1
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Yang Y, Vagin SI, Rieger B, Destgeer G. Fabrication of Crescent Shaped Microparticles for Particle Templated Droplet Formation. Macromol Rapid Commun 2024; 45:e2300721. [PMID: 38615246 DOI: 10.1002/marc.202300721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Revised: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024]
Abstract
Crescent-shaped hydrogel microparticles are shown to template uniform volume aqueous droplets upon simple mixing with aqueous and oil media for various bioassays. This emerging "lab on a particle" technique requires hydrogel particles with tunable material properties and dimensions. The crescent shape of the particles is attained by aqueous two-phase separation of polymers followed by photopolymerization of the curable precursor. In this work, the phase separation of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA, Mw 700) and dextran (Mw 40 000) for tunable manufacturing of crescent-shaped particles is investigated. The particles' morphology is precisely tuned by following a phase diagram, varying the UV intensity, and adjusting the flow rates of various streams. The fabricated particles with variable dimensions encapsulate uniform aqueous droplets upon mixing with an oil phase. The particles are fluorescently labeled with red and blue emitting dyes at variable concentrations to produce six color-coded particles. The blue fluorescent dye shows a moderate response to the pH change. The fluorescently labeled particles are able to tolerate an extremely acidic solution (pH 1) but disintegrate within an extremely basic solution (pH 14). The particle-templated droplets are able to effectively retain the disintegrating particle and the fluorescent signal at pH 14.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yimin Yang
- Control and Manipulation of Microscale Living Objects, Department of Electrical Engineering, TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology, TranslaTUM - Center for Translational Cancer Research, Technical University of Munich, Einsteinstraße 25, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Sergei I Vagin
- WACKER-Chair of Macromolecular Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstraße 4, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Bernhard Rieger
- WACKER-Chair of Macromolecular Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstraße 4, 85748, Garching, Germany
| | - Ghulam Destgeer
- Control and Manipulation of Microscale Living Objects, Department of Electrical Engineering, TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology, TranslaTUM - Center for Translational Cancer Research, Technical University of Munich, Einsteinstraße 25, 81675, Munich, Germany
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2
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Liang L, Liang M, Zuo Z, Ai Y. Label-free single-cell analysis in microdroplets using a light-scattering-based optofluidic chip. Biosens Bioelectron 2024; 253:116148. [PMID: 38428071 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2024.116148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Droplet-based single-cell analysis is a very powerful tool for studying phenotypic and genomic heterogeneity at single-cell resolution for a variety of biological problems. In conventional two-phase droplet microfluidics, due to the mismatch in optical properties between oil and aqueous phases, light scattering mainly happens at the oil/water interface that disables light-scattering-based cell analysis confined in microdroplets. Detection and analysis of cells in microdroplets thus mostly rely on the fluorescence labeling of cell samples, which may suffer from complex operation, cytotoxicity, and low fluorescence stability. In this work, we propose a novel light-scattering-based droplet screening (LSDS) that can effectively detect and characterize single cells confined in droplets by adjusting the optical properties of droplets in a multiangle optofluidic chip. Theoretical and simulated calculations suggest that refractive index (RI) matching in droplet two-phase materials can reduce or eliminate droplets' scattered signals (background signal), enabling the differentiation of scattered signals from single cells and particles within droplets. Furthermore, by using a set of multiangle (from -145° to 140°) optical fibers integrated into the optofluidic chip, the scattered light properties of droplets with the RI ranging from 1.334 to 1.429 are measured. We find that the smaller the RI and size of microparticles inside droplets are, the smaller the RI difference between two-phase materials Δn is required. Especially, when Δn is smaller than 0.02, single cells in droplets can be detected and analyzed solely based on light scattering. This capability allows to accurately detect droplets containing one single cell and one single gel bead, a typical droplet encapsulation for single-cell sequencing. Altogether, this work provides a powerful platform for high-throughput label-free single-cell analysis in microdroplets for diverse single-cell related biological assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Liang
- School of Physics and Electronic Information, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, 241000, China
| | - Minhui Liang
- Pillar of Engineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore, 487372, Singapore
| | - Zewen Zuo
- School of Physics and Electronic Information, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, 241000, China
| | - Ye Ai
- Pillar of Engineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore, 487372, Singapore.
