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Kim B, Kumar S, Chon B, Son HJ, Kang SO, Seo S. Facile microfluidic synthesis of monodispersed size-controllable quantum dot (QD) microbeads using custom developed QD photoresist. NANOSCALE 2023; 15:17473-17481. [PMID: 37861429 DOI: 10.1039/d3nr03544a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2023]
Abstract
Fluorescent microbeads (MBs) are widely used as next-generation biosensors for the detection of target chemicals at highly sensitive concentrations, and for imaging and tracking in vitro and in vivo. However, most known methods for producing fluorescent MBs require complicated multistep processes that result in low production rates. In this study, we report a method for fabricating micrometer-sized quantum dot microbeads (QD-MBs) using a microfluidic chip and specially designed QD photoresist (QD-PR). This on-demand lab-on-a-chip method yielded monodispersed QD-MBs ranging from 1.89 to 33 μm with a coefficient of variation of less than 10%. The size distribution of the fabricated QD-MBs was Gaussian with a peak around the mean diameter and a spread of sizes around the peak. Compared with nanoscale QDs, the fabricated QD-MBs showed no emission loss. The full-width at half-maximum of the emission peak of the QD-MBs was smaller than that of the colloidal QDs, indicating a more uniform distribution and a higher density of QDs within the MB structure. In addition, we investigated the microfluidic flow regime that yielded the most uniform and controllable QD-MB. The MBs in the dripping regime were spherical and monodisperse, with an excellent particle size distribution. In this study, we present a simple and effective strategy for producing QD-MBs with controllable sizes, which can be crucial in diverse fields such as biosensing, drug delivery, and imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byeongseok Kim
- Department of Electronics and Information Engineering, Korea University, Sejong 30019, Republic of Korea.
| | - Samir Kumar
- Department of Electronics and Information Engineering, Korea University, Sejong 30019, Republic of Korea.
| | - Bumsoo Chon
- Department of Advanced Materials Chemistry, Korea University, Sejong 30019, Republic of Korea
| | - Ho-Jin Son
- Department of Advanced Materials Chemistry, Korea University, Sejong 30019, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang Ook Kang
- Department of Advanced Materials Chemistry, Korea University, Sejong 30019, Republic of Korea
| | - Sungkyu Seo
- Department of Electronics and Information Engineering, Korea University, Sejong 30019, Republic of Korea.
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Zhang T, Zhang H, Zhou W, Jiang K, Liu C, Wang R, Zhou Y, Zhang Z, Mei Q, Dong WF, Sun M, Li H. One-Step Generation and Purification of Cell-Encapsulated Hydrogel Microsphere With an Easily Assembled Microfluidic Device. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 9:816089. [PMID: 35155414 PMCID: PMC8831896 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.816089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell-laden hydrogel microspheres with uniform size show great potential for tissue repair and drug screening applications. Droplet microfluidic systems have been widely used for the generation of cell-laden hydrogel microspheres. However, existing droplet microfluidic systems are mostly based on complex chips and are not compatible with well culture plates. Moreover, microspheres produced by droplet microfluidics need demulsification and purification from oil, which requires time and effort and may compromise cell viability. Herein, we present a simple one-step approach for producing and purifying hydrogel microspheres with an easily assembled microfluidic device. Droplets were generated and solidified in the device tubing. The obtained hydrogel microspheres were then transferred to a tissue culture plate filled with cell culture media and demulsified through evaporation of the oil at 37°C. The removal of oil caused the gelled microspheres to be released into the cell culture media. The encapsulated cells demonstrated good viability and grew into tumor spheroids in 12–14 days. Single cell-laden hydrogel microspheres were also obtained and grown into spheroid in 14 days. This one-step microsphere generation method shows good potential for applications in automated spheroid and organoid cultures as well as drug screening, and could potentially offer benefits for translation of cell/microgel technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Zhang
- School of Biomedical Engineering (Suzhou), Division of Life Sciences and Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Key Lab of Bio-Medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Suzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Wen-Fei Dong, ; Minxuan Sun, ; Haiwen Li, ; Tao Zhang,
| | - Hong Zhang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Medical Optics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, China
- School of Life Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wuping Zhou
- School of Biomedical Engineering (Suzhou), Division of Life Sciences and Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Key Lab of Bio-Medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Suzhou, China
| | - Keming Jiang
- School of Biomedical Engineering (Suzhou), Division of Life Sciences and Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Key Lab of Bio-Medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Suzhou, China
| | - Cong Liu
- CAS Key Lab of Bio-Medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Suzhou, China
| | - Ru Wang
- School of Life Science and Technology, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, China
| | - Yuanshuai Zhou
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Medical Optics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, China
| | - Zhiqiang Zhang
- CAS Key Lab of Bio-Medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Suzhou, China
| | - Qian Mei
- CAS Key Lab of Bio-Medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Suzhou, China
| | - Wen-Fei Dong
- School of Biomedical Engineering (Suzhou), Division of Life Sciences and Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- CAS Key Lab of Bio-Medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Suzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Wen-Fei Dong, ; Minxuan Sun, ; Haiwen Li, ; Tao Zhang,
| | - Minxuan Sun
- School of Biomedical Engineering (Suzhou), Division of Life Sciences and Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Medical Optics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Wen-Fei Dong, ; Minxuan Sun, ; Haiwen Li, ; Tao Zhang,
| | - Haiwen Li
- CAS Key Lab of Bio-Medical Diagnostics, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Suzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Wen-Fei Dong, ; Minxuan Sun, ; Haiwen Li, ; Tao Zhang,
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