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Seo S, Kim T. In-Situ Gas Permeation-Driven Ionic Current Rectification of Heterogeneously Charged Nanopore Arrays. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024:e2402188. [PMID: 38899397 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202402188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2024] [Revised: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Ionic diodes provide ionic current rectification (ICR), which is useful for micro-/nanofluidic devices for ionic current-mediated applications. However, the modulation of ICR is not fully developed, and current challenges include limited active control and localized modulation for further multiplexing of micro-/nanofluidic ionic diodes. Herein, a microfluidic device integrated with particle-assembly-based ionic diodes (PAIDs) and a gas-flow channel above them is presented. Exploiting in-situ gas permeation through a polymeric film, precise control over the physiochemical conditions of the nanopores within the PAIDs, leading to the modulation of ICR is demonstrated. The investigation not only characterizes the rectification properties of the PAIDs but also unveils their capacitor-like behavior and the ability to actively modulate ICR using various gas flows. Furthermore, the reversible modulation of ICR through dynamic switching of gas-dissolved solutions, enabling ion-signal amplification is showcased. This pioneering approach of in situ gas-permeation offers programmable manipulation of ion transport along PAIDs, thereby positioning ionic diodes as versatile nanofluidic components. Looking ahead, the development of multiplexed PAIDs in an addressable manner on a chip holds promise for practical applications across diverse fields, including ion signaling, ion-based logic, chemical reactors, and (bio)chemical sensing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sangjin Seo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 50 UNIST-gil, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Taesung Kim
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 50 UNIST-gil, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 50 UNIST-gil, Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea
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Shanehband N, Naghib SM. Recent advances in nano/microfluidics-based cell isolation techniques for cancer diagnosis and treatments. Biochimie 2024; 220:122-143. [PMID: 38176605 DOI: 10.1016/j.biochi.2024.01.001] [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: 05/07/2023] [Revised: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/01/2024] [Indexed: 01/06/2024]
Abstract
Miniaturization has improved significantly in the recent decade, which has enabled the development of numerous microfluidic systems. Microfluidic technologies have shown great potential for separating desired cells from heterogeneous samples, as they offer benefits such as low sample consumption, easy operation, and high separation accuracy. Microfluidic cell separation approaches can be classified into physical (label-free) and biological (labeled) methods based on their working principles. Each method has remarkable and feasible benefits for the purposes of cancer detection and therapy, as well as the challenges that we have discussed in this article. In this review, we present the recent advances in microfluidic cell sorting techniques that incorporate both physical and biological aspects, with an emphasis on the methods by which the cells are separated. We first introduce and discuss the biological cell sorting techniques, followed by the physical cell sorting techniques. Additionally, we explore the role of microfluidics in drug screening, drug delivery, and lab-on-chip (LOC) therapy. In addition, we discuss the challenges and future prospects of integrated microfluidics for cell sorting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nahid Shanehband
- Nanotechnology Department, School of Advanced Technologies, Iran University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 16846-13114, Tehran, Iran
| | - Seyed Morteza Naghib
- Nanotechnology Department, School of Advanced Technologies, Iran University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 16846-13114, Tehran, Iran.
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3
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Kolahi Azar H, Gharibshahian M, Rostami M, Mansouri V, Sabouri L, Beheshtizadeh N, Rezaei N. The progressive trend of modeling and drug screening systems of breast cancer bone metastasis. J Biol Eng 2024; 18:14. [PMID: 38317174 PMCID: PMC10845631 DOI: 10.1186/s13036-024-00408-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Bone metastasis is considered as a considerable challenge for breast cancer patients. Various in vitro and in vivo models have been developed to examine this occurrence. In vitro models are employed to simulate the intricate tumor microenvironment, investigate the interplay between cells and their adjacent microenvironment, and evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions for tumors. The endeavor to replicate the latency period of bone metastasis in animal models has presented a challenge, primarily due to the necessity of primary tumor removal and the presence of multiple potential metastatic sites.The utilization of novel bone metastasis models, including three-dimensional (3D) models, has been proposed as a promising approach to overcome the constraints associated with conventional 2D and animal models. However, existing 3D models are limited by various factors, such as irregular cellular proliferation, autofluorescence, and changes in genetic and epigenetic expression. The imperative for the advancement of future applications of 3D models lies in their standardization and automation. The utilization of artificial intelligence exhibits the capability to predict cellular behavior through the examination of substrate materials' chemical composition, geometry, and mechanical performance. The implementation of these algorithms possesses the capability to predict the progression and proliferation of cancer. This paper reviewed the mechanisms of bone metastasis following primary breast cancer. Current models of breast cancer bone metastasis, along with their challenges, as well as the future perspectives of using these models for translational drug development, were discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanieh Kolahi Azar
- Department of Pathology, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
- Regenerative Medicine Group (REMED), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
| | - Maliheh Gharibshahian
- Department of Tissue Engineering, School of Medicine, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran
- Regenerative Medicine Group (REMED), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammadreza Rostami
- Division of Food Safety and Hygiene, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Food Science and Nutrition Group (FSAN), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
| | - Vahid Mansouri
- Gene Therapy Research Center, Digestive Diseases Research Institute, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Regenerative Medicine Group (REMED), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
| | - Leila Sabouri
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Applied Cell Sciences, School of Paramedicine, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran
- Regenerative Medicine Group (REMED), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
| | - Nima Beheshtizadeh
- Department of Tissue Engineering, Faculty of Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
- Regenerative Medicine Group (REMED), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran.
| | - Nima Rezaei
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- Research Center for Immunodeficiencies, Children's Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- Network of Immunity in Infection, Malignancy and Autoimmunity (NIIMA), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran.
