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Zhang T, Di Carlo D, Lim CT, Zhou T, Tian G, Tang T, Shen AQ, Li W, Li M, Yang Y, Goda K, Yan R, Lei C, Hosokawa Y, Yalikun Y. Passive microfluidic devices for cell separation. Biotechnol Adv 2024; 71:108317. [PMID: 38220118 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2024.108317] [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: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2024] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
The separation of specific cell populations is instrumental in gaining insights into cellular processes, elucidating disease mechanisms, and advancing applications in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, diagnostics, and cell therapies. Microfluidic methods for cell separation have propelled the field forward, benefitting from miniaturization, advanced fabrication technologies, a profound understanding of fluid dynamics governing particle separation mechanisms, and a surge in interdisciplinary investigations focused on diverse applications. Cell separation methodologies can be categorized according to their underlying separation mechanisms. Passive microfluidic separation systems rely on channel structures and fluidic rheology, obviating the necessity for external force fields to facilitate label-free cell separation. These passive approaches offer a compelling combination of cost-effectiveness and scalability when compared to active methods that depend on external fields to manipulate cells. This review delves into the extensive utilization of passive microfluidic techniques for cell separation, encompassing various strategies such as filtration, sedimentation, adhesion-based techniques, pinched flow fractionation (PFF), deterministic lateral displacement (DLD), inertial microfluidics, hydrophoresis, viscoelastic microfluidics, and hybrid microfluidics. Besides, the review provides an in-depth discussion concerning cell types, separation markers, and the commercialization of these technologies. Subsequently, it outlines the current challenges faced in the field and presents a forward-looking perspective on potential future developments. This work hopes to aid in facilitating the dissemination of knowledge in cell separation, guiding future research, and informing practical applications across diverse scientific disciplines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianlong Zhang
- College of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
| | - Dino Di Carlo
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Chwee Teck Lim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore
| | - Tianyuan Zhou
- College of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China
| | - Guizhong Tian
- College of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang 212100, China.
| | - Tao Tang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore
| | - Amy Q Shen
- Micro/Bio/Nanofluidics Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan
| | - Weihua Li
- School of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
| | - Ming Li
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Yang Yang
- Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, Hainan 572000, China
| | - Keisuke Goda
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan; The Institute of Technological Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Ruopeng Yan
- The Institute of Technological Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Cheng Lei
- The Institute of Technological Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Yoichiroh Hosokawa
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan
| | - Yaxiaer Yalikun
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
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Grigorev GV, Lebedev AV, Wang X, Qian X, Maksimov GV, Lin L. Advances in Microfluidics for Single Red Blood Cell Analysis. BIOSENSORS 2023; 13:117. [PMID: 36671952 PMCID: PMC9856164 DOI: 10.3390/bios13010117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 12/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The utilizations of microfluidic chips for single RBC (red blood cell) studies have attracted great interests in recent years to filter, trap, analyze, and release single erythrocytes for various applications. Researchers in this field have highlighted the vast potential in developing micro devices for industrial and academia usages, including lab-on-a-chip and organ-on-a-chip systems. This article critically reviews the current state-of-the-art and recent advances of microfluidics for single RBC analyses, including integrated sensors and microfluidic platforms for microscopic/tomographic/spectroscopic single RBC analyses, trapping arrays (including bifurcating channels), dielectrophoretic and agglutination/aggregation studies, as well as clinical implications covering cancer, sepsis, prenatal, and Sickle Cell diseases. Microfluidics based RBC microarrays, sorting/counting and trapping techniques (including acoustic, dielectrophoretic, hydrodynamic, magnetic, and optical techniques) are also reviewed. Lastly, organs on chips, multi-organ chips, and drug discovery involving single RBC are described. The limitations and drawbacks of each technology are addressed and future prospects are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgii V. Grigorev
- Data Science and Information Technology Research Center, Tsinghua Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California in Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- School of Information Technology, Cherepovets State University, 162600 Cherepovets, Russia
| | - Alexander V. Lebedev
- Machine Building Department, Bauman Moscow State University, 105005 Moscow, Russia
| | - Xiaohao Wang
- Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Xiang Qian
- Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - George V. Maksimov
- Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
- Physical metallurgy Department, Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education National Research Technological University “MISiS”, 119049 Moscow, Russia
| | - Liwei Lin
- Mechanical Engineering Department, University of California in Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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Experimental Characterization of a Microfluidic Device Based on Passive Crossflow Filters for Blood Fractionation. Processes (Basel) 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/pr10122698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The separation of red blood cells (RBCs) from blood plasma and the analysis of individual RBCs are of great importance, as they provide valuable information regarding the health of their donor. Recent developments in microfluidics and microfabrication have contributed to the fabrication of microsystems with complex features to promote the separation and analysis of RBCs. In this work, the separation capacity of a multi-step crossflow microfluidic device was evaluated by using a blood analogue fluid made by Brij L4 micelles and human RBCs separated from whole blood, suspended in a solution with hematocrits (Ht) of 0.5 and 1%. All the samples collected at the outlets of the device were experimentally analyzed and compared. The absorbance spectrum was also measured for the prepared blood samples. The results indicate that the tested blood analogue fluid has exhibited a flow behavior similar to that of blood. In addition, the optical absorbance spectrophotometry revealed that it was possible to evaluate the separation efficiency of the microfluidic device, concluding that the concentration of cells was lower at the most lateral outside outlets of the microchannel due to the cumulative effect of the multiple cross-flow filters.
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4
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Chen Y, Guo K, Jiang L, Zhu S, Ni Z, Xiang N. Microfluidic deformability cytometry: A review. Talanta 2022; 251:123815. [DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2022.123815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2022] [Revised: 07/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
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Geometry effect in multi-step crossflow microfluidic devices for red blood cells separation and deformability assessment. Biomed Microdevices 2022; 24:20. [PMID: 35670892 DOI: 10.1007/s10544-022-00616-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The efficient separation of blood components using microfluidic systems can help to improve the detection and diagnosis of several diseases, such as malaria and diabetes. Therefore, a novel multi-step microfluidic device, based on passive crossflow filters was developed. Three different designs were proposed, fabricated and tested in order to evaluate the most suitable geometry to perform, simultaneously, blood cells separation and cell deformability measurements. All the proposed geometries include a main channel and three sequential separation steps, all comprised of symmetrical crossflow filters, with multiple rows of pillars, to reduce the amount of red blood cells (RBCs) flowing to the outlets of the microfluidic device (MD). Sets of hyperbolic constrictions located at the outlets allow the assessment of cells deformability. Based on the proposed geometries, the three correspondent MD were evaluated and compared, by measuring the RBCs velocities, the cell-free layer (CFL) effect through the microchannels and by quantifying the amount of RBCs at the outlets. The results suggest that the proposed MD 3 configuration was the most effective one for the desired application, due to the formation of a wider CFL. As a result, a minor amount of RBCs flow through the hyperbolic contraction at the third separation level of the device. Nevertheless, for all the proposed geometries, the existence of three separation levels shows that it is possible to achieve a highly efficient cell separation. If needed, such microdevices have the potential for further improvements by increasing the number of separation levels, aiming the total separation of blood cells from plasma.
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Label-free multi-step microfluidic device for mechanical characterization of blood cells: Diabetes type II. MICRO AND NANO ENGINEERING 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mne.2022.100149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Miranda I, Souza A, Sousa P, Ribeiro J, Castanheira EMS, Lima R, Minas G. Properties and Applications of PDMS for Biomedical Engineering: A Review. J Funct Biomater 2021; 13:2. [PMID: 35076525 PMCID: PMC8788510 DOI: 10.3390/jfb13010002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 149] [Impact Index Per Article: 49.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is an elastomer with excellent optical, electrical and mechanical properties, which makes it well-suited for several engineering applications. Due to its biocompatibility, PDMS is widely used for biomedical purposes. This widespread use has also led to the massification of the soft-lithography technique, introduced for facilitating the rapid prototyping of micro and nanostructures using elastomeric materials, most notably PDMS. This technique has allowed advances in microfluidic, electronic and biomedical fields. In this review, an overview of the properties of PDMS and some of its commonly used treatments, aiming at the suitability to those fields' needs, are presented. Applications such as microchips in the biomedical field, replication of cardiovascular flow and medical implants are also reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inês Miranda
- Center for MicroElectromechanical Systems (CMEMS-UMinho), Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimaraes, Portugal; (I.M.); (P.S.); (G.M.)
| | - Andrews Souza
- MEtRICs, Mechanical Engineering Department, Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimaraes, Portugal;
| | - Paulo Sousa
- Center for MicroElectromechanical Systems (CMEMS-UMinho), Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimaraes, Portugal; (I.M.); (P.S.); (G.M.)
| | - João Ribeiro
- Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Campus de Santa Apolónia, Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, 5300-253 Braganca, Portugal;
| | - Elisabete M. S. Castanheira
- Centre of Physics of Minho and Porto Universities (CF-UM-UP), Campus de Gualtar, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal;
| | - Rui Lima
- MEtRICs, Mechanical Engineering Department, Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimaraes, Portugal;
- CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Rua Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
| | - Graça Minas
- Center for MicroElectromechanical Systems (CMEMS-UMinho), Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimaraes, Portugal; (I.M.); (P.S.); (G.M.)
