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Agha A, Waheed W, Stiharu I, Nerguizian V, Destgeer G, Abu-Nada E, Alazzam A. A review on microfluidic-assisted nanoparticle synthesis, and their applications using multiscale simulation methods. NANOSCALE RESEARCH LETTERS 2023; 18:18. [PMID: 36800044 PMCID: PMC9936499 DOI: 10.1186/s11671-023-03792-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Recent years have witnessed an increased interest in the development of nanoparticles (NPs) owing to their potential use in a wide variety of biomedical applications, including drug delivery, imaging agents, gene therapy, and vaccines, where recently, lipid nanoparticle mRNA-based vaccines were developed to prevent SARS-CoV-2 causing COVID-19. NPs typically fall into two broad categories: organic and inorganic. Organic NPs mainly include lipid-based and polymer-based nanoparticles, such as liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, polymersomes, dendrimers, and polymer micelles. Gold and silver NPs, iron oxide NPs, quantum dots, and carbon and silica-based nanomaterials make up the bulk of the inorganic NPs. These NPs are prepared using a variety of top-down and bottom-up approaches. Microfluidics provide an attractive synthesis alternative and is advantageous compared to the conventional bulk methods. The microfluidic mixing-based production methods offer better control in achieving the desired size, morphology, shape, size distribution, and surface properties of the synthesized NPs. The technology also exhibits excellent process repeatability, fast handling, less sample usage, and yields greater encapsulation efficiencies. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of the microfluidic-based passive and active mixing techniques for NP synthesis, and their latest developments. Additionally, a summary of microfluidic devices used for NP production is presented. Nonetheless, despite significant advancements in the experimental procedures, complete details of a nanoparticle-based system cannot be deduced from the experiments alone, and thus, multiscale computer simulations are utilized to perform systematic investigations. The work also details the most common multiscale simulation methods and their advancements in unveiling critical mechanisms involved in nanoparticle synthesis and the interaction of nanoparticles with other entities, especially in biomedical and therapeutic systems. Finally, an analysis is provided on the challenges in microfluidics related to nanoparticle synthesis and applications, and the future perspectives, such as large-scale NP synthesis, and hybrid formulations and devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdulrahman Agha
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE
| | - Waqas Waheed
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE
- System on Chip Center, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE
| | | | | | - Ghulam Destgeer
- Department of Electrical Engineering, School of Computation, Information and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Eiyad Abu-Nada
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE
| | - Anas Alazzam
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
- System on Chip Center, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
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Abdurahim J, Serra CA, Blanck C, Vauthier M. One-step production of highly monodisperse size-controlled poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles for the release of a hydrophobic model drug. J Drug Deliv Sci Technol 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jddst.2022.103358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Microfluidic Applications in Drug Development: Fabrication of Drug Carriers and Drug Toxicity Screening. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:mi13020200. [PMID: 35208324 PMCID: PMC8877367 DOI: 10.3390/mi13020200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 01/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Microfluidic technology has been highly useful in nanovolume sample preparation, separation, synthesis, purification, detection and assay, which are advantageous in drug development. This review highlights the recent developments and trends in microfluidic applications in two areas of drug development. First, we focus on how microfluidics has been developed as a facile tool for the fabrication of drug carriers including microparticles and nanoparticles. Second, we discuss how microfluidic chips could be used as an independent platform or integrated with other technologies in drug toxicity screening. Challenges and future perspectives of microfluidic applications in drug development have also been provided considering the present technological limitations.