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Venkatesalu S, Dilliyappan S, Satish Kumar A, Palaniyandi T, Baskar G, Ravi M, Sivaji A. Prospectives and retrospectives of microfluidics devices and lab-on-A-chip emphasis on cancer. Clin Chim Acta 2024; 552:117646. [PMID: 38000458 DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2023.117646] [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: 08/26/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
Microfluidics is a science and technology that deals with the concept of "less sample-to-more precision" enabling portable device development via fabrication for in vitro analysis. On evolution, microfluidic system lead to the development of Organ-on-chip where recapitulation of organ's functionality and pathophysiological response can be performed under controlled environment. Further microfluidic-based "Lab-on-chip" device, a versatile innovation credited for its number of parameters that has capability to leverage next-generation companion of medicines. This emulsion science has enormous practise in the field of regenerative medicine, drug screening, medical diagnosis and therapy for accuracy in results. In this era of personalized medicine, getting precise tools for applying these theranostics is crucial. Oncological theranostics create a new gateway to develop precision in personalized medicine for cancer, where microfluidic chips are involved in diagnosis and therapy of various cancers using biomarkers for thyroid, lung cancers, and assay based for breast, circulating tumor cells and colorectal cancers and nanoparticles for ovarian cancer. This review shows more comprehensive approach to the state of art with respect to microfluidic devices in cancer theranostics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sneha Venkatesalu
- Department of Biotechnology, Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Chennai, India
| | | | - Avanthika Satish Kumar
- Department of Biotechnology, Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Chennai, India
| | - Thirunavukkarasu Palaniyandi
- Department of Biotechnology, Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Chennai, India; Department of Anatomy, Biomedical Research Unit and Laboratory Animal Centre, Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, SIMATS, Saveetha University, Chennai, India.
| | - Gomathy Baskar
- Department of Biotechnology, Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Chennai, India
| | - Maddaly Ravi
- Department of Human Genetics, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, India
| | - Asha Sivaji
- Department of Biochemistry, DKM College for Women, Vellore, India
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Hua H, Zhou Y, Li W, Zhang J, Deng Y, Khoo BL. Microfluidics-based patient-derived disease detection tool for deep learning-assisted precision medicine. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2024; 18:014101. [PMID: 38223546 PMCID: PMC10787641 DOI: 10.1063/5.0172146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Cancer spatial and temporal heterogeneity fuels resistance to therapies. To realize the routine assessment of cancer prognosis and treatment, we demonstrate the development of an Intelligent Disease Detection Tool (IDDT), a microfluidic-based tumor model integrated with deep learning-assisted algorithmic analysis. IDDT was clinically validated with liquid blood biopsy samples (n = 71) from patients with various types of cancers (e.g., breast, gastric, and lung cancer) and healthy donors, requiring low sample volume (∼200 μl) and a high-throughput 3D tumor culturing system (∼300 tumor clusters). To support automated algorithmic analysis, intelligent decision-making, and precise segmentation, we designed and developed an integrative deep neural network, which includes Mask Region-Based Convolutional Neural Network (Mask R-CNN), vision transformer, and Segment Anything Model (SAM). Our approach significantly reduces the manual labeling time by up to 90% with a high mean Intersection Over Union (mIoU) of 0.902 and immediate results (<2 s per image) for clinical cohort classification. The IDDT can accurately stratify healthy donors (n = 12) and cancer patients (n = 55) within their respective treatment cycle and cancer stage, resulting in high precision (∼99.3%) and high sensitivity (∼98%). We envision that our patient-centric IDDT provides an intelligent, label-free, and cost-effective approach to help clinicians make precise medical decisions and tailor treatment strategies for each patient.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yunlan Zhou
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China
| | | | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Yanlin Deng
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Bee Luan Khoo
- Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed:; ; and
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6
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Nie C, Shaw I, Chen C. Application of microfluidic technology based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering in cancer biomarker detection: A review. J Pharm Anal 2023; 13:1429-1451. [PMID: 38223444 PMCID: PMC10785256 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpha.2023.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Revised: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024] Open
Abstract
With the continuous discovery and research of predictive cancer-related biomarkers, liquid biopsy shows great potential in cancer diagnosis. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and microfluidic technology have received much attention among the various cancer biomarker detection methods. The former has ultrahigh detection sensitivity and can provide a unique fingerprint. In contrast, the latter has the characteristics of miniaturization and integration, which can realize accurate control of the detection samples and high-throughput detection through design. Both have the potential for point-of-care testing (POCT), and their combination (lab-on-a-chip SERS (LoC-SERS)) shows good compatibility. In this paper, the basic situation of circulating proteins, circulating tumor cells, exosomes, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), and microRNA (miRNA) in the diagnosis of various cancers is reviewed, and the detection research of these biomarkers by the LoC-SERS platform in recent years is described in detail. At the same time, the challenges and future development of the platform are discussed at the end of the review. Summarizing the current technology is expected to provide a reference for scholars engaged in related work and interested in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changhong Nie