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3
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Ma L, Zhao X, Hou J, Huang L, Yao Y, Ding Z, Wei J, Hao N. Droplet Microfluidic Devices: Working Principles, Fabrication Methods, and Scale-Up Applications. SMALL METHODS 2024:e2301406. [PMID: 38594964 DOI: 10.1002/smtd.202301406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Compared with the conventional emulsification method, droplets generated within microfluidic devices exhibit distinct advantages such as precise control of fluids, exceptional monodispersity, uniform morphology, flexible manipulation, and narrow size distribution. These inherent benefits, including intrinsic safety, excellent heat and mass transfer capabilities, and large surface-to-volume ratio, have led to the widespread applications of droplet-based microfluidics across diverse fields, encompassing chemical engineering, particle synthesis, biological detection, diagnostics, emulsion preparation, and pharmaceuticals. However, despite its promising potential for versatile applications, the practical utilization of this technology in commercial and industrial is extremely limited to the inherently low production rates achievable within a single microchannel. Over the past two decades, droplet-based microfluidics has evolved significantly, considerably transitioning from a proof-of-concept stage to industrialization. And now there is a growing trend towards translating academic research into commercial and industrial applications, primarily driven by the burgeoning demands of various fields. This paper comprehensively reviews recent advancements in droplet-based microfluidics, covering the fundamental working principles and the critical aspect of scale-up integration from working principles to scale-up integration. Based on the existing scale-up strategies, the paper also outlines the future research directions, identifies the potential opportunities, and addresses the typical unsolved challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Ma
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 28 Xianning West Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, P. R. China
| | - Xiong Zhao
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 28 Xianning West Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, P. R. China
| | - Junsheng Hou
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 28 Xianning West Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, P. R. China
| | - Lei Huang
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 28 Xianning West Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, P. R. China
| | - Yilong Yao
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 28 Xianning West Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, P. R. China
| | - Zihan Ding
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 28 Xianning West Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, P. R. China
| | - Jinjia Wei
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 28 Xianning West Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, P. R. China
| | - Nanjing Hao
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 28 Xianning West Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, P. R. China
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4
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Chen T, Zhang S, Yang J, Li Y, Kogure E, Zhu Y, Xiong W, Chen E, Shi G. Metabarcoding Analysis of Microorganisms Inside Household Washing Machines in Shanghai, China. Microorganisms 2024; 12:160. [PMID: 38257987 PMCID: PMC10819172 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12010160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 12/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Washing machines are one of the tools that bring great convenience to people's daily lives. However, washing machines that have been used for a long time often develop issues such as odor and mold, which can pose health hazards to consumers. There exists a conspicuous gap in our understanding of the microorganisms that inhabit the inner workings of washing machines. In this study, samples were collected from 22 washing machines in Shanghai, China, including both water eluted from different parts of washing machines and biofilms. Quantitative qualitative analysis was performed using fluorescence PCR quantification, and microbial communities were characterized by high-throughput sequencing (HTS). This showed that the microbial communities in all samples were predominantly composed of bacteria. HTS results showed that in the eluted water samples, the bacteria mainly included Pseudomonas, Enhydrobacter, Brevibacterium, and Acinetobacter. Conversely, in the biofilm samples, Enhydrobacter and Brevibacterium were the predominant bacterial microorganisms. Correlation analysis results revealed that microbial colonies in washing machines were significantly correlated with years of use and the type of detergent used to clean the washing machine. As numerous pathogenic microorganisms can be observed in the results, effective preventive measures and future research are essential to mitigate these health problems and ensure the continued safe use of these household appliances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Chen
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- KAO (China) Research and Development Center, No. 623, Ziri Road, Minhang District, Shanghai 100098, China (Y.Z.); (W.X.); (E.C.)
- National Engineering Research Center for Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214000, China
- Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Shu Zhang
- KAO (China) Research and Development Center, No. 623, Ziri Road, Minhang District, Shanghai 100098, China (Y.Z.); (W.X.); (E.C.)
| | - Juan Yang
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- National Engineering Research Center for Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214000, China
- Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Youran Li
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- National Engineering Research Center for Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214000, China
- Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Eiichi Kogure
- Kao Corporation, 1334, Minato, Wakayama 640-8580, Japan
| | - Ye Zhu
- KAO (China) Research and Development Center, No. 623, Ziri Road, Minhang District, Shanghai 100098, China (Y.Z.); (W.X.); (E.C.)
| | - Weiqi Xiong
- KAO (China) Research and Development Center, No. 623, Ziri Road, Minhang District, Shanghai 100098, China (Y.Z.); (W.X.); (E.C.)
| | - Enhui Chen
- KAO (China) Research and Development Center, No. 623, Ziri Road, Minhang District, Shanghai 100098, China (Y.Z.); (W.X.); (E.C.)
| | - Guiyang Shi
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
- National Engineering Research Center for Cereal Fermentation and Food Biomanufacturing, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214000, China
- Jiangsu Provincial Research Center for Bioactive Product Processing Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
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5
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Zhao J, Guo Y, Ma X, Liu S, Sun C, Cai M, Chi Y, Xu K. The Application of Hybridization Chain Reaction in the Detection of Foodborne Pathogens. Foods 2023; 12:4067. [PMID: 38002125 PMCID: PMC10670596 DOI: 10.3390/foods12224067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Today, with the globalization of the food trade progressing, food safety continues to warrant widespread attention. Foodborne diseases caused by contaminated food, including foodborne pathogens, seriously threaten public health and the economy. This has led to the development of more sensitive and accurate methods for detecting pathogenic bacteria. Many signal amplification techniques have been used to improve the sensitivity of foodborne pathogen detection. Among them, hybridization chain reaction (HCR), an isothermal nucleic acid hybridization signal amplification technique, has received increasing attention due to its enzyme-free and isothermal characteristics, and pathogenic bacteria detection methods using HCR for signal amplification have experienced rapid development in the last five years. In this review, we first describe the development of detection technologies for food contaminants represented by pathogens and introduce the fundamental principles, classifications, and characteristics of HCR. Furthermore, we highlight the application of various biosensors based on HCR nucleic acid amplification technology in detecting foodborne pathogens. Lastly, we summarize and offer insights into the prospects of HCR technology and its application in pathogen detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinbin Zhao
- School of Medicine, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410013, China;
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
| | - Yulan Guo
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
| | - Xueer Ma
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
| | - Shitong Liu
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
| | - Chunmeng Sun
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
| | - Ming Cai
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
| | - Yuyang Chi
- Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, China
| | - Kun Xu
- School of Medicine, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410013, China;
- The Research Center of Reproduction and Translational Medicine of Hunan Province, Changsha 410013, China
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6
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Zhang L, Parvin R, Chen M, Hu D, Fan Q, Ye F. High-throughput microfluidic droplets in biomolecular analytical system: A review. Biosens Bioelectron 2023; 228:115213. [PMID: 36906989 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
Droplet microfluidic technology has revolutionized biomolecular analytical research, as it has the capability to reserve the genotype-to-phenotype linkage and assist for revealing the heterogeneity. Massive and uniform picolitre droplets feature dividing solution to the level that single cell and single molecule in each droplet can be visualized, barcoded, and analyzed. Then, the droplet assays can unfold intensive genomic data, offer high sensitivity, and screen and sort from a large number of combinations or phenotypes. Based on these unique advantages, this review focuses on up-to-date research concerning diverse screening applications utilizing droplet microfluidic technology. The emerging progress of droplet microfluidic technology is first introduced, including efficient and scaling-up in droplets encapsulation, and prevalent batch operations. Then the new implementations of droplet-based digital detection assays and single-cell muti-omics sequencing are briefly examined, along with related applications such as drug susceptibility testing, multiplexing for cancer subtype identification, interactions of virus-to-host, and multimodal and spatiotemporal analysis. Meanwhile, we specialize in droplet-based large-scale combinational screening regarding desired phenotypes, with an emphasis on sorting for immune cells, antibodies, enzymatic properties, and proteins produced by directed evolution methods. Finally, some challenges, deployment and future perspective of droplet microfluidics technology in practice are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lexiang Zhang
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China; Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Tissue Repair Materials, Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China
| | - Rokshana Parvin
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China; Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Tissue Repair Materials, Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China
| | - Mingshuo Chen
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China; Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Tissue Repair Materials, Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China
| | - Dingmeng Hu
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China; Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Tissue Repair Materials, Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China
| | - Qihui Fan
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China; Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Tissue Repair Materials, Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China; Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
| | - Fangfu Ye
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China; Zhejiang Engineering Research Center for Tissue Repair Materials, Wenzhou Institute, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, China; Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
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7
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On Classification of Water-in-Oil and Oil-in-Water Droplet Generation Regimes in Flow-Focusing Microfluidic Devices. COLLOIDS AND INTERFACES 2023. [DOI: 10.3390/colloids7010017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2023]
Abstract
The objective of this research work is to propose a phase diagram that can be used to find a proper operating condition for generating droplets of different types. It is found that the phase diagram of QR versus CaD can effectively classify the droplet generation into three vivid regimes: dripping, jetting and tubing. For the dripping regime, its operating condition is in the range of either CaD < 10−4 and QR < 50 or 10−3 < CaD < 10−4 and QR < 1. For the jetting regime, its operating condition is in the range of either CaD < 1.35 × 10−2 and QR > 100 or CaD > 1.35 × 10−2 and QR > 1. For the tubing regime, its operating condition is in the range of CaD > 1.35 × 10−2 and QR < 1.
