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Feng H, Shen S, Jin M, Zhang Q, Liu M, Wu Z, Chen J, Yi Z, Zhou G, Shui L. Microwell Confined Electro-Coalescence for Rapid Formation of High-Throughput Droplet Array. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023; 19:e2302998. [PMID: 37449335 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202302998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Droplet array is widely applied in single cell analysis, drug screening, protein crystallization, etc. This work proposes and validates a method for rapid formation of uniform droplet array based on microwell confined droplets electro-coalescence of screen-printed emulsion droplets, namely electro-coalescence droplet array (ECDA). The electro-coalescence of droplets is according to the polarization induced electrostatic and dielectrophoretic forces, and the dielectrowetting effect. The photolithographically fabricated microwells are highly regular and reproducible, ensuring identical volume and physical confinement to achieve uniform droplet array, and meanwhile the microwell isolation protects the paired water droplets from further fusion and broadens its feasibility to different fluidic systems. Under optimized conditions, a droplet array with an average diameter of 85 µm and a throughput of 106 in a 10 cm × 10 cm chip can be achieved within 5 s at 120 Vpp and 50 kHz. This ECDA chip is validated for various microwell geometries and functional materials. The optimized ECDA are successfully applied for digital viable bacteria counting, showing comparable results to the plate culture counting. Such an ECDA chip, as a digitizable and high-throughput platform, presents excellent potential for high-throughput screening, analysis, absolute quantification, etc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haoqiang Feng
- International Joint Laboratory of Optofluidic Technology and System, National Centre for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics & School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
| | - Shitao Shen
- International Joint Laboratory of Optofluidic Technology and System, National Centre for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics & School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
| | - Mingliang Jin
- International Joint Laboratory of Optofluidic Technology and System, National Centre for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics & School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
| | - Qilin Zhang
- International Joint Laboratory of Optofluidic Technology and System, National Centre for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics & School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
| | - Mengjun Liu
- International Joint Laboratory of Optofluidic Technology and System, National Centre for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics & School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
| | - Zihao Wu
- International Joint Laboratory of Optofluidic Technology and System, National Centre for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics & School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
| | - Jiamei Chen
- International Joint Laboratory of Optofluidic Technology and System, National Centre for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics & School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
- Shenzhen Bao'an District Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, 518133, P. R. China
| | - Zichuan Yi
- College of Electron and Information, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Zhongshan Institute, Zhongshan, 528402, P. R. China
| | - Guofu Zhou
- International Joint Laboratory of Optofluidic Technology and System, National Centre for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics & School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
| | - Lingling Shui
- International Joint Laboratory of Optofluidic Technology and System, National Centre for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics & School of Information and Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanophotonic Functional Materials and Devices, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
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Mohammadi R, Afsaneh H, Rezaei B, Moghimi Zand M. On-chip dielectrophoretic device for cancer cell manipulation: A numerical and artificial neural network study. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2023; 17:024102. [PMID: 36896355 PMCID: PMC9991445 DOI: 10.1063/5.0131806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Breast cancer, as one of the most frequent types of cancer in women, imposes large financial and human losses annually. MCF-7, a well-known cell line isolated from the breast tissue of cancer patients, is usually used in breast cancer research. Microfluidics is a newly established technique that provides many benefits, such as sample volume reduction, high-resolution operations, and multiple parallel analyses for various cell studies. This numerical study presents a novel microfluidic chip for the separation of MCF-7 cells from other blood cells, considering the effect of dielectrophoretic force. An artificial neural network, a novel tool for pattern recognition and data prediction, is implemented in this research. To prevent hyperthermia in cells, the temperature should not exceed 35 °C. In the first part, the effect of flow rate and applied voltage on the separation time, focusing efficiency, and maximum temperature of the field is investigated. The results denote that the separation time is affected by both the input parameters inversely, whereas the two remaining parameters increase with the input voltage and decrease with the sheath flow rate. A maximum focusing efficiency of 81% is achieved with a purity of 100% for a flow rate of 0.2 μ L / min and a voltage of 3.1 V . In the second part, an artificial neural network model is established to predict the maximum temperature inside the separation microchannel with a relative error of less than 3% for a wide range of input parameters. Therefore, the suggested label-free lab-on-a-chip device separates the target cells with high-throughput and low voltages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rasool Mohammadi
- School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 11155-463, Iran
| | - Hadi Afsaneh
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 1H9, Canada
| | - Behnam Rezaei
- Small Medical Devices, BioMEMS, and LoC Lab, School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 11155-463, Iran
| | - Mahdi Moghimi Zand
- Small Medical Devices, BioMEMS, and LoC Lab, School of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 11155-463, Iran