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, China
| | - Ibrahim Shaw
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, China
| | - Chuanpin Chen
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, China
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7
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Agüero EI, Belgorosky D, García-Silva JI, Booth R, Lerner B, Pérez MS, Eiján AM. Microdevices for cancer stem cell culture as a predictive chemotherapeutic response platform. J Mol Med (Berl) 2023; 101:1465-1475. [PMID: 37755493 DOI: 10.1007/s00109-023-02375-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
Microfluidic platforms for clinical use are a promising translational strategy for cancer research specially for drug screening. Identifying cancer stem cells (CSC) using sphere culture techniques in microfluidic devices (MDs) showed to be better reproducing physiological responses than other in vitro models and allow the optimization of samples and reagents. We evaluated individual sphere proliferation and stemness toward chemotherapeutic treatment (CT) with doxorubicin and cisplatin in bladder cancer cell lines (MB49-I and J82) cultured in MDs used as CSC treatment response platform. Our results confirm the usefulness of this device to evaluate the CT effect in sphere-forming efficiency, size, and growth rate from individual spheres within MDs and robust information comparable to conventional culture plates was obtained. The expression of pluripotency genetic markers (Oct4, Sox2, Nanog, and CD44) could be analyzed by qPCR and immunofluorescence in spheres growing directly in MDs. MDs are a suitable platform for sphere isolation from tumor samples and can provide information about CT response. Microfluidic-based CSC studies could provide information about treatment response of cancer patients from small samples and can be a promising tool for CSC-targeted specific treatment with potential in precision medicine. KEY MESSAGES: We have designed a microfluidic platform for CSC enriched culture by tumor sphere formation. Using MDs, we could quantify and determine sphere response after CT using murine and human cell lines as a proof of concept. MDs can be used as a tumor-derived sphere isolation platform to test the effect of antitumoral compounds in sphere proliferation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Imanol Agüero
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Instituto de Oncología "Ángel H. Roffo", Área de Investigación, Universidad de Buenos Aires, C1417DTB, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), C1425FQB, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Denise Belgorosky
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Instituto de Oncología "Ángel H. Roffo", Área de Investigación, Universidad de Buenos Aires, C1417DTB, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Julio Israel García-Silva
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), C1425FQB, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Ross Booth
- Roche Sequencing Solutions, Santa Clara, CA, 95050, USA
| | - Betiana Lerner
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Florida International University (FIU), Miami, FL, 33174, USA
- Collaborative Research Institute Intelligent Oncology (CRIION), Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
- Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (UTN), Centro IREN, B1706EAH, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Ingeniería, Instituto de Ingeniería Biomédica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, C1063ACV, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Maximiliano Sebastián Pérez
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Florida International University (FIU), Miami, FL, 33174, USA.
- Collaborative Research Institute Intelligent Oncology (CRIION), Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
- Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (UTN), Centro IREN, B1706EAH, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Facultad de Ingeniería, Instituto de Ingeniería Biomédica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, C1063ACV, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Ana María Eiján
- Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Instituto de Oncología "Ángel H. Roffo", Área de Investigación, Universidad de Buenos Aires, C1417DTB, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), C1425FQB, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Nosrati H, Nosrati M. Artificial Intelligence in Regenerative Medicine: Applications and Implications. Biomimetics (Basel) 2023; 8:442. [PMID: 37754193 PMCID: PMC10526210 DOI: 10.3390/biomimetics8050442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 09/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The field of regenerative medicine is constantly advancing and aims to repair, regenerate, or substitute impaired or unhealthy tissues and organs using cutting-edge approaches such as stem cell-based therapies, gene therapy, and tissue engineering. Nevertheless, incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has opened new doors for research in this field. AI refers to the ability of machines to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence in ways such as learning the patterns in the data and applying that to the new data without being explicitly programmed. AI has the potential to improve and accelerate various aspects of regenerative medicine research and development, particularly, although not exclusively, when complex patterns are involved. This review paper provides an overview of AI in the context of regenerative medicine, discusses its potential applications with a focus on personalized medicine, and highlights the challenges and opportunities in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamed Nosrati
- Biosensor Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan 81746-73461, Iran
| | - Masoud Nosrati
- Department of Computer Science, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
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9