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Foster KM, Papavassiliou DV, O’Rear EA. Elongational Stresses and Cells. Cells 2021; 10:2352. [PMID: 34572002 PMCID: PMC8471242 DOI: 10.3390/cells10092352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Revised: 09/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Fluid forces and their effects on cells have been researched for quite some time, especially in the realm of biology and medicine. Shear forces have been the primary emphasis, often attributed as being the main source of cell deformation/damage in devices like prosthetic heart valves and artificial organs. Less well understood and studied are extensional stresses which are often found in such devices, in bioreactors, and in normal blood circulation. Several microfluidic channels utilizing hyperbolic, abrupt, or tapered constrictions and cross-flow geometries, have been used to isolate the effects of extensional flow. Under such flow cell deformations, erythrocytes, leukocytes, and a variety of other cell types have been examined. Results suggest that extensional stresses cause larger deformation than shear stresses of the same magnitude. This has further implications in assessing cell injury from mechanical forces in artificial organs and bioreactors. The cells' greater sensitivity to extensional stress has found utility in mechanophenotyping devices, which have been successfully used to identify pathologies that affect cell deformability. Further application outside of biology includes disrupting cells for increased food product stability and harvesting macromolecules for biofuel. The effects of extensional stresses on cells remains an area meriting further study.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Edgar A. O’Rear
- Department of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA; (K.M.F.); (D.V.P.)
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Li Z, Yang X, Zhang Q, Yang W, Zhang H, Liu L, Liang W. Non-invasive acquisition of mechanical properties of cells via passive microfluidic mechanisms: A review. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2021; 15:031501. [PMID: 34178202 PMCID: PMC8205512 DOI: 10.1063/5.0052185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The demand to understand the mechanical properties of cells from biomedical, bioengineering, and clinical diagnostic fields has given rise to a variety of research studies. In this context, how to use lab-on-a-chip devices to achieve accurate, high-throughput, and non-invasive acquisition of the mechanical properties of cells has become the focus of many studies. Accordingly, we present a comprehensive review of the development of the measurement of mechanical properties of cells using passive microfluidic mechanisms, including constriction channel-based, fluid-induced, and micropipette aspiration-based mechanisms. This review discusses how these mechanisms work to determine the mechanical properties of the cell as well as their advantages and disadvantages. A detailed discussion is also presented on a series of typical applications of these three mechanisms to measure the mechanical properties of cells. At the end of this article, the current challenges and future prospects of these mechanisms are demonstrated, which will help guide researchers who are interested to get into this area of research. Our conclusion is that these passive microfluidic mechanisms will offer more preferences for the development of lab-on-a-chip technologies and hold great potential for advancing biomedical and bioengineering research studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenghua Li
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang 110168, China
| | - Xieliu Yang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang 110168, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang 110168, China
| | - Wenguang Yang
- School of Electromechanical and Automotive Engineering, Yantai University, Yantai 264005, China
| | - Hemin Zhang
- Department of Neurology, The People's Hospital of Liaoning Province, Shenyang 110016, China
| | - Lianqing Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, China
| | - Wenfeng Liang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Shenyang Jianzhu University, Shenyang 110168, China
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Rodrigues RO, Sousa PC, Gaspar J, Bañobre-López M, Lima R, Minas G. Organ-on-a-Chip: A Preclinical Microfluidic Platform for the Progress of Nanomedicine. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2020; 16:e2003517. [PMID: 33236819 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202003517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Despite the progress achieved in nanomedicine during the last decade, the translation of new nanotechnology-based therapeutic systems into clinical applications has been slow, especially due to the lack of robust preclinical tissue culture platforms able to mimic the in vivo conditions found in the human body and to predict the performance and biotoxicity of the developed nanomaterials. Organ-on-a-chip (OoC) platforms are novel microfluidic tools that mimic complex human organ functions at the microscale level. These integrated microfluidic networks, with 3D tissue engineered models, have been shown high potential to reduce the discrepancies between the results derived from preclinical and clinical trials. However, there are many challenges that still need to be addressed, such as the integration of biosensor modules for long-time monitoring of different physicochemical and biochemical parameters. In this review, recent advances on OoC platforms, particularly on the preclinical validation of nanomaterials designed for cancer, as well as the current challenges and possible future directions for an end-use perspective are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel O Rodrigues
- Center for MicroElectromechanical Systems (CMEMS-UMinho), University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, Guimarães, 4800-058, Portugal
- Microfabrication and Exploratory Nanotechnology, INL-International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Av. Mestre José Veiga, Braga, 4715-330, Portugal
| | - Patrícia C Sousa
- Microfabrication and Exploratory Nanotechnology, INL-International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Av. Mestre José Veiga, Braga, 4715-330, Portugal
| | - João Gaspar
- Microfabrication and Exploratory Nanotechnology, INL-International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Av. Mestre José Veiga, Braga, 4715-330, Portugal
| | - Manuel Bañobre-López
- Advanced (magnetic) Theranostic Nanostructures Lab, Nanomedicine Unit, INL-International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Av. Mestre José Veiga, Braga, 4715-330, Portugal
| | - Rui Lima
- Transport Phenomena Research Center (CEFT), Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), R. Dr. Roberto Frias, Porto, 4200-465, Portugal
- Mechanical Engineering and Resource Sustainability Center (MEtRICs), Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, Guimarães, 4800-058, Portugal
| | - Graça Minas
- Center for MicroElectromechanical Systems (CMEMS-UMinho), University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, Guimarães, 4800-058, Portugal
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Visualization and Measurements of Blood Cells Flowing in Microfluidic Systems and Blood Rheology: A Personalized Medicine Perspective. J Pers Med 2020; 10:jpm10040249. [PMID: 33256123 PMCID: PMC7712771 DOI: 10.3390/jpm10040249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 11/21/2020] [Accepted: 11/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Hemorheological alterations in the majority of metabolic diseases are always connected with blood rheology disturbances, such as the increase of blood and plasma viscosity, cell aggregation enhancement, and reduction of the red blood cells (RBCs) deformability. Thus, the visualizations and measurements of blood cells deformability flowing in microfluidic devices (point-of-care devices) can provide vital information to diagnose early symptoms of blood diseases and consequently to be used as a fast clinical tool for early detection of biomarkers. For instance, RBCs rigidity has been correlated with myocardial infarction, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, among other blood diseases. In order to better understand the blood cells behavior in microfluidic devices, rheological properties analysis is gaining interest by the biomedical committee, since it is strongly dependent on the interactions and mechanical cells proprieties. In addition, the development of blood analogue fluids capable of reproducing the rheological properties of blood and mimic the RBCs behavior at in vitro conditions is crucial for the design, performance and optimization of the microfluidic devices frequently used for personalized medicine. By combining the unique features of the hemorheology and microfluidic technology for single-cell analysis, valuable advances in personalized medicine for new treatments and diagnosis approach can be achieved.
