E. coli treated with 1 μg mL-1 of the antibiotic mecillinam were found to exhibit changes in shape from rod to sphere, and the heterogeneous E. coli populations after drug treatment with various aspect ratios (ARs) ranging from 1.0 to 5.5 were used for experiment. We demonstrate that E. coli with a lower AR, i.e., spherical E. coli (AR ≤ 1.5), are directed toward the middle outlet, while rod-shaped E. coli with a higher AR (AR > 1.5) are driven to the side outlets. Further, we demonstrate that the separation performance of the viscoelastic microfluidic device is influenced by two main factors: sheath-to-sample flow rate ratio and the concentration of poly-ethylene-oxide (PEO). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on shape-based separation of a single species of cells smaller than 4 μm by microfluidics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tianlong Zhang
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney 2122, NSW, Australia.
- Division of Materials Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 630-0192, Ikoma, Japan.
| | - Hangrui Liu
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney 2122, NSW, Australia.
| | - Kazunori Okano
- Division of Materials Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 630-0192, Ikoma, Japan.
| | - Tao Tang
- Division of Materials Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 630-0192, Ikoma, Japan.
| | - Kazuki Inoue
- Division of Materials Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 630-0192, Ikoma, Japan.
| | - Yoichi Yamazaki
- Division of Materials Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 630-0192, Ikoma, Japan.
| | - Hironari Kamikubo
- Division of Materials Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 630-0192, Ikoma, Japan.
| | - Amy K Cain
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney 2122, NSW, Australia
| | - Yo Tanaka
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, RIKEN, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - David W Inglis
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney 2122, NSW, Australia.
| | - Yoichiroh Hosokawa
- Division of Materials Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 630-0192, Ikoma, Japan.
| | - Yalikun Yaxiaer
- Division of Materials Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 630-0192, Ikoma, Japan.
| | - Ming Li
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney 2122, NSW, Australia.
- Biomolecular Discovery Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney 2122, NSW, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Anggraini D, Ota N, Shen Y, Tang T, Tanaka Y, Hosokawa Y, Li M, Yalikun Y. Recent advances in microfluidic devices for single-cell cultivation: methods and applications. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:1438-1468. [PMID: 35274649 DOI: 10.1039/d1lc01030a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Single-cell analysis is essential to improve our understanding of cell functionality from cellular and subcellular aspects for diagnosis and therapy. Single-cell cultivation is one of the most important processes in single-cell analysis, which allows the monitoring of actual information of individual cells and provides sufficient single-cell clones and cell-derived products for further analysis. The microfluidic device is a fast-rising system that offers efficient, effective, and sensitive single-cell cultivation and real-time single-cell analysis conducted either on-chip or off-chip. Here, we introduce the importance of single-cell cultivation from the aspects of cellular and subcellular studies. We highlight the materials and structures utilized in microfluidic devices for single-cell cultivation. We further discuss biological applications utilizing single-cell cultivation-based microfluidics, such as cellular phenotyping, cell-cell interactions, and omics profiling. Finally, present limitations and future prospects of microfluidics for single-cell cultivation are also discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dian Anggraini
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
| | - Nobutoshi Ota
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yigang Shen
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Tao Tang
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
| | - Yo Tanaka
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yoichiroh Hosokawa
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
| | - Ming Li
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney 2122, Australia.
| | - Yaxiaer Yalikun
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
|
10
|
Liu P, Liu H, Semenec L, Yuan D, Yan S, Cain AK, Li M. Length-based separation of Bacillus subtilis bacterial populations by viscoelastic microfluidics. MICROSYSTEMS & NANOENGINEERING 2022; 8:7. [PMID: 35127130 PMCID: PMC8766588 DOI: 10.1038/s41378-021-00333-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we demonstrated the label-free continuous separation and enrichment of Bacillus subtilis populations based on length using viscoelastic microfluidics. B. subtilis, a gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium, has been widely used as a model organism and an industrial workhorse. B. subtilis can be arranged in different morphological forms, such as single rods, chains, and clumps, which reflect differences in cell types, phases of growth, genetic variation, and changing environmental factors. The ability to prepare B. subtilis populations with a uniform length is important for basic biological studies and efficient industrial applications. Here, we systematically investigated how flow rate ratio, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) concentration, and channel length affected the length-based separation of B. subtilis cells. The lateral positions of B. subtilis cells with varying morphologies in a straight rectangular microchannel were found to be dependent on cell length under the co-flow of viscoelastic and Newtonian fluids. Finally, we evaluated the ability of the viscoelastic microfluidic device to separate the two groups of B. subtilis cells by length (i.e., 1-5 μm and >5 μm) in terms of extraction purity (EP), extraction yield (EY), and enrichment factor (EF) and confirmed that the device could separate heterogeneous populations of bacteria using elasto-inertial effects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ping Liu
- Suqian University, Suqian, 223800 China
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109 Australia
| | - Hangrui Liu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109 Australia
| | - Lucie Semenec
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Department of Molecular Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109 Australia
| | - Dan Yuan
- Centre for Regional and Rural Futures, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3216 Australia
| | - Sheng Yan
- Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060 China
| | - Amy K. Cain
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Department of Molecular Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109 Australia
| | - Ming Li
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109 Australia
- Biomolecular Discovery Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109 Australia
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
3-D Culture of Marine Sponge Cells for Production of Bioactive Compounds. Mar Drugs 2021; 19:md19100569. [PMID: 34677467 PMCID: PMC8540762 DOI: 10.3390/md19100569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Production of sponge-derived bioactive compounds in vitro has been proposed as an alternative to wild harvest, aquaculture, and chemical synthesis to meet the demands of clinical drug development and manufacture. Until recently, this was not possible because there were no marine invertebrate cell lines. Recent breakthroughs in the development of sponge cell lines and rapid cell division in improved nutrient media now make this approach a viable option. We hypothesized that three-dimensional (3-D) cell cultures would better represent how sponges function in nature, including the production of bioactive compounds. We successfully cultured sponge cells in 3-D matrices using FibraCel® disks, thin hydrogel layers, and gel microdroplets (GMDs). For in vitro production of bioactive compounds, the use of GMDs is recommended. Nutrients and sponge products rapidly diffuse into and out of the 3-D matrix, the GMDs may be scaled up in spinner flasks, and cells and/or secreted products can be easily recovered. Research on scale-up and production is in progress in our laboratory.
