Potential of cell tracking velocimetry as an economical and portable hematology analyzer

Heavy metal-induced genotoxic, physiological, and biochemical responses in Schizothorax esocinus (Heckel 1838) inhabiting the Dal Lake, India, and phytoremediation by indwelling plants

Heavy metals have an immense impact on aquatic ecosystems, and their toxic effects are transferred to the inhabiting organisms. Experiments were conducted to investigate the health of snow trout Schizothorax esocinus inhabiting Dal Lake. Heavy metals (Cd > Ni > Cu > Cr) were found to accumulate in the major immune organs of the fish (head kidney, liver, spleen, thymus) which led to change in the overall physiology. The head kidney, liver, and spleen of a fish contain high amount of these metals. The least accumulation of these metals was found in the blood, whereas Cd and Ni were completely absent in the integument. Hepatic marker enzymes (aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP)) were normal, while the renal marker enzyme creatine kinase showed marked difference in its value. The cortisol level was normal, while immunoglobulin M showed elevated level representing active immunity. At a cellular level, the histopathology of immune organs showed marked damage. Metallothionein (MT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) genes showed variable expression pattern in the immune organs with the head kidney showing the highest expression of both the genes, and blood showed the least. We observed that the aquatic plants (Nelumbo nucifera and Trapa natans) inhabiting the lake played an important role in phytoremediation. An integrated approach involving biochemical, hematological, genotoxic, and histopathological studies can provide a valuable information to understand fish adaptive patterns and monitor water quality.

Applications of magnetic and electromagnetic forces in micro-analytical systems

Novel applications of magnetic fields in analytical chemistry have become a remarkable trend in the last two decades. Various magnetic forces have been employed for the migration, orientation, manipulation, and trapping of microparticles, and new analytical platforms for separating and detecting molecules have been proposed. Magnetic materials such as functional magnetic nanoparticles, magnetic nanocomposites, and specially designed magnetic solids and liquids have also been developed for analytical purposes. Numerous attractive applications of magnetic and electromagnetic forces on magnetic and non-magnetic materials have been studied, but fundamental studies to understand the working principles of magnetic forces have been challenging. These studies will form a new field of magneto-analytical science, which should be developed as an interdisciplinary field. In this review, essential pioneering works and recent attractive developments are presented.

Novel Approaches Concerning the Numerical Modeling of Particle and Cell Separation in Microchannels: A Review

The demand for precise separation of particles, cells, and other biological matter has significantly increased in recent years, leading to heightened scientific interest in this topic. More recently, due to advances in computational techniques and hardware, numerical simulations have been used to guide the design of separation devices. In this article, we establish the theoretical basis governing fluid flow and particle separation and then summarize the computational work performed in the field of particle and cell separation in the last five years with an emphasis on magnetic, dielectric, and acoustic methods. Nearly 70 articles are being reviewed and categorized depending on the type of material separated, fluid medium, software used, and experimental validation, with a brief description of some of the most notable results. Finally, further conclusions, future guidelines, and suggestions for potential improvement are highlighted.

Continuous-Flow Magnetic Fractionation of Red Blood Cells Based on Hemoglobin Content and Oxygen Saturation—Clinical Blood Supply Implications and Sickle Cell Anemia Treatment

Approximately 36,000 units of red blood cells (RBCs) are used every day in the U.S. and there is a great challenge for hospitals to maintain a reliable supply, given the 42-day expiration period from the blood donation date. For many years, research has been conducted to develop ex vivo storage solutions that limit RBC lysis and maintain a high survival rate of the transfused cells. However, little attention is directed towards potential fractionation methods to remove unwanted cell debris or aged blood cells from stored RBC units prior to transfusion, which could not only expand the ex vivo shelf life of RBC units but also avoid adverse events in transfused patients. Such fractionation methods could also limit the number of transfusions required for treating certain pathologies, such as sickle cell disease (SCD). In this work, magnetic fractionation is studied as a potential technology to fractionate functional and healthy RBCs from aged or sickle cells. It has been reported that during ex vivo RBC storage, RBCs lose hemoglobin (Hb) and lipid content via formation of Hb-containing exosomes. Given the magnetic character of deoxygenated- or met-Hb, in this work, we propose the use of a quadrupole magnetic sorter (QMS) to fractionate RBCs based on their Hb content from both healthy stored blood and SCD blood. In our QMS, a cylindrical microchannel placed inside the center of the quadrupolar magnets is subjected to high magnetic fields and constant field gradients (286 T/m), which causes the deflection of the paramagnetic, Hb-enriched, and functional RBCs from their original path and their collection into a different outlet. Our results demonstrated that although we could obtain a significant difference in the magnetic mobility of the sorted fractions (corresponding to a difference in more than 1 pg of Hb per cell), there exists a tradeoff between throughput and purity. Therefore, this technology when optimized could be used to expand the ex vivo shelf life of RBC units and avoid adverse events in transfused individuals or SCD patients requiring blood exchange therapy.