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Carvalho S, Abreu CM, Ferreira D, Lima L, Ferreira JA, Santos LL, Ribeiro R, Grenha V, Martínez-Fernández M, Duenas M, Suárez-Cabrera C, Paramio JM, Diéguez L, Freitas PP, Oliveira MI. Phenotypic Analysis of Urothelial Exfoliated Cells in Bladder Cancer via Microfluidic Immunoassays: Sialyl-Tn as a Novel Biomarker in Liquid Biopsies. Front Oncol 2020; 10:1774. [PMID: 33042825 PMCID: PMC7526084 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.01774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Bladder cancer is the most common malignancy of the urinary tract, having one of the highest recurrence rates and progression from non-muscle to muscle invasive bladder cancer that commonly leads to metastasis. Cystoscopy and urine cytology are the standard procedures for its detection but have limited clinical sensitivity and specificity. Herein, a microfluidic device, the UriChip, was developed for the enrichment of urothelial exfoliated cells from fresh and frozen urine, based on deformability and size, and the cancer-associated glycan Sialyl-Tn explored as a putative bladder cancer urinary biomarker. Spiking experiments with bladder cancer cell lines showed an isolation efficiency of 53%, while clinical sample analyses revealed retention of cells with various morphologies and sizes. in situ immunoassays demonstrated significantly higher number of Sialyl-Tn-positive cells in fresh and frozen voided urine from bladder cancer patients, compared to healthy individuals. Of note, urothelial exfoliated cells from cryopreserved urine sediments were also successfully isolated by the UriChip, and found to express significantly high levels of Sialyl-Tn. Remarkably, Sialyl-Tn expression is correlated with tumor stage and grade. Overall, our findings demonstrate the potential of UriChip and Sialyl-Tn to detect urothelial bladder cancer cells in follow-up and long-term retrospective studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Carvalho
- International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Life Sciences, Braga, Portugal
| | - Catarina M. Abreu
- International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Life Sciences, Braga, Portugal
| | - Dylan Ferreira
- Experimental Pathology and Therapeutics Group, Research Center of the Portuguese Institute of Oncology (CI-IPOP), Porto, Portugal
- Porto Comprehensive Cancer Center (P.ccc), Porto, Portugal
| | - Luís Lima
- Experimental Pathology and Therapeutics Group, Research Center of the Portuguese Institute of Oncology (CI-IPOP), Porto, Portugal
- Porto Comprehensive Cancer Center (P.ccc), Porto, Portugal
- School of Health, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - José A. Ferreira
- Experimental Pathology and Therapeutics Group, Research Center of the Portuguese Institute of Oncology (CI-IPOP), Porto, Portugal
- Porto Comprehensive Cancer Center (P.ccc), Porto, Portugal
| | - Lúcio L. Santos
- Experimental Pathology and Therapeutics Group, Research Center of the Portuguese Institute of Oncology (CI-IPOP), Porto, Portugal
- Porto Comprehensive Cancer Center (P.ccc), Porto, Portugal
| | - Ricardo Ribeiro
- Tumor & Microenvironment Group, i3S/INEB, Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde/Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, Environmental Health Institute, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
- Departament of Clinical Pathology, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Vânia Grenha
- Department of Urology, Centro Hospitalar Do Alto Ave, Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Mónica Martínez-Fernández
- Genomes and Disease Lab., Research Center of Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CIMUS), University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Marta Duenas
- Molecular Oncology Unit, CIEMAT, Madrid, Spain
- CIBERONC, Institute of Biomedical Research, University Hospital “12 de Octubre”, Madrid, Spain
| | - Cristian Suárez-Cabrera
- Molecular Oncology Unit, CIEMAT, Madrid, Spain
- CIBERONC, Institute of Biomedical Research, University Hospital “12 de Octubre”, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jesus M. Paramio
- Molecular Oncology Unit, CIEMAT, Madrid, Spain
- CIBERONC, Institute of Biomedical Research, University Hospital “12 de Octubre”, Madrid, Spain
| | - Lorena Diéguez
- International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Life Sciences, Braga, Portugal
| | - Paulo P. Freitas
- International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Nanoelectronics Engineering, Braga, Portugal
| | - Marta I. Oliveira
- International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, Department of Life Sciences, Braga, Portugal
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González I, Andrés RR, Pinto A, Carreras P. Influence of Hydrodynamics and Hematocrit on Ultrasound-Induced Blood Plasmapheresis. MICROMACHINES 2020; 11:E751. [PMID: 32751982 PMCID: PMC7463700 DOI: 10.3390/mi11080751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Revised: 07/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Acoustophoretic blood plasma separation is based on cell enrichment processes driven by acoustic radiation forces. The combined influence of hematocrit and hydrodynamics has not yet been quantified in the literature for these processes acoustically induced on blood. In this paper, we present an experimental study of blood samples exposed to ultrasonic standing waves at different hematocrit percentages and hydrodynamic conditions, in order to enlighten their individual influence on the acoustic response of the samples. The experiments were performed in a glass capillary (700 µm-square cross section) actuated by a piezoelectric ceramic at a frequency of 1.153 MHz, hosting 2D orthogonal half-wavelength resonances transverse to the channel length, with a single-pressure-node along its central axis. Different hematocrit percentages Hct = 2.25%, 4.50%, 9.00%, and 22.50%, were tested at eight flow rate conditions of Q = 0:80 µL/min. Cells were collected along the central axis driven by the acoustic radiation force, releasing plasma progressively free of cells. The study shows an optimal performance in a flow rate interval between 20 and 80 µL/min for low hematocrit percentages Hct ≤ 9.0%, which required very short times close to 10 s to achieve cell-free plasma in percentages over 90%. This study opens new lines for low-cost personalized blood diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itziar González
- Group of Ultrasonic Resonators RESULT, ITEFI, National Research Council of Spain CSIC 1, 28006 Madrid, Spain; (R.R.A.); (A.P.); (P.C.)
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Piergiovanni M, Galli V, Holzner G, Stavrakis S, DeMello A, Dubini G. Deformation of leukaemia cell lines in hyperbolic microchannels: investigating the role of shear and extensional components. LAB ON A CHIP 2020; 20:2539-2548. [PMID: 32567621 DOI: 10.1039/d0lc00166j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The mechanical properties of cells are of enormous interest in a diverse range of physio and pathological situations of clinical relevance. Unsurprisingly, a variety of microfluidic platforms have been developed in recent years to study the deformability of cells, most commonly employing pure shear or extensional flows, with and without direct contact of the cells with channel walls. Herein, we investigate the effects of shear and extensional flow components on fluid-induced cell deformation by means of three microchannel geometries. In the case of hyperbolic microchannels, cell deformation takes place in a flow with constant extensional rate, under non-zero shear conditions. A sudden expansion at the microchannel terminus allows one to evaluate shape recovery subsequent to deformation. Comparison with other microchannel shapes, that induce either pure shear (straight channel) or pure extensional (cross channel) flows, reveals different deformation modes. Such an analysis is used to confirm the softening and stiffening effects of common treatments, such as cytochalasin D and formalin on cell deformability. In addition to an experimental analysis of leukaemia cell deformability, computational fluid dynamic simulations are used to deconvolve the role of the aforementioned flow components in the cell deformation dynamics. In general terms, the current study can be used as a guide for extracting deformation/recovery dynamics of leukaemia cell lines when exposed to various fluid dynamic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Piergiovanni
- Laboratory of Biological Structure Mechanics (LaBS), Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano, piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32 - 20133 Milan, Italy.
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16
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Nasiri R, Shamloo A, Ahadian S, Amirifar L, Akbari J, Goudie MJ, Lee K, Ashammakhi N, Dokmeci MR, Di Carlo D, Khademhosseini A. Microfluidic-Based Approaches in Targeted Cell/Particle Separation Based on Physical Properties: Fundamentals and Applications. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2020; 16:e2000171. [PMID: 32529791 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202000171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Revised: 03/15/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Cell separation is a key step in many biomedical research areas including biotechnology, cancer research, regenerative medicine, and drug discovery. While conventional cell sorting approaches have led to high-efficiency sorting by exploiting the cell's specific properties, microfluidics has shown great promise in cell separation by exploiting different physical principles and using different properties of the cells. In particular, label-free cell separation techniques are highly recommended to minimize cell damage and avoid costly and labor-intensive steps of labeling molecular signatures of cells. In general, microfluidic-based cell sorting approaches can separate cells using "intrinsic" (e.g., fluid dynamic forces) versus "extrinsic" external forces (e.g., magnetic, electric field, etc.) and by using different properties of cells including size, density, deformability, shape, as well as electrical, magnetic, and compressibility/acoustic properties to select target cells from a heterogeneous cell population. In this work, principles and applications of the most commonly used label-free microfluidic-based cell separation methods are described. In particular, applications of microfluidic methods for the separation of circulating tumor cells, blood cells, immune cells, stem cells, and other biological cells are summarized. Computational approaches complementing such microfluidic methods are also explained. Finally, challenges and perspectives to further develop microfluidic-based cell separation methods are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rohollah Nasiri
- Center for Minimally Invasive Therapeutics (C-MIT), University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, 11365-11155, Iran
| | - Amir Shamloo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, 11365-11155, Iran
| | - Samad Ahadian
- Center for Minimally Invasive Therapeutics (C-MIT), University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI), Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA
| | - Leyla Amirifar
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, 11365-11155, Iran
| | - Javad Akbari
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, 11365-11155, Iran
| | - Marcus J Goudie
- Center for Minimally Invasive Therapeutics (C-MIT), University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - KangJu Lee
- Center for Minimally Invasive Therapeutics (C-MIT), University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Nureddin Ashammakhi
- Center for Minimally Invasive Therapeutics (C-MIT), University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Mehmet R Dokmeci
- Center for Minimally Invasive Therapeutics (C-MIT), University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI), Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA
- Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Dino Di Carlo
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Ali Khademhosseini
- Center for Minimally Invasive Therapeutics (C-MIT), University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI), Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA
- Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
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17
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Bento D, Lopes S, Maia I, Lima R, Miranda JM. Bubbles Moving in Blood Flow in a Microchannel Network: The Effect on the Local Hematocrit. MICROMACHINES 2020; 11:mi11040344. [PMID: 32224993 PMCID: PMC7230880 DOI: 10.3390/mi11040344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Revised: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Air inside of blood vessels is a phenomenon known as gas embolism. During the past years, studies have been performed to assess the influence of air bubbles in microcirculation. In this study, we investigated the flow of bubbles in a microchannel network with several bifurcations, mimicking part of a capillary system. Thus, two working fluids were used, composed by sheep red blood cells (RBCs) suspended in a Dextran 40 solution with different hematocrits (5% and 10%). The experiments were carried out in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannel network fabricated by a soft lithography. A high-speed video microscopy system was used to obtain the results for a blood flow rate of 10 µL/min. This system enables the visualization of bubble formation and flow along the network. The results showed that the passage of air bubbles strongly influences the cell's local concentration, since a higher concentration of cells was observed upstream of the bubble, whereas a lower local hematocrit was visualized at the region downstream of the bubble. In bifurcations, bubbles may split asymmetrically, leading to an uneven distribution of RBCs between the outflow branches.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bento
- CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP) Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal; (D.B.); (R.L.)
- Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, ESTiG/IPB, C. Sta. Apolónia, 5300-857 Bragança, Portugal;
| | - Sara Lopes
- Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, ESTiG/IPB, C. Sta. Apolónia, 5300-857 Bragança, Portugal;
| | - Inês Maia
- Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal;
| | - Rui Lima
- CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP) Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal; (D.B.); (R.L.)
- MEtRICS, Mechanical Eng. Dep., University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
| | - João M. Miranda
- CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP) Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal; (D.B.); (R.L.)
- Correspondence:
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18
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A Microfluidic Deformability Assessment of Pathological Red Blood Cells Flowing in a Hyperbolic Converging Microchannel. MICROMACHINES 2019; 10:mi10100645. [PMID: 31557932 PMCID: PMC6843121 DOI: 10.3390/mi10100645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2019] [Revised: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The loss of the red blood cells (RBCs) deformability is related with many human diseases, such as malaria, hereditary spherocytosis, sickle cell disease, or renal diseases. Hence, during the last years, a variety of technologies have been proposed to gain insights into the factors affecting the RBCs deformability and their possible direct association with several blood pathologies. In this work, we present a simple microfluidic tool that provides the assessment of motions and deformations of RBCs of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients, under a well-controlled microenvironment. All of the flow studies were performed within a hyperbolic converging microchannels where single-cell deformability was assessed under a controlled homogeneous extensional flow field. By using a passive microfluidic device, RBCs passing through a hyperbolic-shaped contraction were measured by a high-speed video microscopy system, and the velocities and deformability ratios (DR) calculated. Blood samples from 27 individuals, including seven healthy controls and 20 having ESKD with or without diabetes, were analysed. The obtained data indicates that the proposed device is able to detect changes in DR of the RBCs, allowing for distinguishing the samples from the healthy controls and the patients. Overall, the deformability of ESKD patients with and without diabetes type II is lower in comparison with the RBCs from the healthy controls, with this difference being more evident for the group of ESKD patients with diabetes. RBCs from ESKD patients without diabetes elongate on average 8% less, within the hyperbolic contraction, as compared to healthy controls; whereas, RBCs from ESKD patients with diabetes elongate on average 14% less than the healthy controls. The proposed strategy can be easily transformed into a simple and inexpensive diagnostic microfluidic system to assess blood cells deformability due to the huge progress in image processing and high-speed microvisualization technology.
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19
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Catarino SO, Rodrigues RO, Pinho D, Miranda JM, Minas G, Lima R. Blood Cells Separation and Sorting Techniques of Passive Microfluidic Devices: From Fabrication to Applications. MICROMACHINES 2019; 10:mi10090593. [PMID: 31510012 PMCID: PMC6780402 DOI: 10.3390/mi10090593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Revised: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 09/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Since the first microfluidic device was developed more than three decades ago, microfluidics is seen as a technology that exhibits unique features to provide a significant change in the way that modern biology is performed. Blood and blood cells are recognized as important biomarkers of many diseases. Taken advantage of microfluidics assets, changes on blood cell physicochemical properties can be used for fast and accurate clinical diagnosis. In this review, an overview of the microfabrication techniques is given, especially for biomedical applications, as well as a synopsis of some design considerations regarding microfluidic devices. The blood cells separation and sorting techniques were also reviewed, highlighting the main achievements and breakthroughs in the last decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susana O Catarino
- Center for MicroElectromechanical Systems (CMEMS-UMinho), University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Raquel O Rodrigues
- Center for MicroElectromechanical Systems (CMEMS-UMinho), University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Diana Pinho
- Research Centre in Digitalization and Intelligent Robotics (CeDRI), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
- CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Rua Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
| | - João M Miranda
- CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Rua Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
| | - Graça Minas
- Center for MicroElectromechanical Systems (CMEMS-UMinho), University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Rui Lima
- CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Rua Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.
- MEtRICs, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal.
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20
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Kang YJ, Lee SJ. In vitro and ex vivo measurement of the biophysical properties of blood using microfluidic platforms and animal models. Analyst 2019; 143:2723-2749. [PMID: 29740642 DOI: 10.1039/c8an00231b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Haemorheologically impaired microcirculation, such as blood clotting or abnormal blood flow, causes interrupted blood flows in vascular networks. The biophysical properties of blood, including blood viscosity, blood viscoelasticity, haematocrit, red blood bell (RBC) aggregation, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and RBC deformability, have been used to monitor haematological diseases. In this review, we summarise several techniques for measuring haemorheological properties, such as blood viscosity, RBC deformability and RBC aggregation, using in vitro microfluidic platforms. Several methodologies for the measurement of haemorheological properties with the assistance of an extracorporeal rat bypass loop are also presented. We briefly discuss several emerging technologies for continuous, long-term, multiple measurements of haemorheological properties under in vitro or ex vivo conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Jun Kang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chosun University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
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21
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Amar LI, Hill MI, Faria M, Guisado D, van Rijn CJM, Leonard EF. Co-current crossflow microfiltration in a microchannel. Biomed Microdevices 2019; 21:12. [PMID: 30725201 DOI: 10.1007/s10544-019-0362-4] [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] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Steady state crossflow microfiltration (CMF) is an important and often necessary means of particle separation and concentration for both industrial and biomedical processes. The factors controlling the performance of CMF have been extensively reviewed. A major factor is transmembrane pressure (TMP). Because microchannels have small height, they tend to have high pressure gradients in the feed-flow direction. In the extreme, these gradients may even reverse the pressure across the membrane (inciting backflow). It is therefore desirable to compensate for the effect of feed-flow on the TMP, aiming at constant transmembrane pressure (cTMP) at a value which maximizes filtrate flux. This is especially critical during filtration of deformable particles (e.g. erythrocytes) through low intrinsic resistance membranes. Filtration flux is generally taken to be directly proportional to TMP, with pressure drop along the channel decreasing in the flow direction. A co-current flow of filtrate in a suitably designed filtrate collecting channel is shown to allow the TMP to remain constant and permit the sieving surface to perform optimally, permitting up to twice as much filtration over that of a naïve configuration. Manipulation of the filtrate channel may be even more beneficial if it prevents backflow that might otherwise occur at the end of a sufficiently long channel. Experiments with erythrocyte suspensions, reported here, validate these concepts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Levy I Amar
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 500 West 120th street #811, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
| | - Michael I Hill
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Monica Faria
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Daniela Guisado
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Cees J M van Rijn
- MicroFluidics and NanoTechnology/ORC, Wageningen University Stippeneng, Wageningen, 6708 WE, The Netherlands
| | - Edward F Leonard
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 500 West 120th street #811, New York, NY, 10027, USA
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
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22
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Guruprasad P, Mannino RG, Caruso C, Zhang H, Josephson CD, Roback JD, Lam WA. Integrated automated particle tracking microfluidic enables high-throughput cell deformability cytometry for red cell disorders. Am J Hematol 2019; 94:189-199. [PMID: 30417938 DOI: 10.1002/ajh.25345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2018] [Revised: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Investigating individual red blood cells (RBCs) is critical to understanding hematologic diseases, as pathology often originates at the single-cell level. Many RBC disorders manifest in altered biophysical properties, such as deformability of RBCs. Due to limitations in current biophysical assays, there exists a need for high-throughput analysis of RBC deformability with single-cell resolution. To that end, we present a method that pairs a simple in vitro artificial microvasculature network system with an innovative MATLAB-based automated particle tracking program, allowing for high-throughput, single-cell deformability index (sDI) measurements of entire RBC populations. We apply our technology to quantify the sDI of RBCs from healthy volunteers, Sickle cell disease (SCD) patients, a transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia major patient, and in stored packed RBCs (pRBCs) that undergo storage lesion over 4 weeks. Moreover, our system can also measure cell size for each RBC, thereby enabling 2D analysis of cell deformability vs cell size with single cell resolution akin to flow cytometry. Our results demonstrate the clear existence of distinct biophysical RBC subpopulations with high interpatient variability in SCD as indicated by large magnitude skewness and kurtosis values of distribution, the "shifting" of sDI vs RBC size curves over transfusion cycles in beta thalassemia, and the appearance of low sDI RBC subpopulations within 4 days of pRBC storage. Overall, our system offers an inexpensive, convenient, and high-throughput method to gauge single RBC deformability and size for any RBC population and has the potential to aid in disease monitoring and transfusion guidelines for various RBC disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Puneeth Guruprasad
