Patterning microbeads inside poly(dimethylsiloxane) microfluidic channels and its application for immobilized microfluidic enzyme reactors

Hydrogel/enzyme dots as adaptable tool for non-compartmentalized multi-enzymatic reactions in microfluidic devices

Validating the robustness and activity of hydrogel/enzyme dots as adaptable tool for non-compartmentalized multi-enzymatic reactions in microfluidic devices under continuous flow.

Current status and future developments in preparation and application of nonspherical polymer particles

Nonspherical polymer particles (NPPs) are nano/micro-particulates of macromolecules that are anisotropic in shape, and can be designed anisotropic in chemistry. Due to shape and surface anisotropies, NPPs bear many unique structures and fascinating properties which are distinctly different from those of spherical polymer particles (SPPs). In recent years, the research on NPPs has surprisingly blossomed in recent years, and many practical materials based on NPPs with potential applications in photonic device, material science and biomedical engineering have been generated. In this review, we give a systematic, balanced and comprehensive summary of the main aspects of NPPs related to their preparation and application, and propose perspectives for the future developments of NPPs.

Recent advances in nonbiofouling PDMS surface modification strategies applicable to microfluidic technology

In the last decade microfabrication processes including rapid prototyping techniques have advanced rapidly and achieved a fairly mature stage. These advances have encouraged and enabled the use of microfluidic devices by a wider range of users with applications in biological separations and cell and organoid cultures. Accordingly, a significant current challenge in the field is controlling biomolecular interactions at interfaces and the development of novel biomaterials to satisfy the unique needs of the biomedical applications. Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) is one of the most widely used materials in the fabrication of microfluidic devices. The popularity of this material is the result of its low cost, simple fabrication allowing rapid prototyping, high optical transparency, and gas permeability. However, a major drawback of PDMS is its hydrophobicity and fast hydrophobic recovery after surface hydrophilization. This results in significant nonspecific adsorption of proteins as well as small hydrophobic molecules such as therapeutic drugs limiting the utility of PDMS in biomedical microfluidic circuitry. Accordingly, here, we focus on recent advances in surface molecular treatments to prevent fouling of PDMS surfaces towards improving its utility and expanding its use cases in biomedical applications.

Single-step laser-based fabrication and patterning of cell-encapsulated alginate microbeads

Alginate can be used to encapsulate mammalian cells and for the slow release of small molecules. Packaging alginate as microbead structures allows customizable delivery for tissue engineering, drug release, or contrast agents for imaging. However, state-of-the-art microbead fabrication has a limited range in achievable bead sizes, and poor control over bead placement, which may be desired to localize cellular signaling or delivery. Herein, we present a novel, laser-based method for single-step fabrication and precise planar placement of alginate microbeads. Our results show that bead size is controllable within 8%, and fabricated microbeads can remain immobilized within 2% of their target placement. Demonstration of this technique using human breast cancer cells shows that cells encapsulated within these microbeads survive at a rate of 89.6%, decreasing to 84.3% after five days in culture. Infusing rhodamine dye into microbeads prior to fluorescent microscopy shows their 3D spheroidal geometry and the ability to sequester small molecules. Microbead fabrication and patterning is compatible with conventional cellular transfer and patterning by laser direct-write, allowing location-based cellular studies. While this method can also be used to fabricate microbeads en masse for collection, the greatest value to tissue engineering and drug delivery studies and applications lies in the pattern registry of printed microbeads.

Patterned polymer nanowire arrays as an effective protein immobilizer for biosensing and HIV detection

We report an array of polymeric nanowires for effectively immobilizing biomolecules on biochips owing to the large surface area. The nanowires were fabricated in predesigned patterns using an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching process. Microfluidic biochips integrated using the substrates with arrays of nanowires and polydimethylsiloxane channels have been demonstrated to be effective for detecting antigens, and a detection limit of antigens at 0.2 μg mL(-1) has been achieved, which is improved by a factor of 50 compared to that based on flat substrates without the nanowires. In addition, the high sensitivity for clinical detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody has also been demonstrated, showing a 20 times enhancement in fluorescent signal intensity between the samples with positive and negative HIV.