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Illath K, Kar S, Gupta P, Shinde A, Wankhar S, Tseng FG, Lim KT, Nagai M, Santra TS. Microfluidic nanomaterials: From synthesis to biomedical applications. Biomaterials 2021; 280:121247. [PMID: 34801251 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2021.121247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2021] [Revised: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Microfluidic platforms gain popularity in biomedical research due to their attractive inherent features, especially in nanomaterials synthesis. This review critically evaluates the current state of the controlled synthesis of nanomaterials using microfluidic devices. We describe nanomaterials' screening in microfluidics, which is very relevant for automating the synthesis process for biomedical applications. We discuss the latest microfluidics trends to achieve noble metal, silica, biopolymer, quantum dots, iron oxide, carbon-based, rare-earth-based, and other nanomaterials with a specific size, composition, surface modification, and morphology required for particular biomedical application. Screening nanomaterials has become an essential tool to synthesize desired nanomaterials using more automated processes with high speed and repeatability, which can't be neglected in today's microfluidic technology. Moreover, we emphasize biomedical applications of nanomaterials, including imaging, targeting, therapy, and sensing. Before clinical use, nanomaterials have to be evaluated under physiological conditions, which is possible in the microfluidic system as it stimulates chemical gradients, fluid flows, and the ability to control microenvironment and partitioning multi-organs. In this review, we emphasize the clinical evaluation of nanomaterials using microfluidics which was not covered by any other reviews. In the future, the growth of new materials or modification in existing materials using microfluidics platforms and applications in a diversity of biomedical fields by utilizing all the features of microfluidic technology is expected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kavitha Illath
- Department of Engineering Design, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India
| | - Srabani Kar
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Pallavi Gupta
- Department of Engineering Design, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India
| | - Ashwini Shinde
- Department of Engineering Design, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India
| | - Syrpailyne Wankhar
- Department of Bioengineering, Christian Medical College Vellore, Vellore, India
| | - Fan-Gang Tseng
- Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Ki-Taek Lim
- Department of Biosystems Engineering, Kangwon National University, South Korea
| | - Moeto Nagai
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Aichi, Japan
| | - Tuhin Subhra Santra
- Department of Engineering Design, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India.
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Abedini-Nassab R, Pouryosef Miandoab M, Şaşmaz M. Microfluidic Synthesis, Control, and Sensing of Magnetic Nanoparticles: A Review. MICROMACHINES 2021; 12:768. [PMID: 34210058 PMCID: PMC8306075 DOI: 10.3390/mi12070768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Magnetic nanoparticles have attracted significant attention in various disciplines, including engineering and medicine. Microfluidic chips and lab-on-a-chip devices, with precise control over small volumes of fluids and tiny particles, are appropriate tools for the synthesis, manipulation, and evaluation of nanoparticles. Moreover, the controllability and automation offered by the microfluidic chips in combination with the unique capabilities of the magnetic nanoparticles and their ability to be remotely controlled and detected, have recently provided tremendous advances in biotechnology. In particular, microfluidic chips with magnetic nanoparticles serve as sensitive, high throughput, and portable devices for contactless detecting and manipulating DNAs, RNAs, living cells, and viruses. In this work, we review recent fundamental advances in the field with a focus on biomedical applications. First, we study novel microfluidic-based methods in synthesizing magnetic nanoparticles as well as microparticles encapsulating them. We review both continues-flow and droplet-based microreactors, including the ones based on the cross-flow, co-flow, and flow-focusing methods. Then, we investigate the microfluidic-based methods for manipulating tiny magnetic particles. These manipulation techniques include the ones based on external magnets, embedded micro-coils, and magnetic thin films. Finally, we review techniques invented for the detection and magnetic measurement of magnetic nanoparticles and magnetically labeled bioparticles. We include the advances in anisotropic magnetoresistive, giant magnetoresistive, tunneling magnetoresistive, and magnetorelaxometry sensors. Overall, this review covers a wide range of the field uniquely and provides essential information for designing "lab-on-a-chip" systems for synthesizing magnetic nanoparticles, labeling bioparticles with them, and sorting and detecting them on a single chip.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roozbeh Abedini-Nassab
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Neyshabur, Neyshabur 9319774446, Iran
| | | | - Merivan Şaşmaz
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Adiyaman University, Adiyaman 02040, Turkey;
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Hu H, Yang C, Li M, Shao D, Mao HQ, Leong KW. Flash Technology-Based Self-Assembly in Nanoformulation: From Fabrication to Biomedical Applications. MATERIALS TODAY (KIDLINGTON, ENGLAND) 2021; 42:99-116. [PMID: 34421329 PMCID: PMC8375602 DOI: 10.1016/j.mattod.2020.08.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Advances in nanoformulation have driven progress in biomedicine by producing nanoscale tools for biosensing, imaging, and drug delivery. Flash-based technology, the combination of rapid mixing technique with the self-assembly of macromolecules, is a new engine for the translational nanomedicine. Here, we review the state-of-the-art in flash-based self-assembly including theoretical and experimental principles, mixing device design, and applications. We highlight the fields of flash nanocomplexation (FNC) and flash nanoprecipitation (FNP), with an emphasis on biomedical applications of FNC, and discuss challenges and future directions for flash-based nanoformulation in biomedicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanze Hu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Chao Yang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Institutes of Life Sciences, School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, Guangzhou International Campus, National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, China