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Kim S, Park J, Ho JN, Kim D, Lee S, Jeon JS. 3D vascularized microphysiological system for investigation of tumor-endothelial crosstalk in anti-cancer drug resistance. Biofabrication 2023; 15:045016. [PMID: 37567223 DOI: 10.1088/1758-5090/acef99] [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: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023]
Abstract
Despite the advantages of microfluidic system in drug screening, vascular systems responsible for the transport of drugs and nutrients have been hardly considered in the microfluidic-based chemotherapeutic screening. Considering the physiological characteristics of highly vascularized urinary tumors, we here investigated the chemotherapeutic response of bladder tumor cells using a vascularized tumor on a chip. The microfluidic chip was designed to have open-top region for tumor sample introduction and hydrophilic rail for spontaneous hydrogel patterning, which contributed to the construction of tumor-hydrogel-endothelium interfaces in a spatiotemporal on-demand manner. Utilizing the chip where intravascularly injected cisplatin diffuse across the endothelium and transport into tumor samples, chemotherapeutic responses of cisplatin-resistant or -susceptible bladder tumor cells were evaluated, showing the preservation of cellular drug resistance even within the chip. The open-top structure also enabled the direct harvest of tumor samples and post analysis in terms of secretome and gene expressions. Comparing the cisplatin efficacy of the cisplatin-resistant tumor cells in the presence or absence of endothelium, we found that the proliferation rates of tumor cells were increased in the vasculature-incorporated chip. These have suggested that our vascularized tumor chip allows the establishment of vascular-gel-tumor interfaces in spatiotemporal manners and further enables investigations of chemotherapeutic screening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seunggyu Kim
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of America
| | - Joonha Park
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Jin-Nyoung Ho
- Department of Urology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do 13620, Republic of Korea
| | - Danhyo Kim
- Department of Urology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do 13620, Republic of Korea
| | - Sangchul Lee
- Department of Urology, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do 13620, Republic of Korea
| | - Jessie S Jeon
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
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Cardoso BD, Castanheira EMS, Lanceros-Méndez S, Cardoso VF. Recent Advances on Cell Culture Platforms for In Vitro Drug Screening and Cell Therapies: From Conventional to Microfluidic Strategies. Adv Healthc Mater 2023; 12:e2202936. [PMID: 36898671 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202202936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023]
Abstract
The clinical translations of drugs and nanomedicines depend on coherent pharmaceutical research based on biologically accurate screening approaches. Since establishing the 2D in vitro cell culture method, the scientific community has improved cell-based drug screening assays and models. Those advances result in more informative biochemical assays and the development of 3D multicellular models to describe the biological complexity better and enhance the simulation of the in vivo microenvironment. Despite the overall dominance of conventional 2D and 3D cell macroscopic culture methods, they present physicochemical and operational challenges that impair the scale-up of drug screening by not allowing a high parallelization, multidrug combination, and high-throughput screening. Their combination and complementarity with microfluidic platforms enable the development of microfluidics-based cell culture platforms with unequivocal advantages in drug screening and cell therapies. Thus, this review presents an updated and consolidated view of cell culture miniaturization's physical, chemical, and operational considerations in the pharmaceutical research scenario. It clarifies advances in the field using gradient-based microfluidics, droplet-based microfluidics, printed-based microfluidics, digital-based microfluidics, SlipChip, and paper-based microfluidics. Finally, it presents a comparative analysis of the performance of cell-based methods in life research and development to achieve increased precision in the drug screening process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz D Cardoso
- Physics Centre of Minho and Porto Universities (CF-UM-UP), Campus de Gualtar, University of Minho, Braga, 4710-057, Portugal
- LaPMET-Laboratory of Physics for Materials and Emergent Technologies, University of Minho, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal
- Center for MicroElectromechanical Systems (CMEMS-UMinho), Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058, Guimarães, Portugal
- LABBELS-Associate Laboratory in Biotechnology and Bioengineering and Microelectromechanical Systems, University of Minho, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
| | - Elisabete M S Castanheira
- Physics Centre of Minho and Porto Universities (CF-UM-UP), Campus de Gualtar, University of Minho, Braga, 4710-057, Portugal
- LaPMET-Laboratory of Physics for Materials and Emergent Technologies, University of Minho, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal
| | - Senentxu Lanceros-Méndez
- Physics Centre of Minho and Porto Universities (CF-UM-UP), Campus de Gualtar, University of Minho, Braga, 4710-057, Portugal
- LaPMET-Laboratory of Physics for Materials and Emergent Technologies, University of Minho, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal
- BCMaterials, Basque Center for Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, UPV/EHU Science Park, Leioa, 48940, Spain
- IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, 48009, Spain
| | - Vanessa F Cardoso
- Center for MicroElectromechanical Systems (CMEMS-UMinho), Campus de Azurém, University of Minho, 4800-058, Guimarães, Portugal
- LABBELS-Associate Laboratory in Biotechnology and Bioengineering and Microelectromechanical Systems, University of Minho, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal
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Vehusheia SLK, Roman C, Braissant O, Arnoldini M, Hierold C. Enabling direct microcalorimetric measurement of metabolic activity and exothermic reactions onto microfluidic platforms via heat flux sensor integration. MICROSYSTEMS & NANOENGINEERING 2023; 9:56. [PMID: 37180454 PMCID: PMC10169645 DOI: 10.1038/s41378-023-00525-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