Microfluidic bead-based enzymatic primer extension for single-nucleotide discrimination using quantum dots as labels

This study reports the development of an on-chip enzyme-mediated primer extension process based on a microfluidic device with microbeads array for single-nucleotide discrimination using quantum dots as labels. The functionalized microbeads were independently introduced into the arrayed chambers using the loading chip slab. A single channel was used to generate weir structures to confine the microbeads and make the beads array accessible by microfluidics. The applied allele-specific primer extension method employed a nucleotide-degrading enzyme (apyrase) to achieve specific single-nucleotide detection. Based on the apyrase-mediated allele-specific primer extension with quantum dots as labels, on-chip single-nucleotide discrimination was demonstrated with high discrimination specificity and sensitivity (0.5 pM, signal/noise > 3) using synthesized target DNA. The chip-based signal enhancement for single-nucleotide discrimination resulted in 200 times higher sensitivity than that of an off-chip test. This microfluidic device successfully achieved simultaneous detection of two disease-associated single-nucleotide polymorphism sites using polymerase chain reaction products as target. This apyrase-mediated microfluidic primer extension approach combines the rapid binding kinetics of homogeneous assays of suspended microbeads array, the liquid handling capability of microfluidics, and the fluorescence detection sensitivity of quantum dots to provide a platform for single-base analysis with small reagent consumption, short assay time, and parallel detection.

In vitro model on glass surfaces for complex interactions between different types of cells

This report establishes an in vitro model on glass surfaces for patterning multiple types of cells to simulate cell-cell interactions in vivo. The model employs a microfluidic system and poly(ethylene glycol)-terminated oxysilane (PEG-oxysilane) to modify glass surfaces in order to resist cell adhesion. The system allows the selective confinement of different types of cells to realize complete confinement, partial confinement, and no confinement of three types of cells on glass surfaces. The model was applied to study intercellular interactions among human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), PLA 801 C and PLA801 D cells.

Study on the kinetics of homogeneous enzyme reactions in a micro/nanofluidics device

In this paper, a micro/nanofluidic preconcentration device integrated with an electrochemical detector has been used to study the enrichment of enzymes and homogeneous enzyme reaction kinetics. The enzymes are first concentrated in front of a nanochannel via an exclusion-enrichment effect (EEE) mechanism of the nanochannel integrated in a microfluidics device. If a substrate is electrokinetically transported to the concentrated enzymes, homogeneous enzymatic reaction occurs. The enzymatic reaction product can penetrate through the nanochannel to be detected electrochemically. In this device, the enriched enzymes can be well retained and repeatedly used, thus, the enzymatic reaction occurs in a continuous-flow mode. For demonstration, Glucose oxidase (GOx) was chosen as the model enzyme to study the influence of enzyme concentration on its reaction kinetics. The different concentration of GOx in front of the nanochannel was simply achieved by using different enrichment time. When substrate glucose was introduced electrokinetically, a rapid electrochemical steady-state response could be obtained. It was found that the electrochemical response to a constant glucose concentration increased with the increase of enzyme enrichment time, which is expected for homogeneous enzymatic reactions. Under proper conditions, the electrochemical responds linearly to the glucose concentration ranging from 0 to 15 mM, and the Michaelis constants (K(m)) are relatively low, which indicates a more efficient complex formation between enzyme and substrate. These results suggest that the present micro/nanofluidics device is promising for the study of enzymatic reaction kinetics and other bioassays such as cell assays, drug discovery, and clinical diagnosis.

In-situ synthesis of poly(dimethylsiloxane)-gold nanoparticles composite films and its application in microfluidic systems

We presented a simple approach for in-situ synthesis of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-gold nanoparticles composite film based on the special characteristics of PDMS itself. It is an environmentally safe synthesis method without the requirement of additional reducing/stabilizing agents. The region where the resulting gold nanoparticles distribute (in the matrix or on the surface of the polymer) and the size of the nanoparticles, as well as the colour of the free-standing films, can be simply controlled by adjusting the ratio of curing agent and the PDMS monomer. The chemical and optical properties of these composite films were studied. Using such a method, gold nanoparticle micropatterns on PDMS surfaces can be performed. And based on the gold nanoparticles micropattern, further modification with antibodies, antigens, enzymes and other biomolecules can be achieved. To verify this ability, an immobilized glucose oxidase (GOx) reactor in microchannels was built and its performance was studied. The experiments have shown that the resulting composite film may have a lot of potential merits in protein immobilization, immunoassays and other biochemical analysis on PDMS microchips.