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering; Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Atlanta Georgia
| | - Robert G. Mannino
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering; Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Atlanta Georgia
- Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorder Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Department of Pediatrics; Emory University School of Medicine; Atlanta Georgia
| | - Christina Caruso
- Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorder Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Department of Pediatrics; Emory University School of Medicine; Atlanta Georgia
| | | | - Cassandra D. Josephson
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine; Emory University School of Medicine, Center for Transfusion and Cellular Therapies; Atlanta Georgia
| | - John D. Roback
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine; Emory University School of Medicine, Center for Transfusion and Cellular Therapies; Atlanta Georgia
| | - Wilbur A. Lam
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering; Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University; Atlanta Georgia
- Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorder Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Department of Pediatrics; Emory University School of Medicine; Atlanta Georgia
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23
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Kang YJ. Simultaneous measurement of blood pressure and RBC aggregation by monitoring on–off blood flows supplied from a disposable air-compressed pump. Analyst 2019; 144:3556-3566. [DOI: 10.1039/c9an00025a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
A simple method for simultaneously measuring RBC aggregation and blood pressure is demonstrated by analyzing blood flows supplied from a disposable air-compressed pump.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Jun Kang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering
- Chosun University
- Gwangju
- Republic of Korea
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24
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A Passive Microfluidic Device Based on Crossflow Filtration for Cell Separation Measurements: A Spectrophotometric Characterization. BIOSENSORS-BASEL 2018; 8:bios8040125. [PMID: 30544881 PMCID: PMC6316345 DOI: 10.3390/bios8040125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2018] [Revised: 12/02/2018] [Accepted: 12/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Microfluidic devices have been widely used as a valuable research tool for diagnostic applications. Particularly, they have been related to the successful detection of different diseases and conditions by assessing the mechanical properties of red blood cells (RBCs). Detecting deformability changes in the cells and being able to separate those cells may be a key factor in assuring the success of detection of some blood diseases with diagnostic devices. To detect and separate the chemically modified RBCs (mimicking disease-infected RBCs) from healthy RBCs, the present work proposes a microfluidic device comprising a sequence of pillars with different gaps and nine different outlets used to evaluate the efficiency of the device by measuring the optical absorption of the collected samples. This latter measurement technique was tested to distinguish between healthy RBCs and RBCs chemically modified with glutaraldehyde. The present study indicates that it was possible to detect a slight differences between the samples using an optical absorption spectrophotometric setup. Hence, the proposed microfluidic device has the potential to perform in one single step a partial passive separation of RBCs based on their deformability.
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25
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Microfluidic Deformability Study of an Innovative Blood Analogue Fluid Based on Giant Unilamellar Vesicles. J Funct Biomater 2018; 9:jfb9040070. [PMID: 30518160 PMCID: PMC6306889 DOI: 10.3390/jfb9040070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2018] [Revised: 11/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Blood analogues have long been a topic of interest in biofluid mechanics due to the safety and ethical issues involved in the collection and handling of blood samples. Although the current blood analogue fluids can adequately mimic the rheological properties of blood from a macroscopic point of view, at the microscopic level blood analogues need further development and improvement. In this work, an innovative blood analogue containing giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) was developed to mimic the flow behavior of red blood cells (RBCs). A natural lipid mixture, soybean lecithin, was used for the GUVs preparation, and three different lipid concentrations were tested (1 × 10-3 M, 2 × 10-3 M and 4 × 10-3 M). GUV solutions were prepared by thin film hydration with a buffer, followed by extrusion. It was found that GUVs present diameters between 5 and 7 µm which are close to the size of human RBCs. Experimental flow studies of three different GUV solutions were performed in a hyperbolic-shaped microchannel in order to measure the GUVs deformability when subjected to a homogeneous extensional flow. The result of the deformation index (DI) of the GUVs was about 0.5, which is in good agreement with the human RBC's DI. Hence, the GUVs developed in this study are a promising way to mimic the mechanical properties of the RBCs and to further develop particulate blood analogues with flow properties closer to those of real blood.
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26
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Kang YJ. A Disposable Blood-on-a-Chip for Simultaneous Measurement of Multiple Biophysical Properties. MICROMACHINES 2018; 9:E475. [PMID: 30424408 PMCID: PMC6215101 DOI: 10.3390/mi9100475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2018] [Revised: 09/15/2018] [Accepted: 09/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Biophysical properties are widely used to detect pathophysiological processes of vascular diseases or clinical states. For early detection of cardiovascular diseases, it is necessary to simultaneously measure multiple biophysical properties in a microfluidic environment. However, a microfluidic-based technique for measuring multiple biophysical properties has not been demonstrated. In this study, a simple measurement method was suggested to quantify three biophysical properties of blood, including red blood cell (RBC) deformability, RBC aggregation, and hematocrit. To demonstrate the suggested method, a microfluidic device was constructed, being composed of a big-sized channel (BC), a parallel micropillar (MP), a main channel, a branch channel, inlet, and outlets. By operating a single syringe pump, blood was supplied into the inlet of the microfluidic device, at a periodic on-off profile (i.e., period = 240 s). The RBC deformability index (DI) was obtained by analyzing the averaged blood velocity in the branch channel. Additionally, the RBC aggregation index (AIN) and the hematocrit index (HiBC) were measured by analyzing the image intensity of blood flows in the MP and the BC, respectively. The corresponding contributions of three influencing factors, including the turn-on time (Ton), the amplitude of blood flow rate (Q₀), and the hematocrit (Hct) on the biophysical indices (DI, AIN, and HiBC) were evaluated quantitatively. As the three biophysical indices varied significantly with respect to the three factors, the following conditions (i.e., Ton = 210 s, Q₀ = 1 mL/h, and Hct = 50%) were maintained for consistent measurement of biophysical properties. The proposed method was employed to detect variations of biophysical properties depending on the concentrations of autologous plasma, homogeneous hardened RBCs, and heterogeneous hardened RBCs. Based on the observations, the proposed method exhibited significant differences in biophysical properties depending on base solutions, homogeneous hardened RBCs (i.e., all RBCs fixed with the same concentration of glutaraldehyde solution), and heterogeneous hardened RBCs (i.e., partially mixed with normal RBCs and homogeneous hardened RBCs). Additionally, the suggested indices (i.e., DI, AIN, and HiBC) were effectively employed to quantify three biophysical properties, including RBC deformability, RBC aggregation, and hematocrit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Jun Kang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chosun University, 309 Pilmun-daero, Dong-gu, Gwangju 61452, Korea.
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27
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Boas LV, Faustino V, Lima R, Miranda JM, Minas G, Fernandes CSV, Catarino SO. Assessment of the Deformability and Velocity of Healthy and Artificially Impaired Red Blood Cells in Narrow Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Microchannels. MICROMACHINES 2018; 9:E384. [PMID: 30424317 PMCID: PMC6187685 DOI: 10.3390/mi9080384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2018] [Revised: 07/19/2018] [Accepted: 07/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Malaria is one of the leading causes of death in underdeveloped regions. Thus, the development of rapid, efficient, and competitive diagnostic techniques is essential. This work reports a study of the deformability and velocity assessment of healthy and artificially impaired red blood cells (RBCs), with the purpose of potentially mimicking malaria effects, in narrow polydimethylsiloxane microchannels. To obtain impaired RBCs, their properties were modified by adding, to the RBCs, different concentrations of glucose, glutaraldehyde, or diamide, in order to increase the cells' rigidity. The effects of the RBCs' artificial stiffening were evaluated by combining image analysis techniques with microchannels with a contraction width of 8 µm, making it possible to measure the cells' deformability and velocity of both healthy and modified RBCs. The results showed that healthy RBCs naturally deform when they cross the contractions and rapidly recover their original shape. In contrast, for the modified samples with high concentration of chemicals, the same did not occur. Additionally, for all the tested modification methods, the results have shown a decrease in the RBCs' deformability and velocity as the cells' rigidity increases, when compared to the behavior of healthy RBCs samples. These results show the ability of the image analysis tools combined with microchannel contractions to obtain crucial information on the pathological blood phenomena in microcirculation. Particularly, it was possible to measure the deformability of the RBCs and their velocity, resulting in a velocity/deformability relation in the microchannel. This correlation shows great potential to relate the RBCs' behavior with the various stages of malaria, helping to establish the development of new diagnostic systems towards point-of-care devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liliana Vilas Boas
- Microelectromechanical Systems Research Unit (CMEMS-UMinho), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal.
- Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, ESTiG, C. Sta. Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal.
| | - Vera Faustino
- Microelectromechanical Systems Research Unit (CMEMS-UMinho), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal.
- MEtRICs, DEM, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal.
| | - Rui Lima
- MEtRICs, DEM, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal.
- CEFT, University of Porto, 4000-008 Porto, Portugal.
| | | | - Graça Minas
- Microelectromechanical Systems Research Unit (CMEMS-UMinho), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal.
| | | | - Susana Oliveira Catarino
- Microelectromechanical Systems Research Unit (CMEMS-UMinho), University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal.
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Amar LI, Guisado D, Faria M, Jones JP, van Rijn CJM, Hill MI, Leonard EF. Erythrocyte fouling on micro-engineered membranes. Biomed Microdevices 2018; 20:55. [PMID: 29971550 DOI: 10.1007/s10544-018-0297-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Crossflow microfiltration of plasma from blood through microsieves in a microchannel is potentially useful in many biomedical applications, including clinically as a wearable water removal device under development by the authors. We report experiments that correlate filtration rates, transmembrane pressures (TMP) and shear rates during filtration through a microscopically high channel bounded by a low intrinsic resistance photolithographically-produced porous semiconductor membrane. These experiments allowed observation of erythrocyte behavior at the filtering surface and showed how their unique deformability properties dominated filtration resistance. At low filtration rates (corresponding to low TMP), they rolled along the filter surface, but at higher filtration rates (corresponding to higher TMP), they anchored themselves to the filter membrane, forming a self-assembled, incomplete monolayer. The incompleteness of the layer was an essential feature of the monolayer's ability to support sustainable filtration. Maximum steady-state filtration flux was a function of wall shear rate, as predicted by conventional crossflow filtration theory, but, contrary to theories based on convective diffusion, showed weak dependence of filtration on erythrocyte concentration. Post-filtration scanning electron micrographs revealed significant capture and deformation of erythrocytes in all filter pores in the range 0.25 to 2 μm diameter. We report filtration rates through these filters and describe a largely unrecognized mechanism that allows stable filtration in the presence of substantial cell layers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Levy I Amar
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
| | - Daniela Guisado
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Monica Faria
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - James P Jones
- Department of Nephrology, Mount Sinai St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, New York, NY, 10025, USA
| | - Cees J M van Rijn
- MicroFluidics and NanoTechnology/ORC, Wageningen University Stippeneng, Wageningen, 6708, WE, The Netherlands
| | - Michael I Hill
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Edward F Leonard
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA.,Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
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Bento D, Rodrigues RO, Faustino V, Pinho D, Fernandes CS, Pereira AI, Garcia V, Miranda JM, Lima R. Deformation of Red Blood Cells, Air Bubbles, and Droplets in Microfluidic Devices: Flow Visualizations and Measurements. MICROMACHINES 2018; 9:E151. [PMID: 30424085 PMCID: PMC6187860 DOI: 10.3390/mi9040151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2018] [Revised: 03/21/2018] [Accepted: 03/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Techniques, such as micropipette aspiration and optical tweezers, are widely used to measure cell mechanical properties, but are generally labor-intensive and time-consuming, typically involving a difficult process of manipulation. In the past two decades, a large number of microfluidic devices have been developed due to the advantages they offer over other techniques, including transparency for direct optical access, lower cost, reduced space and labor, precise control, and easy manipulation of a small volume of blood samples. This review presents recent advances in the development of microfluidic devices to evaluate the mechanical response of individual red blood cells (RBCs) and microbubbles flowing in constriction microchannels. Visualizations and measurements of the deformation of RBCs flowing through hyperbolic, smooth, and sudden-contraction microchannels were evaluated and compared. In particular, we show the potential of using hyperbolic-shaped microchannels to precisely control and assess small changes in RBC deformability in both physiological and pathological situations. Moreover, deformations of air microbubbles and droplets flowing through a microfluidic constriction were also compared with RBCs deformability.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bento
- Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, ESTiG/IPB, C. Sta. Apolónia, 5301-857 Bragança, Portugal.
- CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP) Rua Roberto Frias, 4800-058 Porto, Portugal.
| | - Raquel O Rodrigues
- Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, ESTiG/IPB, C. Sta. Apolónia, 5301-857 Bragança, Portugal.
- LCM-Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials-Associate Laboratory LSRE/LCM, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP) Rua Roberto Frias, 4800-058 Porto, Portugal.
| | - Vera Faustino
- MEMS-UMinho Research Unit, Universidade do Minho, DEI, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal.
| | - Diana Pinho
- Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, ESTiG/IPB, C. Sta. Apolónia, 5301-857 Bragança, Portugal.
- CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP) Rua Roberto Frias, 4800-058 Porto, Portugal.
- Centro de Investigação em Digitalização e Robótica Inteligente (CeDRI), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal.
| | - Carla S Fernandes
- Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, ESTiG/IPB, C. Sta. Apolónia, 5301-857 Bragança, Portugal.
| | - Ana I Pereira
- Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, ESTiG/IPB, C. Sta. Apolónia, 5301-857 Bragança, Portugal.
- Centro de Investigação em Digitalização e Robótica Inteligente (CeDRI), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal.
- Algoritmi R&D Centre, Campus de Gualtar, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.
| | - Valdemar Garcia
- Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, ESTiG/IPB, C. Sta. Apolónia, 5301-857 Bragança, Portugal.
| | - João M Miranda
- CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP) Rua Roberto Frias, 4800-058 Porto, Portugal.
| | - Rui Lima
- CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP) Rua Roberto Frias, 4800-058 Porto, Portugal.
- MEtRiCS, Mechanical Engineering Department, Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal.
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Abdulla A, Liu W, Gholamipour-Shirazi A, Sun J, Ding X. High-Throughput Isolation of Circulating Tumor Cells Using Cascaded Inertial Focusing Microfluidic Channel. Anal Chem 2018. [PMID: 29537252 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.7b04210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are rare cells that detach from a primary or metastasis tumor and flow into the bloodstream. Intact and viable tumor cells are needed for genetic characterization of CTCs, new drug development, and other research. Although separation of CTCs using spiral channel with two outlets has been reported, few literature demonstrated simultaneous isolation of different types of CTCs from human blood using cascaded inertial focusing microfluidic channel. Herein, we introduce a cascaded microfluidic device consisting of two spiral channels and one zigzag channel designed with different fluid fields, including lift force, Dean drag force, and centrifugal force. Both red blood cells (RBCs)-lysed human blood spiked with CTCs and 1:50 diluted human whole blood spiked with CTCs were tested on the presented chip. This chip successfully separated RBCs, white blood cells (WBCs), and two different types of tumor cells (human lung cancer cells (A549) and human breast cancer cells (MCF-7)) simultaneously based on their physical properties. A total of 80.75% of A549 and 73.75% of MCF-7 were faithfully separated from human whole blood. Furthermore, CTCs gathered from outlets could propagate and remained intact. The cell viability of A549 and MCF-7 were 95% and 98%, respectively. The entire separating process for CTCs from blood cells could be finished within 20 min. The cascaded microfluidic device introduced in this study serves as a novel platform for simultaneous isolation of multiple types of CTCs from patient blood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aynur Abdulla
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Institute for Personalized Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai 200030 , China
| | - Wenjia Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Institute for Personalized Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai 200030 , China
| | - Azarmidokht Gholamipour-Shirazi
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Institute for Personalized Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai 200030 , China
| | - Jiahui Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Institute for Personalized Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai 200030 , China
| | - Xianting Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Institute for Personalized Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , Shanghai 200030 , China
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31
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Portable vibration-assisted filtration device for on-site isolation of blood cells or pathogenic bacteria from whole human blood. Talanta 2018; 179:207-212. [DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2017.09.075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2017] [Revised: 09/27/2017] [Accepted: 09/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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32
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Islam MM, Beverung S, Steward R. Bio-Inspired Microdevices that Mimic the Human Vasculature. MICROMACHINES 2017; 8:mi8100299. [PMID: 30400489 PMCID: PMC6190335 DOI: 10.3390/mi8100299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2017] [Revised: 09/25/2017] [Accepted: 09/26/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Blood vessels may be found throughout the entire body and their importance to human life is undeniable. This is evident in the fact that a malfunctioning blood vessel can result in mild symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain to more severe symptoms such as a heart attack or stroke, to even death in the severest of cases. Furthermore, there are a host of pathologies that have been linked to the human vasculature. As a result many researchers have attempted to unlock the mysteries of the vasculature by performing studies that duplicate the physiological structural, chemical, and mechanical properties known to exist. While the ideal study would consist of utilizing living, blood vessels derived from human tissue, such studies are not always possible since intact human blood vessels are not readily accessible and there are immense technical difficulties associated with such studies. These limitations have opened the door for the development of microdevices modeled after the human vasculature as it is believed by many researchers in the field that such devices can one day replace tissue models. In this review we present an overview of microdevices developed to mimic various types of vasculature found throughout the human body. Although the human body contains a diverse array of vascular systems for this review we limit our discussion to the cardiovascular system and cerebrovascular system and discuss such systems that have been fabricated in both 2D and 3D configurations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Mydul Islam
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA.