| | - Mingqiang Li
- Laboratory of Biomaterials and Translational Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510630, China
| | - Dan Shao
- Institutes of Life Sciences, School of Biomedical Sciences and Engineering, Guangzhou International Campus, National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510630, China
| | - Hai-Quan Mao
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Kam W. Leong
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
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Liu Z, Fontana F, Python A, Hirvonen JT, Santos HA. Microfluidics for Production of Particles: Mechanism, Methodology, and Applications. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2020; 16:e1904673. [PMID: 31702878 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201904673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2019] [Revised: 09/27/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
In the past two decades, microfluidics-based particle production is widely applied for multiple biological usages. Compared to conventional bulk methods, microfluidic-assisted particle production shows significant advantages, such as narrower particle size distribution, higher reproducibility, improved encapsulation efficiency, and enhanced scaling-up potency. Herein, an overview of the recent progress of the microfluidics technology for nano-, microparticles or droplet fabrication, and their biological applications is provided. For both nano-, microparticles/droplets, the previously established mechanisms behind particle production via microfluidics and some typical examples during the past five years are discussed. The emerging interdisciplinary technologies based on microfluidics that have produced microparticles or droplets for cellular analysis and artificial cells fabrication are summarized. The potential drawbacks and future perspectives are also briefly discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zehua Liu
- Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Flavia Fontana
- Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Andre Python
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Information and Discovery, Big Data Institute, University of Oxford, OX3 7LF, Oxford, UK
| | - Jouni T Hirvonen
- Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Hélder A Santos
- Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE), University of Helsinki, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland
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Zhang L, Chen Q, Ma Y, Sun J. Microfluidic Methods for Fabrication and Engineering of Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Systems. ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS 2019; 3:107-120. [DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.9b00853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lu Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Qinghua Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100149, China
| | - Yao Ma
- CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100149, China
| | - Jiashu Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Standardization and Measurement for Nanotechnology, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100149, China
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
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Gultekinoglu M, Jiang X, Bayram C, Ulubayram K, Edirisinghe M. Honeycomb-like PLGA- b-PEG Structure Creation with T-Junction Microdroplets. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2018; 34:7989-7997. [PMID: 29772899 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b00886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Amphiphilic block copolymers are widely used in science owing to their versatile properties. In this study, amphiphilic block copolymer poly(lactic- co-glycolic acid)- block-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLGA- b-PEG) was used to create microdroplets in a T-junction microfluidic device with a well-defined geometry. To compare interfacial characteristics of microdroplets, dichloromethane (DCM) and chloroform were used to prepare PLGA- b-PEG solution as an oil phase. In the T-junction device, water and oil phases were manipulated at variable flow rates from 50 to 300 μL/min by increments of 50 μL/min. Fabricated microdroplets were directly collected on a glass slide. After a drying period, porous two-dimensional and three-dimensional structures were obtained as honeycomb-like structure. Pore sizes were increased according to increased water/oil flow rate for both DCM and chloroform solutions. Also, it was shown that increasing polymer concentration decreased the pore size of honeycomb-like structures at a constant water/oil flow rate (50:50 μL/min). Additionally, PLGA- b-PEG nanoparticles were also obtained on the struts of honeycomb-like structures according to the water solubility, volatility, and viscosity properties of oil phases, by the aid of Marangoni flow. The resulting structures have a great potential to be used in biomedical applications, especially in drug delivery-related studies, with nanoparticle forming ability and cellular responses in different surface morphologies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Xinyue Jiang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , University College London (UCL) , London WC1E 7JE , U.K
| | | | | | - Mohan Edirisinghe
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , University College London (UCL) , London WC1E 7JE , U.K
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