All biological processes use or produce heat. Traditional microcalorimeters have been utilized to study the metabolic heat output of living organisms and heat production of exothermic chemical processes. Current advances in microfabrication have made possible the miniaturization of commercial microcalorimeters, resulting in a few studies on the metabolic activity of cells at the microscale in microfluidic chips. Here we present a new, versatile, and robust microcalorimetric differential design based on the integration of heat flux sensors on top of microfluidic channels. We show the design, modeling, calibration, and experimental verification of this system by utilizing Escherichia coli growth and the exothermic base catalyzed hydrolysis of methyl paraben as use cases. The system consists of a Polydimethylsiloxane based flow-through microfluidic chip with two 46 µl chambers and two integrated heat flux sensors. The differential compensation of thermal power measurements allows for the measurement of bacterial growth with a limit of detection of 1707 W/m3, corresponding to 0.021OD (2 ∙ 107 bacteria). We also extracted the thermal power of a single Escherichia coli of between 1.3 and 4.5 pW, comparable to values measured by industrial microcalorimeters. Our system opens the possibility for expanding already existing microfluidic systems, such as drug testing lab-on-chip platforms, with measurements of metabolic changes of cell populations in form of heat output, without modifying the analyte and minimal interference with the microfluidic channel itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Signe L. K. Vehusheia
- Micro and Nanosystems, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, Tannenstrasse 3, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Cosmin Roman
- Micro and Nanosystems, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, Tannenstrasse 3, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Olivier Braissant
- Center of Biomechanics and Biocalorimetry, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel, Hegenheimermattweg 167C, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland
| | - Markus Arnoldini
- Laboratory for Food Immunology, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Otto-Stern-Weg 3, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christofer Hierold
- Micro and Nanosystems, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, Tannenstrasse 3, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
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Condelipes PGM, Fontes PM, Godinho-Santos A, Brás EJS, Marques V, Afonso MB, Rodrigues CMP, Chu V, Gonçalves J, Conde JP. Towards personalized antibody cancer therapy: development of a microfluidic cell culture device for antibody selection. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:4717-4728. [PMID: 36349999 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00918h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Antibody therapy has been one of the most successful therapies for a wide range of diseases, including cancer. One way of expediting antibody therapy development is through phage display technology. Here, by screening thousands of randomly assembled peptide sequences, it is possible to identify potential therapeutic candidates. Conventional screening technologies do not accommodate perfusion through the system, as is the case of standard plate-based cultures. This leads to a poor translation of the experimental results obtained in vitro when moving to a more physiologically relevant setting, such as the case of preclinical animal models or clinical trials. Microfluidics is a technology that can improve screening efficacy by replicating more physiologically relevant conditions such as shear stress. In this work, a polydimethylsiloxane/polystyrene-based microfluidic system for a continuously perfused culture of cancer cells is reported. Human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (HCT116) expressing CXCR4 were used as a cell target. Fluorescently labeled M13 phages anti-CXCR4 were used to study the efficiency of the microfluidic system as a tool to study the binding kinetics of the engineered bacteriophages. Using our microfluidic platform, we estimated a dissociation constant of 0.45 pM for the engineered phage. Additionally, a receptor internalization assay was developed using SDF-1α to verify phage specificity to the CXCR4 receptor. Upon receptor internalization there was a signal reduction, proving that the anti-CXCR4 fluorescently labelled M13 phages bound specifically to the CXCR4 receptor. The simplicity and ease of use of the microfluidic device design presented in this work can form the basis of a generic platform that facilitates the study and optimization of therapies based on interaction with biological entities such as mammalian cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro G M Condelipes
- Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores - Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC MN), Lisbon, Portugal
- Department of Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
| | - Pedro Mendes Fontes
- Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores - Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC MN), Lisbon, Portugal
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ana Godinho-Santos
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Eduardo J S Brás
- Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores - Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC MN), Lisbon, Portugal
- IBB - Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Vanda Marques
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Marta B Afonso
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Cecília M P Rodrigues
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Virginia Chu
- Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores - Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC MN), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - João Gonçalves
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - João Pedro Conde
- Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores - Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC MN), Lisbon, Portugal
- Department of Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.