| | - Sean Beverung
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA.
| | - Robert Steward
- Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Medicine, Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA.
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33
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Measurement of Impedimetric Ratio of Blood Cells Using Microfluidic Chip with ZnO Nanowires. J Med Biol Eng 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s40846-017-0333-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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34
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Pinho D, Campo-Deaño L, Lima R, Pinho FT. In vitro particulate analogue fluids for experimental studies of rheological and hemorheological behavior of glucose-rich RBC suspensions. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2017; 11:054105. [PMID: 28966701 PMCID: PMC5608610 DOI: 10.1063/1.4998190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2017] [Accepted: 07/28/2017] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Suspensions of healthy and pathological red blood cells (RBC) flowing in microfluidic devices are frequently used to perform in vitro blood experiments for a better understanding of human microcirculation hemodynamic phenomena. This work reports the development of particulate viscoelastic analogue fluids able to mimic the rheological and hemorheological behavior of pathological RBC suspensions flowing in microfluidic systems. The pathological RBCs were obtained by an incubation of healthy RBCs at a high concentration of glucose, representing the pathological stage of hyperglycaemia in diabetic complications, and analyses of their deformability and aggregation were carried out. Overall, the developed in vitro analogue fluids were composed of a suspension of semi-rigid microbeads in a carrier viscoelastic fluid made of dextran 40 and xanthan gum. All suspensions of healthy and pathological RBCs, as well as their particulate analogue fluids, were extensively characterized in steady shear flow, as well as in small and large amplitude oscillatory shear flow. In addition, the well-known cell-free layer (CFL) phenomenon occurring in microchannels was investigated in detail to provide comparisons between healthy and pathological in vitro RBC suspensions and their corresponding analogue fluids at different volume concentrations (5% and 20%). The experimental results have shown a similar rheological behavior between the samples containing a suspension of pathological RBCs and the proposed analogue fluids. Moreover, this work shows that the particulate in vitro analogue fluids used have the ability to mimic well the CFL phenomenon occurring downstream of a microchannel contraction for pathological RBC suspensions. The proposed particulate fluids provide a more realistic behavior of the flow properties of suspended RBCs when compared with existing non-particulate blood analogues, and consequently, they are advantageous for detailed investigations of microcirculation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Laura Campo-Deaño
- CEFT, DEMec, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
| | | | - Fernando T Pinho
- CEFT, DEMec, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
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35
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Stauber H, Waisman D, Korin N, Sznitman J. Red blood cell (RBC) suspensions in confined microflows: Pressure-flow relationship. Med Eng Phys 2017; 48:49-54. [PMID: 28838798 DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2017.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2017] [Revised: 07/12/2017] [Accepted: 08/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Microfluidic-based assays have become increasingly popular to explore microcirculation in vitro. In these experiments, blood is resuspended to a desired haematocrit level in a buffer solution, where frequent choices for preparing RBC suspensions comprise notably Dextran and physiological buffer. Yet, the rational for selecting one buffer versus another is often ill-defined and lacks detailed quantification, including ensuing changes in RBC flow characteristics. Here, we revisit RBC suspensions in microflows and attempt to quantify systematically some of the differences emanating between buffers. We measure bulk flow rate (Q) of RBC suspensions, using PBS- and Dextran-40, as a function of the applied pressure drop (ΔP) for two hematocrits (∼0% and 23%). Two distinct microfluidic designs of varying dimensions are employed: a straight channel larger than and a network array similar to the size of individual RBCs. Using the resulting pressure-flow curves, we extract the equivalent hydrodynamic resistances and estimate the relative viscosities. These efforts are a first step in rigorously quantifying the influence of the 'background' buffer on RBC flows within microfluidic devices and thereby underline the importance of purposefully selecting buffer suspensions for microfluidic in vitro assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hagit Stauber
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 3200003 Haifa, Israel
| | - Dan Waisman
- Department of Neonatology, Carmel Medical Center, 3436212 Haifa, Israel; Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 3200003 Haifa, Israel
| | - Netanel Korin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 3200003 Haifa, Israel
| | - Josué Sznitman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, 3200003 Haifa, Israel.
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36
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Bento D, Pereira AI, Lima J, Miranda JM, Lima R. Cell-free layer measurements ofin vitroblood flow in a microfluidic network: an automatic and manual approach. COMPUTER METHODS IN BIOMECHANICS AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING-IMAGING AND VISUALIZATION 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/21681163.2017.1329029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- D. Bento
- School of Technology and Management (ESTiG), Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), Bragança, Portugal
- CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Porto, Portugal
| | - A. I. Pereira
- School of Technology and Management (ESTiG), Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), Bragança, Portugal
- Algoritmi R & D Centre, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - J. Lima
- School of Technology and Management (ESTiG), Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), Bragança, Portugal
- INESC TEC – Centre for Robotics in Industry and Intelligent Systems, Porto, Portugal
| | - J. M. Miranda
- CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Porto, Portugal
| | - R. Lima
- School of Technology and Management (ESTiG), Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB), Bragança, Portugal
- MEtRiCS, Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Minho, Guimarães, Portugal
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37
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Guillou L, Dahl JB, Lin JMG, Barakat AI, Husson J, Muller SJ, Kumar S. Measuring Cell Viscoelastic Properties Using a Microfluidic Extensional Flow Device. Biophys J 2016; 111:2039-2050. [PMID: 27806284 PMCID: PMC5103028 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2016.09.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2016] [Revised: 08/23/2016] [Accepted: 09/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The quantification of cellular mechanical properties is of tremendous interest in biology and medicine. Recent microfluidic technologies that infer cellular mechanical properties based on analysis of cellular deformations during microchannel traversal have dramatically improved throughput over traditional single-cell rheological tools, yet the extraction of material parameters from these measurements remains quite complex due to challenges such as confinement by channel walls and the domination of complex inertial forces. Here, we describe a simple microfluidic platform that uses hydrodynamic forces at low Reynolds number and low confinement to elongate single cells near the stagnation point of a planar extensional flow. In tandem, we present, to our knowledge, a novel analytical framework that enables determination of cellular viscoelastic properties (stiffness and fluidity) from these measurements. We validated our system and analysis by measuring the stiffness of cross-linked dextran microparticles, which yielded reasonable agreement with previously reported values and our micropipette aspiration measurements. We then measured viscoelastic properties of 3T3 fibroblasts and glioblastoma tumor initiating cells. Our system captures the expected changes in elastic modulus induced in 3T3 fibroblasts and tumor initiating cells in response to agents that soften (cytochalasin D) or stiffen (paraformaldehyde) the cytoskeleton. The simplicity of the device coupled with our analytical model allows straightforward measurement of the viscoelastic properties of cells and soft, spherical objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lionel Guillou
- Hydrodynamics Laboratory, CNRS UMR7646, Department of Mechanics, École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France
| | - Joanna B Dahl
- Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California
| | - Jung-Ming G Lin
- Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California; The UC Berkeley-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California
| | - AbduI I Barakat
- Hydrodynamics Laboratory, CNRS UMR7646, Department of Mechanics, École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France
| | - Julien Husson
- Hydrodynamics Laboratory, CNRS UMR7646, Department of Mechanics, École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France
| | - Susan J Muller
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California
| | - Sanjay Kumar
- Department of Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California; The UC Berkeley-UCSF Graduate Program in Bioengineering, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, California.