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8
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Kausar A. Nanocone—versatile nanofiller for cutting-edge polymeric nanocomposite. POLYM-PLAST TECH MAT 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/25740881.2022.2029894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ayesha Kausar
- Nanosciences division, National Center for Physics, Quaid-i-Azam University Campus, Islamabad, Pakistan
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9
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Hengoju S, Shvydkiv O, Tovar M, Roth M, Rosenbaum MA. Advantages of optical fibers for facile and enhanced detection in droplet microfluidics. Biosens Bioelectron 2022; 200:113910. [PMID: 34974260 DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2021.113910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Droplet microfluidics offers a unique opportunity for ultrahigh-throughput experimentation with minimal sample consumption and thus has obtained increasing attention, particularly for biological applications. Detection and measurements of analytes or biomarkers in tiny droplets are essential for proper analysis of biological and chemical assays like single-cell studies, cytometry, nucleic acid detection, protein quantification, environmental monitoring, drug discovery, and point-of-care diagnostics. Current detection setups widely use microscopes as a central device and other free-space optical components. However, microscopic setups are bulky, complicated, not flexible, and expensive. Furthermore, they require precise optical alignments, specialized optical and technical knowledge, and cumbersome maintenance. The establishment of efficient, simple, and cheap detection methods is one of the bottlenecks for adopting microfluidic strategies for diverse bioanalytical applications and widespread laboratory use. Together with great advances in optofluidic components, the integration of optical fibers as a light guiding medium into microfluidic chips has recently revolutionized analytical possibilities. Optical fibers embedded in a microfluidic platform provide a simpler, more flexible, lower-cost, and sensitive setup for the detection of several parameters from biological and chemical samples and enable widespread, hands-on application much beyond thriving point-of-care developments. In this review, we examine recent developments in droplet microfluidic systems using optical fiber as a light guiding medium, primarily focusing on different optical detection methods such as fluorescence, absorbance, light scattering, and Raman scattering and the potential applications in biochemistry and biotechnology that are and will be arising from this.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sundar Hengoju
- Bio Pilot Plant, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745, Jena, Germany; Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Oksana Shvydkiv
- Bio Pilot Plant, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Miguel Tovar
- Bio Pilot Plant, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Martin Roth
- Bio Pilot Plant, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Miriam A Rosenbaum
- Bio Pilot Plant, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, 07745, Jena, Germany; Faculty of Biological Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University, 07743, Jena, Germany.
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10
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Abstract
Water in oil emulsions have a wide range of applications from chemical technology to microfluidics, where the stability of water droplets is of paramount importance. Here, using an accessible and easily reproducible experimental setup we describe and characterize the dissolution of water in oil, which renders nanoliter-sized droplets unstable, resulting in their shrinkage and disappearance in a time scale of hours. This process has applicability in creating miniature reactors for crystallization. We test multiple oils and their combinations with surfactants exhibiting widely different rates of dissolution. We derived simple analytical equations to determine the product of the diffusion coefficient and the relative saturation density of water in oil from the measured dissolution data. By measuring the moisture content of mineral and silicone oils with Karl Fischer titration before and after saturating them with water, we calculated the diffusion coefficient of water in these two oils.