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Li M, Ge C, Yang Y, Gan M, Xu Y, Chen L, Li S. Direct separation and enumeration of CTCs in viscous blood based on co-flow microchannel with tunable shear rate: a proof-of-principle study. Anal Bioanal Chem 2022; 414:7683-7694. [PMID: 36048191 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-022-04299-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which have extremely low density in whole blood, are an important indicator of primary tumor metastasis. Isolation and enumeration of these cells are critical for clinical applications. Separation of CTCs from massive blood cells without labeling and addition of synthetic polymers is challenging. Herein, a novel well-defined co-flow microfluidic device is presented and used to separate CTCs in viscous blood by applying both inertial and viscoelastic forces. Diluted blood without any synthetic polymer and buffer solution were used as viscoelastic fluid and Newtonian fluid, respectively, and they were co-flowed in the designed chip to form a sheath flow. The co-flow system provides the function of particle pre-focusing and creates a tunable shear rate region at the interface to adjust the migration of particles or cells from the sample solution to the buffer solution. Successful separation of CTCs from viscous blood was demonstrated and enumeration was also conducted by image recognition after separation. The statistical results indicated that a recovery rate of cancer cells greater than 87% was obtained using the developed method, which proved that the direct separation of CTCs from diluted blood can be achieved without the addition of any synthetic polymer to prepare viscoelastic fluid. This method holds great promise for the separation of cells in viscous biological fluid without either complicated channel structures or the addition of synthetic polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengnan Li
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education & Key Disciplines Laboratory of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.,International R & D center of Micro-nano Systems and New Materials Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China
| | - Chuang Ge
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Research for Cancer Metastasis and Individualized Treatment, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, 400030, China
| | - Yuping Yang
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education & Key Disciplines Laboratory of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China
| | - Minshan Gan
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education & Key Disciplines Laboratory of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.,International R & D center of Micro-nano Systems and New Materials Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China
| | - Yi Xu
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education & Key Disciplines Laboratory of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China. .,International R & D center of Micro-nano Systems and New Materials Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
| | - Li Chen
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education & Key Disciplines Laboratory of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.,International R & D center of Micro-nano Systems and New Materials Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China
| | - Shunbo Li
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Systems, Ministry of Education & Key Disciplines Laboratory of Novel Micro-Nano Devices and System Technology, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China. .,International R & D center of Micro-nano Systems and New Materials Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China.
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Analysis of Temperature Field in the Dielectrophoresis-Based Microfluidic Cell Separation Device. FLUIDS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/fluids7080263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Cell separation techniques based on dielectrophoresis are of high interest as an effective method of performing cell separation non-invasively on cells. However, dielectrophoresis devices have the problem that cells in the device are exposed to a high-temperature environment due to the generation of Joule heat caused by high-voltage application and dielectric-loss heat when the applied voltage is AC voltage. There is concern that the heat generated in the device may affect cell viability, cell cycle and apoptosis induction. In this study, the temperature field inside the dielectrophoretic cell separation device was experimentally and numerically investigated. The temperature rise at the bottom of the flow channel in the device was measured using the LIF method, and the thermofluidal behavior of the device was numerically simulated by adopting a heat generation model that takes the Joule and dielectric-loss heating into account in the energy equation. The temperature rise in the device was evaluated and the effect of the heat generation on cells in the device is discussed.
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He S, Wei J, Ding L, Yang X, Wu Y. State-of-the-arts techniques and current evolving approaches in the separation and detection of circulating tumor cell. Talanta 2021; 239:123024. [PMID: 34952370 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2021.123024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are cancer cells that shed from the primary tumor and then enter the circulatory system, a small part of which may evolve into metastatic cancer under appropriate microenvironment conditions. The detection of CTCs is a truly noninvasive, dynamic monitor for disease changes, which has considerable clinical implications in the selection of targeted drugs. However, their inherent rarity and heterogeneity pose significant challenges to their isolation and detection. Even the "gold standard", CellSearch™, suffers from high expenses, low capture efficiency, and the consumption of time. With the advancement of CTCs analysis technologies in recent years, the yield and efficiency of CTCs enrichment have gradually been improved, as well as detection sensitivity. In this review, the isolation and detection strategies of CTCs have been completely described and the potential directions for future research and development have also been highlighted through analyzing the challenges faced by current strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sitian He
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China.
| | - Jinlan Wei
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
| | - Lihua Ding
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
| | - Xiaonan Yang
- School of Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China.
| | - Yongjun Wu
- College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China.
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