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13
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Macaraniag C, Luan Q, Zhou J, Papautsky I. Microfluidic techniques for isolation, formation, and characterization of circulating tumor cells and clusters. APL Bioeng 2022; 6:031501. [PMID: 35856010 PMCID: PMC9288269 DOI: 10.1063/5.0093806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters that are shed from the primary tumor into the bloodstream are associated with a poor prognosis, elevated metastatic potential, higher proliferation rate, and distinct molecular features compared to single CTCs. Studying CTC clusters may give us information on the differences in the genetic profiles, somatic mutations, and epigenetic changes in circulating cells compared to the primary tumor and metastatic sites. Microfluidic systems offer the means of studying CTC clusters through the ability to efficiently isolate these rare cells from the whole blood of patients in a liquid biopsy. Microfluidics can also be used to develop in vitro models of CTC clusters and make possible their characterization and analysis. Ultimately, microfluidic systems can offer the means to gather insight on the complexities of the metastatic process, the biology of cancer, and the potential for developing novel or personalized therapies. In this review, we aim to discuss the advantages and challenges of the existing microfluidic systems for working with CTC clusters. We hope that an improved understanding of the role microfluidics can play in isolation, formation, and characterization of CTC clusters, which can lead to increased sophistication of microfluidic platforms in cancer research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celine Macaraniag
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA
| | - Qiyue Luan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA
| | - Jian Zhou
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA
| | - Ian Papautsky
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA
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14
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Sung HW, Choi SE, Chu CH, Ouyang M, Kalyan S, Scott N, Hur SC. Sensitizing drug-resistant cancer cells from blood using microfluidic electroporator. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0264907. [PMID: 35259174 PMCID: PMC8903260 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Direct assessment of patient samples holds unprecedented potential in the treatment of cancer. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in liquid biopsies are a rapidly evolving source of primary cells in the clinic and are ideal candidates for functional assays to uncover real-time tumor information in real-time. However, a lack of routines allowing direct and active interrogation of CTCs directly from liquid biopsy samples represents a bottleneck for the translational use of liquid biopsies in clinical settings. To address this, we present a workflow for using a microfluidic vortex-assisted electroporation system designed for the functional assessment of CTCs purified from blood. Validation of this approach was assessed through drug response assays on wild-type (HCC827 wt) and gefitinib-resistant (HCC827 GR6) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. HCC827 cells trapped within microscale vortices were electroporated to sequentially deliver drug agents into the cytosol. Electroporation conditions facilitating multi-agent delivery were characterized for both cell lines using an automatic single-cell image fluorescence intensity algorithm. HCC827 GR6 cells spiked into the blood to emulate drug-resistant CTCs were able to be collected with high purity, demonstrating the ability of the device to minimize background cell impact for downstream sensitive cell assays. Using our proposed workflow, drug agent combinations to restore gefitinib sensitivity reflected the anticipated cytotoxic response. Taken together, these results represent a microfluidics multi-drug screening panel workflow that can enable functional interrogation of patient CTCs in situ, thereby accelerating the clinical standardization of liquid biopsies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyun Woo Sung
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Sung-Eun Choi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Chris H. Chu
- Department of Internal Medicine, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Mengxing Ouyang
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Srivathsan Kalyan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Nathan Scott
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Soojung Claire Hur
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- Institute of NanoBioTechnology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
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15
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Application of Microfluidic Systems for Breast Cancer Research. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:mi13020152. [PMID: 35208277 PMCID: PMC8877872 DOI: 10.3390/mi13020152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 01/11/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Cancer is a disease in which cells in the body grow out of control; breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States. Due to early screening and advancements in therapeutic interventions, deaths from breast cancer have declined over time, although breast cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death among women. Most deaths are due to metastasis, as cancer cells from the primary tumor in the breast form secondary tumors in remote sites in distant organs. Over many years, the basic biological mechanisms of breast cancer initiation and progression, as well as the subsequent metastatic cascade, have been studied using cell cultures and animal models. These models, although extremely useful for delineating cellular mechanisms, are poor predictors of physiological responses, primarily due to lack of proper microenvironments. In the last decade, microfluidics has emerged as a technology that could lead to a paradigm shift in breast cancer research. With the introduction of the organ-on-a-chip concept, microfluidic-based systems have been developed to reconstitute the dominant functions of several organs. These systems enable the construction of 3D cellular co-cultures mimicking in vivo tissue-level microenvironments, including that of breast cancer. Several reviews have been presented focusing on breast cancer formation, growth and metastasis, including invasion, intravasation, and extravasation. In this review, realizing that breast cancer can recur decades following post-treatment disease-free survival, we expand the discussion to account for microfluidic applications in the important areas of breast cancer detection, dormancy, and therapeutic development. It appears that, in the future, the role of microfluidics will only increase in the effort to eradicate breast cancer.
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Advances in microfluidics devices and its applications in personalized medicines. PROGRESS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE 2022; 186:191-201. [PMID: 35033284 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2021.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Microfluidics is an exponentially growing area and is being used for numerous applications from basic science to advanced biotechnology and medicines. Microfluidics provides a platform to the research community for studying and building new strategies for the diagnosis and therapeutics applications. In the last decade, microfluidic have enriched the field of diagnostics by providing new solutions which was not possible with conventional detection and treatment methods. Microfluidics has the ability to precisely control and perform high-throughput functions. It has been proven as an efficient and rapid method for biological sample preparation, analysis and controlled drug delivery system. Microfluidics plays significant role in personalized medicine. These personalized medicines are used for medical decisions, practices and other interventions as well as for individual patients based on their predicted response or risk of disease. This chapter highlights microfluidics in developing personalized medical applications for its applications in diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, pulmonary disease and several others.