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11
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Zhang W, Zheng K, Ye Y, Ji J, Cheng X, He S. Pipette-Tip-Enabled Digital Nucleic Acid Analyzer for COVID-19 Testing with Isothermal Amplification. Anal Chem 2021; 93:15288-15294. [PMID: 34735121 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Herein, a pipette-tip-enabled digital nucleic acid analyzer for high-performance COVID-19 testing is demonstrated. This is achieved by digital loop-mediated isothermal amplification (digital LAMP or dLAMP) using common laboratory equipment and materials. It is shown that simply fixing a glass capillary inside conventional pipette tips enables the generation of monodisperse, water-in-oil microdroplets with benchtop centrifugation. It is shown that using LAMP, the ORF1a/b gene, a standard test region for COVID-19 screening, can be amplified without a thermal cycler. The amplification allows counting of fluorescent microdroplets so that Poisson analysis can be performed to allow quantification with a limit of detection that is 1 order of magnitude better than those of nondigital techniques and comparable to those of commercial dLAMP platforms. It is envisioned that this work will inspire studies on ultrasensitive digital nucleic acid analyzers demanding both sensitivity and accessibility, which is pivotal to their large-scale applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenyao Zhang
- National Engineering Research Center for Optical Instruments, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310052, China
| | - Kaixin Zheng
- National Engineering Research Center for Optical Instruments, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310052, China
| | - Yang Ye
- National Engineering Research Center for Optical Instruments, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310052, China.,Ningbo Research Institute, Ningbo 310050, China.,ZJU-TU/e Joint Research Institute of Design, Optoelectronic and Sensing, Hangzhou 310052, China
| | - Jiali Ji
- National Engineering Research Center for Optical Instruments, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310052, China
| | - Xiaoyu Cheng
- National Engineering Research Center for Optical Instruments, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310052, China.,Ningbo Research Institute, Ningbo 310050, China.,ZJU-TU/e Joint Research Institute of Design, Optoelectronic and Sensing, Hangzhou 310052, China
| | - Sailing He
- National Engineering Research Center for Optical Instruments, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310052, China.,Ningbo Research Institute, Ningbo 310050, China.,ZJU-TU/e Joint Research Institute of Design, Optoelectronic and Sensing, Hangzhou 310052, China
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12
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Le TNQ, Tran NN, Escribà-Gelonch M, Serra CA, Fisk I, McClements DJ, Hessel V. Microfluidic encapsulation for controlled release and its potential for nanofertilisers. Chem Soc Rev 2021; 50:11979-12012. [PMID: 34515721 DOI: 10.1039/d1cs00465d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Nanotechnology is increasingly being utilized to create advanced materials with improved or new functional attributes. Converting fertilizers into a nanoparticle-form has been shown to improve their efficacy but the current procedures used to fabricate nanofertilisers often have poor reproducibility and flexibility. Microfluidic systems, on the other hand, have advantages over traditional nanoparticle fabrication methods in terms of energy and materials consumption, versatility, and controllability. The increased controllability can result in the formation of nanoparticles with precise and complex morphologies (e.g., tuneable sizes, low polydispersity, and multi-core structures). As a result, their functional performance can be tailored to specific applications. This paper reviews the principles, formation, and applications of nano-enabled delivery systems fabricated using microfluidic approaches for the encapsulation, protection, and release of fertilizers. Controlled release can be achieved using two main routes: (i) nutrients adsorbed on nanosupports and (ii) nutrients encapsulated inside nanostructures. We aim to highlight the opportunities for preparing a new generation of highly versatile nanofertilisers using microfluidic systems. We will explore several main characteristics of microfluidically prepared nanofertilisers, including droplet formation, shell fine-tuning, adsorbate fine-tuning, and sustained/triggered release behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tu Nguyen Quang Le
- School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia. .,Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Nam Nghiep Tran
- School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia. .,School of Chemical Engineering, Can Tho University, Can Tho City, Vietnam
| | - Marc Escribà-Gelonch
- Higher Polytechnic Engineering School, University of Lleida, Igualada (Barcelona), 08700, Spain
| | - Christophe A Serra
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Institut Charles Sadron UPR 22, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Ian Fisk
- Division of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK.,The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | | | - Volker Hessel
- School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia. .,School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Library Rd, Coventry, UK
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13
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Kamnerdsook A, Juntasaro E, Khemthongcharoen N, Chanasakulniyom M, Sripumkhai W, Pattamang P, Promptmas C, Atthi N, Jeamsaksiri W. Formation of double emulsion micro-droplets in a microfluidic device using a partially hydrophilic-hydrophobic surface. RSC Adv 2021; 11:35653-35662. [PMID: 35493190 PMCID: PMC9043265 DOI: 10.1039/d1ra06887c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The objective of this paper is to propose a surface modification method for preparing PDMS microfluidic devices with partially hydrophilic–hydrophobic surfaces for generating double emulsion droplets. The device is designed to be easy to use without any complicated preparation process and also to achieve high droplet encapsulation efficiency compared to conventional devices. The key component of this preparation process is the permanent chemical coating for which the Pluronic surfactant is added into the bulk PDMS. The addition of Pluronic surfactant can modify the surface property of PDMS from a fully hydrophobic surface to a partially hydrophilic–hydrophobic surface whose property can be either hydrophilic or hydrophobic depending on the air- or water-treatment condition. In order to control the surface wettability, this microfluidic device with the partially hydrophilic–hydrophobic surface undergoes water treatment by injecting deionized water into the specific microchannels where their surface property changes to hydrophilic. This microfluidic device is tested by generating monodisperse water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) double emulsion micro-droplets for which the maximum droplet encapsulation efficiency of 92.4% is achieved with the average outer and inner diameters of 75.0 and 57.7 μm, respectively. (a) Droplet encapsulation efficiency & inner and outer diameters of water-in-oil-in-water droplets at various frequency ratios and flow rate ratios and (b) Images of water-in-oil-in-water droplets over a frequency-ratio range of fr = 0.73–1.30![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Ampol Kamnerdsook
- Mechanical Engineering Simulation and Design Group, The Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok Bangkok 10800 Thailand
| | - Ekachai Juntasaro
- Mechanical Engineering Simulation and Design Group, The Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok Bangkok 10800 Thailand