Collapse
|
12
|
Nakagawa Y, Ohnuki S, Kondo N, Itto-Nakama K, Ghanegolmohammadi F, Isozaki A, Ohya Y, Goda K. Are droplets really suitable for single-cell analysis? A case study on yeast in droplets. LAB ON A CHIP 2021; 21:3793-3803. [PMID: 34581379 DOI: 10.1039/d1lc00469g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Single-cell analysis has become one of the main cornerstones of biotechnology, inspiring the advent of various microfluidic compartments for cell cultivation such as microwells, microtrappers, microcapillaries, and droplets. A fundamental assumption for using such microfluidic compartments is that unintended stress or harm to cells derived from the microenvironments is insignificant, which is a crucial condition for carrying out unbiased single-cell studies. Despite the significance of this assumption, simple viability or growth tests have overwhelmingly been the assay of choice for evaluating culture conditions while empirical studies on the sub-lethal effect on cellular functions have been insufficient in many cases. In this work, we assessed the effect of culturing cells in droplets on the cellular function using yeast morphology as an indicator. Quantitative morphological analysis using CalMorph, an image-analysis program, demonstrated that cells cultured in flasks, large droplets, and small droplets significantly differed morphologically. From these differences, we identified that the cell cycle was delayed in droplets during the G1 phase and during the process of bud growth likely due to the checkpoint mechanism and impaired mitochondrial function, respectively. Furthermore, comparing small and large droplets, cells cultured in large droplets were morphologically more similar to those cultured in a flask, highlighting the advantage of increasing the droplet size. These results highlight a potential source of bias in cell analysis using droplets and reinforce the significance of assessing culture conditions of microfluidic cultivation methods for specific study cases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuta Nakagawa
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
| | - Shinsuke Ohnuki
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8562, Japan
| | - Naoko Kondo
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8562, Japan
| | - Kaori Itto-Nakama
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8562, Japan
| | - Farzan Ghanegolmohammadi
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8562, Japan
| | - Akihiro Isozaki
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
| | - Yoshikazu Ohya
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8562, Japan
- Collaborative Research Institute for Innovative Microbiology, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8654, Japan.
| | - Keisuke Goda
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
- Department of Bioengineering, Samueli School of Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, 420 Westwood Plaza, California 90095, USA
- Institute of Technological Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Liu H, Piper JA, Li M. Rapid, Simple, and Inexpensive Spatial Patterning of Wettability in Microfluidic Devices for Double Emulsion Generation. Anal Chem 2021; 93:10955-10965. [PMID: 34323465 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c01861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) double emulsion (DE) encapsulation has been widely used as a promising platform technology for various applications in the fields of food, cosmetics, pharmacy, chemical engineering, materials science, and synthetic biology. Unfortunately, DEs formed by conventional emulsion generation approaches in most cases are highly polydisperse, making them less desirable for quantitative assays, controlled biomaterial synthesis, and entrapped ingredient release. Microfluidic devices can generate monodisperse DEs with controllable size, morphology, and production rate, but these generally require multistep fabrication processes and use of different solvents or bulky external instrumentation to pattern channel wettability. To overcome these limitations, we propose a rapid, simple, and inexpensive method to spatially pattern wettability in microfluidic devices for the continuous generation of monodisperse DEs. This is achieved by applying corona-plasma treatment to a select zone of the microchannel surface aided by a custom-designed corona resistance microchannel to strictly confine the plasma-treatment zone in a single polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic device. The properties of PDMS channel surfaces and key microchannel regions for DE generation are characterized under different levels of treatment. The size, shell thickness, and number of inner cores of generated DEs are shown to be highly controllable by tuning the phase flow rate ratios. Using DEs as templates, we successfully achieve a one-step generation and collection of gelatin microgels. Additionally, we demonstrate the biological capability of generated DEs by flow cytometric screening of the encapsulation and growth of yeast cells within DEs. We expect that the proposed approach will be widely used to create microfluidic devices with more complex wettability patterns.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hangrui Liu
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, Macquarie University, Balaclava Road, North Ryde, New South Wales 2109, Australia.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University, Balaclava Road, North Ryde, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - James A Piper
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, Macquarie University, Balaclava Road, North Ryde, New South Wales 2109, Australia.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University, Balaclava Road, North Ryde, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Ming Li
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Balaclava Road, North Ryde, New South Wales 2109, Australia.,Biomolecular Discovery Research Centre, Macquarie University, Balaclava Road, North Ryde, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Liu P, Liu H, Yuan D, Jang D, Yan S, Li M. Separation and Enrichment of Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by Shape Using Viscoelastic Microfluidics. Anal Chem 2020; 93:1586-1595. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c03990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ping Liu
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
- Suqian University, Suqian, 223800, China
| | - Hangrui Liu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Dan Yuan
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Daniel Jang
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Sheng Yan
- Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Ming Li
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| |
Collapse
|