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17
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Wlodarczyk KL, MacPherson WN, Hand DP, Maroto-Valer MM. Manufacturing of Microfluidic Devices with Interchangeable Commercial Fiber Optic Sensors. SENSORS 2021; 21:s21227493. [PMID: 34833567 PMCID: PMC8625633 DOI: 10.3390/s21227493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 10/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
In situ measurements are highly desirable in many microfluidic applications because they enable real-time, local monitoring of physical and chemical parameters, providing valuable insight into microscopic events and processes that occur in microfluidic devices. Unfortunately, the manufacturing of microfluidic devices with integrated sensors can be time-consuming, expensive, and “know-how” demanding. In this article, we describe an easy-to-implement method developed to integrate various “off-the-shelf” fiber optic sensors within microfluidic devices. To demonstrate this, we used commercial pH and pressure sensors (“pH SensorPlugs” and “FOP-MIV”, respectively), which were “reversibly” attached to a glass microfluidic device using custom 3D-printed connectors. The microfluidic device, which serves here as a demonstrator, incorporates a uniform porous structure and was manufactured using a picosecond pulsed laser. The sensors were attached to the inlet and outlet channels of the microfluidic pattern to perform simple experiments, the aim of which was to evaluate the performance of both the connectors and the sensors in a practical microfluidic environment. The bespoke connectors ensured robust and watertight connection, allowing the sensors to be safely disconnected if necessary, without damaging the microfluidic device. The pH SensorPlugs were tested with a pH 7.01 buffer solution. They measured the correct pH values with an accuracy of ±0.05 pH once sufficient contact between the injected fluid and the measuring element (optode) was established. In turn, the FOP-MIV sensors were used to measure local pressure in the inlet and outlet channels during injection and the steady flow of deionized water at different rates. These sensors were calibrated up to 140 mbar and provided pressure measurements with an uncertainty that was less than ±1.5 mbar. Readouts at a rate of 4 Hz allowed us to observe dynamic pressure changes in the device during the displacement of air by water. In the case of steady flow of water, the pressure difference between the two measuring points increased linearly with increasing flow rate, complying with Darcy’s law for incompressible fluids. These data can be used to determine the permeability of the porous structure within the device.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krystian L. Wlodarczyk
- Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS), School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK;
- Applied Optics and Photonics (AOP) Group, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK; (W.N.M.); (D.P.H.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +44-(0)-131-451-3105
| | - William N. MacPherson
- Applied Optics and Photonics (AOP) Group, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK; (W.N.M.); (D.P.H.)
| | - Duncan P. Hand
- Applied Optics and Photonics (AOP) Group, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK; (W.N.M.); (D.P.H.)
| | - M. Mercedes Maroto-Valer
- Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS), School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK;
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18
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Vitorino R, Guedes S, da Costa JP, Kašička V. Microfluidics for Peptidomics, Proteomics, and Cell Analysis. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2021; 11:1118. [PMID: 33925983 PMCID: PMC8145566 DOI: 10.3390/nano11051118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2021] [Revised: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Microfluidics is the advanced microtechnology of fluid manipulation in channels with at least one dimension in the range of 1-100 microns. Microfluidic technology offers a growing number of tools for manipulating small volumes of fluid to control chemical, biological, and physical processes relevant to separation, analysis, and detection. Currently, microfluidic devices play an important role in many biological, chemical, physical, biotechnological and engineering applications. There are numerous ways to fabricate the necessary microchannels and integrate them into microfluidic platforms. In peptidomics and proteomics, microfluidics is often used in combination with mass spectrometric (MS) analysis. This review provides an overview of using microfluidic systems for peptidomics, proteomics and cell analysis. The application of microfluidics in combination with MS detection and other novel techniques to answer clinical questions is also discussed in the context of disease diagnosis and therapy. Recent developments and applications of capillary and microchip (electro)separation methods in proteomic and peptidomic analysis are summarized. The state of the art of microchip platforms for cell sorting and single-cell analysis is also discussed. Advances in detection methods are reported, and new applications in proteomics and peptidomics, quality control of peptide and protein pharmaceuticals, analysis of proteins and peptides in biomatrices and determination of their physicochemical parameters are highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Vitorino
- UnIC, Departamento de Cirurgia e Fisiologia, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, 4785-999 Porto, Portugal
- iBiMED, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Aveiro, 00351234 Aveiro, Portugal
- LAQV/REQUIMTE, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 00351234 Aveiro, Portugal;
| | - Sofia Guedes
- LAQV/REQUIMTE, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 00351234 Aveiro, Portugal;
| | - João Pinto da Costa
- Department of Chemistry & Center for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), University of Aveiro, 00351234 Aveiro, Portugal;
| | - Václav Kašička
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemigovo n. 542/2, 166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic
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19
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The Microfluidic Trainer: Design, Fabrication and Validation of a Tool for Testing and Improving Manual Skills. MICROMACHINES 2020; 11:mi11090872. [PMID: 32961810 PMCID: PMC7570042 DOI: 10.3390/mi11090872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Revised: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Microfluidic principles have been widely applied for more than 30 years to solve biological and micro-electromechanical problems. Despite the numerous advantages, microfluidic devices are difficult to manage as their handling comes with several technical challenges. We developed a new portable tool, the microfluidic trainer (MT), that assesses the operator handling skills and that may be used for maintaining or improving the ability to inject fluid in the inlet of microfluidic devices for in vitro cell culture applications. After several tests, we optimized the MT tester cell to reproduce the real technical challenges of a microfluidic device. In addition to an exercise path, we included an overfilling indicator and a correct infilling indicator at the inlet (control path). We manufactured the MT by engraving a 3 mm-high sheet of methacrylate with 60W CO2 laser plotter to create multiple capillary paths. We validated the device by enrolling 21 volunteers (median age 33) to fill both the MT and a commercial microfluidic device. The success rate obtained with MT significantly correlated with those of a commercial microfluidic culture plate, and its 30 min-continuous use for three times significantly improved the performance. Overall, our data demonstrate that MT is a valid assessment tool of individual performances in using microfluidic devices and may represent a low-cost solution to training, improve or warm up microfluidic handling skills.