| | - Numfon Khemthongcharoen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University Nakhon Pathom 73170 Thailand
| | - Mayuree Chanasakulniyom
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Faculty of Medical Technology, Mahidol University Nakhon Pathom 73170 Thailand
| | - Witsaroot Sripumkhai
- Thai Microelectronics Center (TMEC), National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency Chachoengsao 24000 Thailand
| | - Pattaraluck Pattamang
- Thai Microelectronics Center (TMEC), National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency Chachoengsao 24000 Thailand
| | - Chamras Promptmas
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University Nakhon Pathom 73170 Thailand
| | - Nithi Atthi
- Thai Microelectronics Center (TMEC), National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency Chachoengsao 24000 Thailand
| | - Wutthinan Jeamsaksiri
- Thai Microelectronics Center (TMEC), National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency Chachoengsao 24000 Thailand
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14
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Mukhtar M, Sargazi S, Barani M, Madry H, Rahdar A, Cucchiarini M. Application of Nanotechnology for Sensitive Detection of Low-Abundance Single-Nucleotide Variations in Genomic DNA: A Review. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 11:1384. [PMID: 34073904 PMCID: PMC8225127 DOI: 10.3390/nano11061384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the simplest and most common type of DNA variations in the human genome. This class of attractive genetic markers, along with point mutations, have been associated with the risk of developing a wide range of diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. Several existing methods to detect SNPs and mutations in body fluids have faced limitations. Therefore, there is a need to focus on developing noninvasive future polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-free tools to detect low-abundant SNPs in such specimens. The detection of small concentrations of SNPs in the presence of a large background of wild-type genes is the biggest hurdle. Hence, the screening and detection of SNPs need efficient and straightforward strategies. Suitable amplification methods are being explored to avoid high-throughput settings and laborious efforts. Therefore, currently, DNA sensing methods are being explored for the ultrasensitive detection of SNPs based on the concept of nanotechnology. Owing to their small size and improved surface area, nanomaterials hold the extensive capacity to be used as biosensors in the genotyping and highly sensitive recognition of single-base mismatch in the presence of incomparable wild-type DNA fragments. Different nanomaterials have been combined with imaging and sensing techniques and amplification methods to facilitate the less time-consuming and easy detection of SNPs in different diseases. This review aims to highlight some of the most recent findings on the aspects of nanotechnology-based SNP sensing methods used for the specific and ultrasensitive detection of low-concentration SNPs and rare mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahwash Mukhtar
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology and Regulatory Affairs, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary;
| | - Saman Sargazi
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Resistant Tuberculosis Institute, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan 98167-43463, Iran;
| | - Mahmood Barani
- Department of Chemistry, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman 76169-14111, Iran;
| | - Henning Madry
- Center of Experimental Orthopaedics, Saarland University Medical Center, D-66421 Homburg/Saar, Germany;
| | - Abbas Rahdar
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Zabol, Zabol 538-98615, Iran
| | - Magali Cucchiarini
- Center of Experimental Orthopaedics, Saarland University Medical Center, D-66421 Homburg/Saar, Germany;
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15
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Xia HM, Wu JW, Zheng JJ, Zhang J, Wang ZP. Nonlinear microfluidics: device physics, functions, and applications. LAB ON A CHIP 2021; 21:1241-1268. [PMID: 33877234 DOI: 10.1039/d0lc01120g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The microfluidic flow is typically laminar due to the dominant viscous effects. At Reynolds numbers far below 1 (Re ≪ 1), the fluid inertia can be neglected. For the steady flow of incompressible Newtonian fluids, it approaches linear Stokes flow. At intermediate Re, there exists a weak-inertia flow regime where secondary flows such as Dean vortices are accessible for microfluidic manipulations. Apart from the fluid inertia, other nonlinear factors such as the non-Newtonian fluid properties, concurrent flow of dissimilar fluids, compliant fluidic structures and stimuli-responsive materials can also cause intriguing flow behaviours. Through proper designs, they can be applied for a variety of microfluidic components including mixers, valves, oscillators, stabilizers and auto-regulators etc., greatly enriching the microfluidic flow control and manipulation strategies. Due to its unique working characteristics and advantages, nonlinear microfluidics has increasingly attracted extensive attention. This review presents a systematic survey on this subject. The designs of typical nonlinear microfluidic devices, their working mechanisms, key applications, and the perspective of their future developments will be discussed. The nonlinear microfluidic techniques are believed to play an essential role in the next generation of highly-integrated, automated, and intelligent microfluidics.
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Affiliation(s)
- H M Xia
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, P. R. China.
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16
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Sun M, Maryu G, Wang S, Yang Q, Bailey RC. Plug-in tubes allow tunable oil removal, droplet packing, and reaction incubation for time-controlled droplet-based assays. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2021; 15:024108. [PMID: 33841602 PMCID: PMC8024030 DOI: 10.1063/5.0047924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Here, we report a unique microfluidic technique that utilizes a membrane filter and plug-in tubes to remove oil and pack water-in-oil droplets for controlled incubation of droplet-based assays. This technique could be modularly incorporated into most droplet-generation devices without a need to alter the original designs. Our results show that removing excess oil to form tightly packed droplets allows for extended and controllable incubation for droplets traveling in microchannels. The efficiency of this technique was evaluated and confirmed using a time-dependent enzyme assay with a fluorometric readout. The system is also readily generalizable to control inter-droplet distance, crucial for studying droplet communication and pattern formation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gembu Maryu
- Department of Biophysics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | - Shiyuan Wang
- Department of Biophysics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | - Qiong Yang
- Department of Biophysics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | - Ryan C. Bailey
- Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
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17
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Recent progress on the manufacturing of nanoparticles in multi-phase and single-phase flow reactors. Curr Opin Chem Eng 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.coche.2020.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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18