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38
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Zografos K, Pimenta F, Alves MA, Oliveira MSN. Microfluidic converging/diverging channels optimised for homogeneous extensional deformation. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2016; 10:043508. [PMID: 27478523 PMCID: PMC4947041 DOI: 10.1063/1.4954814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2016] [Accepted: 06/13/2016] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we optimise microfluidic converging/diverging geometries in order to produce constant strain-rates along the centreline of the flow, for performing studies under homogeneous extension. The design is examined for both two-dimensional and three-dimensional flows where the effects of aspect ratio and dimensionless contraction length are investigated. Initially, pressure driven flows of Newtonian fluids under creeping flow conditions are considered, which is a reasonable approximation in microfluidics, and the limits of the applicability of the design in terms of Reynolds numbers are investigated. The optimised geometry is then used for studying the flow of viscoelastic fluids and the practical limitations in terms of Weissenberg number are reported. Furthermore, the optimisation strategy is also applied for electro-osmotic driven flows, where the development of a plug-like velocity profile allows for a wider region of homogeneous extensional deformation in the flow field.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Zografos
- James Weir Fluids Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Strathclyde , Glasgow G1 1XJ, United Kingdom
| | - F Pimenta
- Centro de Estudos de Fenómenos de Transporte, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto , 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
| | - M A Alves
- Centro de Estudos de Fenómenos de Transporte, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto , 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
| | - M S N Oliveira
- James Weir Fluids Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Strathclyde , Glasgow G1 1XJ, United Kingdom
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39
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Zeng NF, Mancuso JE, Zivkovic AM, Smilowitz JT, Ristenpart WD. Red Blood Cells from Individuals with Abdominal Obesity or Metabolic Abnormalities Exhibit Less Deformability upon Entering a Constriction. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0156070. [PMID: 27258098 PMCID: PMC4892523 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0156070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2015] [Accepted: 05/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Abdominal obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS) are multifactorial conditions associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes mellitus. Previous work has demonstrated that the hemorheological profile is altered in patients with abdominal obesity and MS, as evidenced for example by increased whole blood viscosity. To date, however, no studies have examined red blood cell (RBC) deformability of blood from individuals with obesity or metabolic abnormalities under typical physiological flow conditions. In this study, we pumped RBCs through a constriction in a microfluidic device and used high speed video to visualize and track the mechanical behavior of ~8,000 RBCs obtained from either healthy individuals (n = 5) or obese participants with metabolic abnormalities (OMA) (n = 4). We demonstrate that the OMA+ cells stretched on average about 25% less than the healthy controls. Furthermore, we examined the effects of ingesting a high-fat meal on RBC mechanical dynamics, and found that the postprandial period has only a weak effect on the stretching dynamics exhibited by OMA+ cells. The results suggest that chronic rigidification of RBCs plays a key role in the increased blood pressure and increased whole blood viscosity observed in OMA individuals and was independent of an acute response triggered by consumption of a high-fat meal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy F. Zeng
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Davis, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America
| | - Jordan E. Mancuso
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Davis, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America
| | - Angela M. Zivkovic
- Department of Nutrition, University of California Davis, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America
| | - Jennifer T. Smilowitz
- Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California Davis, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America
| | - William D. Ristenpart
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Davis, Davis, California, 95616, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Muñoz-Sánchez BN, Silva SF, Pinho D, Vega EJ, Lima R. Generation of micro-sized PDMS particles by a flow focusing technique for biomicrofluidics applications. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2016; 10:014122. [PMID: 27042245 PMCID: PMC4807564 DOI: 10.1063/1.4943007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2016] [Accepted: 02/17/2016] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), due to its remarkable properties, is one of the most widely used polymers in many industrial and medical applications. In this work, a technique based on a flow focusing technique is used to produce PDMS spherical particles with sizes of a few microns. PDMS precursor is injected through a hypodermic needle to form a film/reservoir over the needle's outer surface. This film flows towards the needle tip until a liquid ligament is steadily ejected thanks to the action of a coflowing viscous liquid stream. The outcome is a capillary jet which breaks up into PDMS precursor droplets due to the growth of capillary waves producing a micrometer emulsion. The PDMS liquid droplets in the solution are thermally cured into solid microparticles. The size distribution of the particles is analyzed before and after curing, showing an acceptable degree of monodispersity. The PDMS liquid droplets suffer shrinkage while curing. These microparticles can be used in very varied technological fields, such as biomedicine, biotechnology, pharmacy, and industrial engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- B N Muñoz-Sánchez
- Depto. de Mecánica de Fluidos e Ingeniería Aeroespacial, Universidad de Sevilla , E-41092 Sevilla, Spain
| | - S F Silva
- Polytechnic Institute of Bragança , Campus de Santa Apolónia, Bragança, Portugal
| | | | - E J Vega
- Depto. de Ingeniería Mecánica, Energética y de los Materiales and Instituto de Computación Científica Avanzada (ICCAEx), Universidad de Extremadura , E-06006 Badajoz, Spain
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Particulate Blood Analogues Reproducing the Erythrocytes Cell-Free Layer in a Microfluidic Device Containing a Hyperbolic Contraction. MICROMACHINES 2015; 7:mi7010004. [PMID: 30407376 PMCID: PMC6189708 DOI: 10.3390/mi7010004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2015] [Revised: 12/21/2015] [Accepted: 12/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The interest in the development of blood analogues has been increasing recently as a consequence of the increment in the number of experimental hemodynamic studies and the difficulties associated with the manipulation of real blood in vitro because of ethical, economical or hazardous issues. Although one-phase Newtonian and non-Newtonian blood analogues can be found in the literature, there are very few studies related to the use of particulate solutions in which the particles mimic the behaviour of the red blood cells (RBCs) or erythrocytes. One of the most relevant effects related with the behaviour of the erythrocytes is a cell-free layer (CFL) formation, which consists in the migration of the RBCs towards the center of the vessel forming a cell depleted plasma region near the vessel walls, which is known to happen in in vitro microcirculatory environments. Recent studies have shown that the CFL enhancement is possible with an insertion of contraction and expansion region in a straight microchannel. These effects are useful for cell manipulation or sorting in lab-on-chip studies. In this experimental study we present particulate Newtonian and non-Newtonian solutions which resulted in a rheological blood analogue able to form a CFL, downstream of a microfluidic hyperbolic contraction, in a similar way of the one formed by healthy RBCs.
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Pinho D, Rodrigues RO, Faustino V, Yaginuma T, Exposto J, Lima R. Red blood cells radial dispersion in blood flowing through microchannels: The role of temperature. J Biomech 2015; 49:2293-2298. [PMID: 26671221 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2015.11.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2015] [Accepted: 11/07/2015] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The behavior of suspensions of individual blood cells, such as red blood cells (RBCs), flowing through microvessels and microfluidic systems depend strongly on the hematocrit (Hct), microvessel topology and cell properties. Although it is well known that blood rheological properties are temperature dependent, to the best of our knowledge no work has studied the role of the temperature on the RBCs dispersion. A powerful way to investigate this latter effect is through a high-speed video microscopy system, which provides detailed flow measurements of each individual RBC. Hence, the effect of temperature on the RBCs dispersion flowing through a 100μm glass capillary was examined by means of a confocal micro-PTV system. Hundreds of labeled RBCs were tracked at moderate Hct (12%) and at four different temperatures, i.e., 25°C, 32°C, 37°C and 42°C. The results yielded an enhancement of the RBCs diffusion as the temperature increases. Hence, our findings show that RBCs radial dispersion is temperature dependent and as a result the temperature should not be ignored in future blood flow studies. We believe that this finding is important for a better understanding of blood mass transport mechanisms under both physiological and pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Pinho
- Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, ESTiG/IPB, C. Sta. Apolónia, 5301-857 Bragança, Portugal; CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
| | - Raquel O Rodrigues
- Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, ESTiG/IPB, C. Sta. Apolónia, 5301-857 Bragança, Portugal; LCM - Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials - Associate Laboratory LSRE/LCM, Faculdade de Engenharia, da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
| | - Vera Faustino
- Unidade de Investigação em Microssistemas Eletromecânicos (MEMS), Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Tomoko Yaginuma
- Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, ESTiG/IPB, C. Sta. Apolónia, 5301-857 Bragança, Portugal
| | - José Exposto
- Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, ESTiG/IPB, C. Sta. Apolónia, 5301-857 Bragança, Portugal
| | - Rui Lima
- Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, ESTiG/IPB, C. Sta. Apolónia, 5301-857 Bragança, Portugal; CEFT, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), R. Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal; MEtRiCS, DME, School of Engineering, University of Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal.
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