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20
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Rismanian M, Saidi MS, Kashaninejad N. A microfluidic concentration gradient generator for simultaneous delivery of two reagents on a millimeter-sized sample. J Flow Chem 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s41981-020-00104-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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21
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Prospects for Comprehensive Analyses of Circulating Tumor Cells in Tumor Biology. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12051135. [PMID: 32369927 PMCID: PMC7281475 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12051135] [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: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The comprehensive analysis of biological and clinical aspects of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) has attracted interest as a means of enabling non-invasive, real-time monitoring of cancer patients and enhancing our fundamental understanding of tumor metastasis. However, CTC populations are extremely small when compared to other cell populations in the blood, limiting our comprehension of CTC biology and their clinical utility. Recently developed proteomic and genomic techniques that require only a small amount of sample have attracted much interest and expanded the potential utility of CTCs. Cancer heterogeneity, including specific mutations, greatly impacts disease diagnosis and the choice of available therapeutic strategies. The CTC population consists primarily of cancer stem cells, and CTC subpopulations are thought to undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition during dissemination. To better characterize tumor cell populations, we demonstrated that changes in genomic profiles identified via next-generation sequencing of liquid biopsy samples could be expanded upon to increase sensitivity without decreasing specificity by using a combination of assays with CTCs and circulating tumor DNA. To enhance our understanding of CTC biology, we developed a metabolome analysis method applicable to single CTCs. Here, we review-omics studies related to CTC analysis and discuss various clinical and biological issues related to CTCs.
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22
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Wissberg S, Ronen M, Oren Z, Gerber D, Kalisky B. Sensitive Readout for Microfluidic High-Throughput Applications using Scanning SQUID Microscopy. Sci Rep 2020; 10:1573. [PMID: 32005843 PMCID: PMC6994618 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-58307-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 11/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Microfluidic chips provide a powerful platform for high-throughput screening of diverse biophysical systems. The most prevalent detection methods are fluorescence based. Developing new readout techniques for microfluidics focusing on quantitative information in the low signal regime is desirable. In this work, we combine the well-established immunoassay approach, with magnetic nanoparticles, with a highly sensitive magnetic imaging technique. We offer to integrate a microfluidic array into a scanning superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) microscope, to image nanoparticles that were moved through the microfluidic device. We demonstrate the technique on protein-protein interactions (PPI). We compare sensitivity to that of a conventional readout, quantify the amount of interactions, and demonstrate 0.1 atto-mole sensitivity. Our work serves as a proof of concept that will promote the development of a new set of eyes, a stable usable microfluidic-scanning SQUID microscopy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shai Wissberg
- Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel
- Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel
| | - Maria Ronen
- Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel
- Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel
| | - Ziv Oren
- Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel
- Department of Biotechnology, Israel Institute for Biological Research, Nes-Ziona, 7410001, Israel
| | - Doron Gerber
- Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel.
- Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel.
| | - Beena Kalisky
- Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel.
- Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel.
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23
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Lim SB, Lim CT, Lim WT. Single-Cell Analysis of Circulating Tumor Cells: Why Heterogeneity Matters. Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:cancers11101595. [PMID: 31635038 PMCID: PMC6826423 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11101595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Revised: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Unlike bulk-cell analysis, single-cell approaches have the advantage of assessing cellular heterogeneity that governs key aspects of tumor biology. Yet, their applications to circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are relatively limited, due mainly to the technical challenges resulting from extreme rarity of CTCs. Nevertheless, recent advances in microfluidics and immunoaffinity enrichment technologies along with sequencing platforms have fueled studies aiming to enrich, isolate, and sequence whole genomes of CTCs with high fidelity across various malignancies. Here, we review recent single-cell CTC (scCTC) sequencing efforts, and the integrated workflows, that have successfully characterized patient-derived CTCs. We examine how these studies uncover DNA alterations occurring at multiple molecular levels ranging from point mutations to chromosomal rearrangements from a single CTC, and discuss their cellular heterogeneity and clinical consequences. Finally, we highlight emerging strategies to address key challenges currently limiting the translation of these findings to clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Su Bin Lim
- NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences & Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117456, Singapore.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore.
| | - Chwee Teck Lim
- NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences & Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117456, Singapore.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117583, Singapore.
- Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117411, Singapore.
- Institute for Health Innovation and Technology (iHealthtech), National University of Singapore, Singapore 117599, Singapore.
| | - Wan-Teck Lim
- Division of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore 169610, Singapore.
- Office of Academic and Clinical Development, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore 169857, Singapore.
- IMCB NCC MPI Singapore Oncogenome Laboratory, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore 138673, Singapore.
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24
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Stewart AG. Editorial overview: Engineering drug discovery technologies: clinical trial on-a-chip. Curr Opin Pharmacol 2019; 48:vii-ix. [PMID: 31601474 DOI: 10.1016/j.coph.2019.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alastair G Stewart
- ARC Centre for Personalised Therapeutics Technologies, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, School of Biomedical Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia.
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