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Arjun A, Ajith RR, Kumar Ranjith S. Mixing characterization of binary-coalesced droplets in microchannels using deep neural network. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2020; 14:034111. [PMID: 32549924 PMCID: PMC7274813 DOI: 10.1063/5.0008461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Real-time object identification and classification are essential in many microfluidic applications especially in the droplet microfluidics. This paper discusses the application of convolutional neural networks to detect the merged microdroplet in the flow field and classify them in an on-the-go manner based on the extent of mixing. The droplets are generated in PMMA microfluidic devices employing flow-focusing and cross-flow configurations. The visualization of binary coalescence of droplets is performed by a CCD camera attached to a microscope, and the sequence of images is recorded. Different real-time object localization and classification networks such as You Only Look Once and Singleshot Multibox Detector are deployed for droplet detection and characterization. A custom dataset to train these deep neural networks to detect and classify is created from the captured images and labeled manually. The merged droplets are segregated based on the degree of mixing into three categories: low mixing, intermediate mixing, and high mixing. The trained model is tested against images taken at different ambient conditions, droplet shapes, droplet sizes, and binary-fluid combinations, which indeed exhibited high accuracy and precision in predictions. In addition, it is demonstrated that these schemes are efficient in localization of coalesced binary droplets from the recorded video or image and classify them based on grade of mixing irrespective of experimental conditions in real time.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Arjun
- Micro/nanofluidics Research Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum, Thiruvananathapuram 695016, Kerala, India
| | - R R Ajith
- Micro/nanofluidics Research Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum, Thiruvananathapuram 695016, Kerala, India
| | - S Kumar Ranjith
- Micro/nanofluidics Research Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering Trivandrum, Thiruvananathapuram 695016, Kerala, India
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19
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Liu Z, Fontana F, Python A, Hirvonen JT, Santos HA. Microfluidics for Production of Particles: Mechanism, Methodology, and Applications. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2020; 16:e1904673. [PMID: 31702878 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201904673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2019] [Revised: 09/27/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
In the past two decades, microfluidics-based particle production is widely applied for multiple biological usages. Compared to conventional bulk methods, microfluidic-assisted particle production shows significant advantages, such as narrower particle size distribution, higher reproducibility, improved encapsulation efficiency, and enhanced scaling-up potency. Herein, an overview of the recent progress of the microfluidics technology for nano-, microparticles or droplet fabrication, and their biological applications is provided. For both nano-, microparticles/droplets, the previously established mechanisms behind particle production via microfluidics and some typical examples during the past five years are discussed. The emerging interdisciplinary technologies based on microfluidics that have produced microparticles or droplets for cellular analysis and artificial cells fabrication are summarized. The potential drawbacks and future perspectives are also briefly discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zehua Liu
- Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Flavia Fontana
- Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Andre Python
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, OX3 7LF, Oxford, UK
| | - Jouni T Hirvonen
- Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Hélder A Santos
- Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
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20
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Sivakumar R, Trinh KTL, Lee NY. Heat and pressure-resistant room temperature irreversible sealing of hybrid PDMS–thermoplastic microfluidic devices via carbon–nitrogen covalent bonding and its application in a continuous-flow polymerase chain reaction. RSC Adv 2020; 10:16502-16509. [PMID: 35498866 PMCID: PMC9053085 DOI: 10.1039/d0ra02332a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study, we have introduced a facile room-temperature strategy for irreversibly sealing polydimethylsiloxane to various thermoplastics using (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and [2-(3,4-epoxycyclohexyl)ethyl]trimethoxysilane (ECTMS).
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajamanickam Sivakumar
- Department of Industrial Environmental Engineering
- College of Industrial Environmental Engineering
- Gachon University
- Seongnam-si
- Korea
| | - Kieu The Loan Trinh
- Department of Industrial Environmental Engineering
- College of Industrial Environmental Engineering
- Gachon University
- Seongnam-si
- Korea
| | - Nae Yoon Lee
- Department of BioNano Technology
- Gachon University
- Seongnam-si
- Korea
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21
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Ye WQ, Wei YX, Zhang YZ, Yang CG, Xu ZR. Multiplexed detection of micro-RNAs based on microfluidic multi-color fluorescence droplets. Anal Bioanal Chem 2019; 412:647-655. [PMID: 31836924 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-019-02266-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 10/12/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
In this work, simple, rapid, and low-cost multiplexed detection of tumor-related micro-RNAs (miRNAs) was achieved based on multi-color fluorescence on a microfluidic droplet chip, which simplified the complexity of light path to a half. A four-T-junction structure was fabricated to form uniform nano-volume droplet arrays with customized contents. Multi-color quantum dots (QDs) used as the fluorescence labels were encapsulated into droplets to develop the multi-path fluorescence detection module. We designed an integrated multiplex fluorescence resonance energy transfer system assisted by multiple QDs (four colors) and one quencher to detect four tumor-related miRNAs (miRNA-20a, miRNA-21, miRNA-155, and miRNA-221). The qualitative analysis of miRNAs was realized by the color identification of QDs, while the quantitative detection of miRNAs was achieved based on the linear relationship between the quenching efficiency of QDs and the concentration of miRNAs. The practicability of the multiplex detection device was further confirmed by detecting four tumor-related miRNAs in real human serum samples. The detection limits of four miRNAs ranged from 35 to 39 pmol/L was achieved without any target amplification. And the linear range was from 0.1 nmol/L to 1 μmol/L using 10 nL detection volume (one droplet) under the detection speed of 320 droplets per minute. The multiple detection system for miRNAs is simple, fast, and low-cost and will be a powerful platform for clinical diagnostic analysis. Graphical abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wen-Qi Ye
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Northeastern University, 3-11 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110819, Liaoning, China
| | - Yi-Xuan Wei
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Northeastern University, 3-11 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110819, Liaoning, China
| | - Ying-Zhi Zhang
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Northeastern University, 3-11 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110819, Liaoning, China
| | - Chun-Guang Yang
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Northeastern University, 3-11 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110819, Liaoning, China.
| | - Zhang-Run Xu
- Research Center for Analytical Sciences, Northeastern University, 3-11 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, 110819, Liaoning, China
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22
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Ding
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Philip D. Howes
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Andrew J. deMello
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
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23
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O’Keefe CM, Kaushik AM, Wang TH. Highly Efficient Real-Time Droplet Analysis Platform for High-Throughput Interrogation of DNA Sequences by Melt. Anal Chem 2019; 91:11275-11282. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.9b02346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christine M. O’Keefe
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Aniruddha M. Kaushik
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Tza-Huei Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
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24
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Suea-Ngam A, Howes PD, Srisa-Art M, deMello AJ. Droplet microfluidics: from proof-of-concept to real-world utility? Chem Commun (Camb) 2019; 55:9895-9903. [PMID: 31334541 DOI: 10.1039/c9cc04750f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Droplet microfluidics constitutes a diverse and practical tool set that enables chemical and biological experiments to be performed at high speed and with enhanced efficiency when compared to conventional instrumentation. Indeed, in recent years, droplet-based microfluidic tools have been used to excellent effect in a range of applications, including materials synthesis, single cell analysis, RNA sequencing, small molecule screening, in vitro diagnostics and tissue engineering. Our 2011 Chemical Communications Highlight Article [Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 1936-1942] reviewed some of the most important technological developments and applications of droplet microfluidics, and identified key challenges that needed to be addressed in the short term. In the current contribution, we consider the intervening eight years, and assess the contributions that droplet-based microfluidics has made to experimental science in its broadest sense.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akkapol Suea-Ngam
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Philip D Howes
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Monpichar Srisa-Art
- Electrochemistry and Optical Spectroscopy Center of Excellence, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Patumwan, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Andrew J deMello
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
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25
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Kuo AP, Bhattacharjee N, Lee YS, Castro K, Kim YT, Folch A. High-Precision Stereolithography of Biomicrofluidic Devices. ADVANCED MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES 2019; 4:1800395. [PMID: 32490168 PMCID: PMC7266111 DOI: 10.1002/admt.201800395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2018] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Stereolithography (SL) is emerging as an attractive alternative to soft lithography for fabricating microfluidic devices due to its low cost and high design efficiency. Low molecular weight poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate (MW = 258) (PEG-DA-258) has been used for SL 3D-printing of biocompatible microdevices at submillimeter resolution. However, 3D-printing resins that simultaneously feature high transparency, high biocompatibility, and high resolution are still lacking. It is found that photosensitizer isopropyl thioxanthone can, in a concentration-dependent manner, increase the absorbance of the resin (containing PEG-DA-258 and photoinitator Irgacure-819) by over an order of magnitude. This increase in absorbance allows for SL printing of microdevices at sub pixel resolution with commercially available desktop printers and without compromising transparency or biocompatibility. The assembly-free, rapid (<15 h) 3D-printing of a variety of complex 3D microfluidic devices such as a 3D-fluid router, a passive chaotic micro-mixer, an active micro-mixer with pneumatic microvalves, and high-aspect ratio (37:1) microchannels of single pixel width is demonstrated. These manufacturing capabilities are unavailable in conventional microfluidic rapid prototyping techniques. The low absorption of small hydrophobic molecules and microfluidic labeling of cultured mammalian cells in 3D-printed PEG-DA-258 microdevices is demonstrated, indicating the potential of PEG-DA-based fabrication of cell-based assays, drug discovery, and organ-on-chip platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra P Kuo
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | | | - Yuan-Sheng Lee
- Department of Mechanical Engineering University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Kurt Castro
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Yong Tae Kim
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Albert Folch
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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26
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Zhang Y, Wang TH. Rapid generation of chemical combinations on a magnetic digital microfluidic array. RSC Adv 2019; 9:21741-21747. [PMID: 35518867 PMCID: PMC9066432 DOI: 10.1039/c9ra03469b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Accepted: 07/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Combinatorial screening is frequently used to identify chemicals with synergistic effects by measuring the response of biological entities exposed to various chemical-dose combinations. Conventional microwell-based combinatorial screening is resource-demanding, and the closed microfluidics-based screening requires sophisticated fluidic control systems. In this work, we present a novel combinatorial screening platform based on the surface energy trap (SET)-assisted magnetic digital microfluidics. This platform, known as FlipDrop, rapidly generates chemical combinations by coupling two droplet arrays with orthogonal chemical concentration gradients with a simple flip. We have illustrated the working principle of FlipDrop by generating combinations of quantum dots. We have also successfully demonstrated the screening of quantum dot fluorescence resonance energy transfer (QD-FRET) on the FlipDrop platform by measuring the FRET response. This report demonstrates that FlipDrop is capable of rapidly generating chemical combinations with unprecedented ease for combinatorial screening. FlipDrop is a combinatorial screening platform. It enables rapid generation of chemical combinations by flipping and coupling two droplet arrays generated by surface energy traps on the magnetic digital microfluidic platform.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Zhang
- School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- Nanyang Technological University
- Singapore 639798
| | - Tza-Huei Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Johns Hopkins University
- Baltimore
- USA
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27
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Chang JC, Swank Z, Keiser O, Maerkl SJ, Amstad E. Microfluidic device for real-time formulation of reagents and their subsequent encapsulation into double emulsions. Sci Rep 2018; 8:8143. [PMID: 29802303 PMCID: PMC5970246 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26542-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2018] [Accepted: 05/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Emulsion drops are often employed as picoliter-sized containers to perform screening assays. These assays usually entail the formation of drops encompassing discrete objects such as cells or microparticles and reagents to study interactions between the different encapsulants. Drops are also used to screen influences of reagent concentrations on the final product. However, these latter assays are less frequently performed because it is difficult to change the reagent concentration over a wide range and with high precision within a single experiment. In this paper, we present a microfluidic double emulsion drop maker containing pneumatic valves that enable real-time formulation of different reagents using pulse width modulation and consequent encapsulation of the mixed solutions. This device can produce drops from reagent volumes as low as 10 µL with minimal sample loss, thereby enabling experiments that would be prohibitively expensive using drop generators that do not contain valves. We employ this device to monitor the kinetics of the cell-free synthesis of green fluorescent proteins inside double emulsions. To demonstrate the potential of this device for real-time formulation, we perform DNA titration experiments to test the influence of DNA concentration on the amount of green fluorescence protein produced in double emulsions by a coupled cell-free transcription / translation system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jui-Chia Chang
- Institute of Materials, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Zoe Swank
- Institute of Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Oliver Keiser
- Institute of Materials, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Sebastian J Maerkl
- Institute of Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Esther Amstad
- Institute of Materials, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
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28
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Toor A, Lamb S, Helms BA, Russell TP. Reconfigurable Microfluidic Droplets Stabilized by Nanoparticle Surfactants. ACS NANO 2018; 12:2365-2372. [PMID: 29509400 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.7b07635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Interfacial assemblies of nanoparticles can stabilize liquid-liquid interfaces. Due to the interactions between functional groups on nanoparticles dispersed in one liquid and polymers having complementary end-functionality dissolved in a second immiscible fluid, the anchoring of a well-defined number of polymer chains onto the nanoparticles leads to the formation of NP-surfactants that assemble at the interface and reduce the interfacial energy. We have developed droplet interfaces covered with elastic, responsive monolayers of NP-surfactants. Due to the presence of an elastic layer at the interface, the droplets offer a greater resistance to coalescence and can prevent the exchange of materials across interfaces. Our results show the successful encapsulation of nanoparticles, dyes, and proteins with diameters in the 2.4-30 nm range. Further, we show that stable water-in-oil droplets can be generated for various combinations of polymer ligands and nanoparticles bearing complementary functionalities. These NP-surfactant-stabilized microfluidic emulsions would enable applications requiring liquid-liquid interfaces that can adapt and respond to external stimuli and whose mechanical properties can be easily tailored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anju Toor
- Materials Sciences Division , Lawrence Berkeley National Lab1 , One Cyclotron Road , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States
| | - Sean Lamb
- Department of Chemistry , University of California , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States
| | - Brett A Helms
- Materials Sciences Division , Lawrence Berkeley National Lab1 , One Cyclotron Road , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States
- The Molecular Foundry , Lawrence Berkeley National Lab , One Cyclotron Road , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States
| | - Thomas P Russell
- Materials Sciences Division , Lawrence Berkeley National Lab1 , One Cyclotron Road , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States
- Department of Polymer Science and Engineering , University of Massachusetts Amherst , 120 Governors Drive , Amherst , Massachusetts 01003 , United States
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering , Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029 , China
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Zhang L, Liu Z, Pang Y, Wang X, Li M, Ren Y. Trapping a moving droplet train by bubble guidance in microfluidic networks. RSC Adv 2018; 8:8787-8794. [PMID: 35539830 PMCID: PMC9078607 DOI: 10.1039/c7ra13507f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Accepted: 02/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Trapping a train of moving droplets into preset positions within a microfluidic device facilitates the long-term observation of biochemical reactions inside the droplets. In this paper, a new bubble-guided trapping method, which can remarkably improve the limited narrow two-phase flow rate range of uniform trapping, was proposed by taking advantage of the unique physical property that bubbles do not coalescence with two-phase fluids and the hydrodynamic characteristic of large flow resistance of bubbles. The flow behaviors of bubble-free and bubble-guided droplet trains were compared and analyzed under the same two-phase flow rates. The experimental results show that the droplets trapped by bubble-free guided trapping exhibit the four trapping modes of sequentially uniform trapping, non-uniform trapping induced by break-up and collision, and failed trapping due to squeezing through, and the droplets exhibit the desired uniform trapping in a relatively small two-phase flow rate range. Compared with bubble-free guided droplets, bubble-guided droplets also show four trapping modes. However, the two-phase flow rate range in which uniform trapping occurs is increased significantly and the uniformity of the trapped droplet array is improved. This investigation is beneficial to enhance the applicability of microfluidic chips for storing droplets in a passive way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Longxiang Zhang
- College of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Electronics Technology, Beijing University of Technology Beijing 100124 China
| | - Zhaomiao Liu
- College of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Electronics Technology, Beijing University of Technology Beijing 100124 China
| | - Yan Pang
- College of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Electronics Technology, Beijing University of Technology Beijing 100124 China
| | - Xiang Wang
- College of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Electronics Technology, Beijing University of Technology Beijing 100124 China
| | - Mengqi Li
- College of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Electronics Technology, Beijing University of Technology Beijing 100124 China
| | - Yanlin Ren
- College of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Electronics Technology, Beijing University of Technology Beijing 100124 China
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Bai Y, Gao M, Wen L, He C, Chen Y, Liu C, Fu X, Huang S. Applications of Microfluidics in Quantitative Biology. Biotechnol J 2017; 13:e1700170. [PMID: 28976637 DOI: 10.1002/biot.201700170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2017] [Revised: 09/03/2017] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Quantitative biology is dedicated to taking advantage of quantitative reasoning and advanced engineering technologies to make biology more predictable. Microfluidics, as an emerging technique, provides new approaches to precisely control fluidic conditions on small scales and collect data in high-throughput and quantitative manners. In this review, the authors present the relevant applications of microfluidics to quantitative biology based on two major categories (channel-based microfluidics and droplet-based microfluidics), and their typical features. We also envision some other microfluidic techniques that may not be employed in quantitative biology right now, but have great potential in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Bai
- Center for Synthetic Biology Engineering Research, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Meng Gao
- Center for Synthetic Biology Engineering Research, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Lingling Wen
- Center for Synthetic Biology Engineering Research, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Caiyun He
- Center for Synthetic Biology Engineering Research, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuan Chen
- Center for Synthetic Biology Engineering Research, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Chenli Liu
- Center for Synthetic Biology Engineering Research, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiongfei Fu
- Center for Synthetic Biology Engineering Research, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuqiang Huang
- Center for Synthetic Biology Engineering Research, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People's Republic of China
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31
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Li J, Barrow DA. A new droplet-forming fluidic junction for the generation of highly compartmentalised capsules. LAB ON A CHIP 2017; 17:2873-2881. [PMID: 28731104 DOI: 10.1039/c7lc00618g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
A new oscillatory microfluidic junction is described, which enables the consistent formation of highly uniform and complex double emulsions, and is demonstrated for the encapsulation of four different reagents within the inner droplets (called cores) of the double emulsion droplets. Once the double emulsion droplets had attained a spherical form, the cores assumed specific 3D arrangements, the orchestration of which appeared to depend upon the specific emulsion morphology. Such double emulsion droplets were used as templates to produce highly compartmentalised microcapsules and multisomes. Based on these construct models, we numerically demonstrated a model chemical reaction sequence between and within the liquid cores. This work could provide a platform to perform space/time-dependent applications, such as programmed experiments, synthesis, and delivery systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Li
- Applied Microfluidic Laboratory, School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
| | - D A Barrow
- Applied Microfluidic Laboratory, School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
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