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Qiu W, Lin X, Nagl S. In Situ Live Monitoring of Extracellular Acidosis near Cancer Cells Using Digital Microfluidics with an Integrated Optical pH Sensor Film. Anal Chem 2024; 96:14456-14463. [PMID: 39171737 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.4c02319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/23/2024]
Abstract
We demonstrate the live monitoring of extracellular acidification on digital microfluidics using a chip-integrated fluorescent pH sensor film. The metabolism of various types of live cells including cancer and healthy cells were investigated through recording the extracellular pH (pHe) change. An optical pH sensor array was integrated onto a digital microfluidic (DMF) interface with a diameter of 2 mm per pH-sensing spot. Miniaturized, label-free, and noninvasive monitoring of extracellular acidosis on DMF was realized within a pH range of 5.0-8.0 with good sensitivity and rapid response. The pH sensitive probe fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate was covalently bound to poly-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and immobilized on a circularly exposed indium tin oxide interface on the DMF top plate. The surface of the fabricated pH sensor spots was modified with polydopamine via self-polymerization. Direct cell attachment on the sensor surfaces enabled rapid pH detection near the cell membranes. Automatic medium exchange on cell-attached pH sensing sites was achieved though solution passive dispensing on DMF. The developed DMF platform was used to monitor the pHe decrease during MCF-7 and A549 cancer cell proliferation due to abnormal glycolysis metabolism. A rapid pH decrease at the pH sensing area in the presence of cancer cells could be detected within 2 min after fresh medium exchange, while no obvious pHe change was observed with HUVEC healthy cells. Real-time detection of cell acidification and cellular response to different metabolic conditions such as higher glucose levels or administered anticancer drugs was possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenting Qiu
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China
| | - Xuyan Lin
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China
| | - Stefan Nagl
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China
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2
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Steinbach MK, Leipert J, Matzanke T, Tholey A. Digital Microfluidics for Sample Preparation in Low-Input Proteomics. SMALL METHODS 2024:e2400495. [PMID: 39205538 DOI: 10.1002/smtd.202400495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 08/16/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
Low-input proteomics, also referred to as micro- or nanoproteomics, has become increasingly popular as it allows one to elucidate molecular processes in rare biological materials. A major prerequisite for the analytics of minute protein amounts, e.g., derived from low cell numbers, down to single cells, is the availability of efficient sample preparation methods. Digital microfluidics (DMF), a technology allowing the handling and manipulation of low liquid volumes, has recently been shown to be a powerful and versatile tool to address the challenges in low-input proteomics. Here, an overview is provided on recent advances in proteomics sample preparation using DMF. In particular, the capability of DMF to isolate proteomes from cells and small model organisms, and to perform all necessary chemical sample preparation steps, such as protein denaturation and proteolytic digestion on-chip, are highlighted. Additionally, major prerequisites to making these steps compatible with follow-up analytical methods such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max K Steinbach
- Systematic Proteome Research & Bioanalytics, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24105, Kiel, Germany
| | - Jan Leipert
- Systematic Proteome Research & Bioanalytics, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24105, Kiel, Germany
| | - Theo Matzanke
- Systematic Proteome Research & Bioanalytics, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24105, Kiel, Germany
| | - Andreas Tholey
- Systematic Proteome Research & Bioanalytics, Institute for Experimental Medicine, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 24105, Kiel, Germany
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3
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Xie Y, Chen Z, Cai D, Huang D, Huang E, Yang X, Zhang T, Wen H, Wang Y, Zhao M, Liu D, Xu B. Rapid Detection of Uropathogens Using an Integrated Multiplex Digital Nucleic Acid Detection Assay Powered by a Digital-to-Droplet Microfluidic Device. Anal Chem 2024. [PMID: 39018349 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.4c02578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/19/2024]
Abstract
The digital nucleic acid detection assay features the capability of absolute quantitation without the need for calibration, thereby facilitating the rapid identification of pathogens. Although several integrated digital nucleic acid detection techniques have been developed, there are still constraints in terms of automation and analysis throughput. To tackle these challenges, this study presents a digital-to-droplet microfluidic device comprising a digital microfluidics (DMF) module at the bottom and a droplet microfluidics module at the top. Following sample introduction, the extraction of nucleic acid and the dispensation of nucleic acid elution for mixing with the multiple amplification reagents are carried out in the DMF module. Subsequently, the reaction droplets are transported to the sample inlet of the droplet microfluidic module via a liquid outlet, and then droplet generation in four parallel units within the droplet microfluidics module is actuated by negative pressure generated by a syringe vacuum. The digital-to-droplet microfluidic device was employed to execute an integrated multiplex digital droplet nucleic acid detection assay (imDDNA) incorporating loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). This assay was specifically designed to enable simultaneous detection of four uropathogens, namely, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterococcus faecalis. The entire process of the imDDNA is completed within 75 min, with a detection range spanning 5 orders of magnitude (9.43 × 10-2.86 × 104 copies μL-1). The imDDNA was employed for the detection of batched clinical specimens, showing a consistency of 91.1% when compared with that of the conventional method. The imDDNA exhibits simplicity in operation and accuracy in quantification, thus offering potential advantages in achieving rapid pathogen detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Xie
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510180, China
| | - Zhenhua Chen
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510180, China
- Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Microfluidic Chip Medical Diagnosis, Guangzhou 510180, China
| | - Dongyang Cai
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510180, China
- Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Microfluidic Chip Medical Diagnosis, Guangzhou 510180, China
| | - Dezhi Huang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510180, China
| | - Enqi Huang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510180, China
| | - Xiao Yang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510180, China
- Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Microfluidic Chip Medical Diagnosis, Guangzhou 510180, China
| | - Ting Zhang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510180, China
- Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Microfluidic Chip Medical Diagnosis, Guangzhou 510180, China
| | - Hongting Wen
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510180, China
| | - Yu Wang
- Bioland Laboratory (Guangzhou Regenerative Medicine and Health Guangdong Laboratory), Guangzhou 510005, China
| | - Meng Zhao
- Bioland Laboratory (Guangzhou Regenerative Medicine and Health Guangdong Laboratory), Guangzhou 510005, China
| | - Dayu Liu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510180, China
- Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Microfluidic Chip Medical Diagnosis, Guangzhou 510180, China
| | - Banglao Xu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510180, China
- Guangdong Engineering Technology Research Center of Microfluidic Chip Medical Diagnosis, Guangzhou 510180, China
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4
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Bae SJ, Lee SJ, Im DJ. Simultaneous Separating, Splitting, Collecting, and Dispensing by Droplet Pinch-Off for Droplet Cell Culture. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024; 20:e2309062. [PMID: 38009759 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202309062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Simultaneous separating, splitting, collecting, and dispensing a cell suspension droplet has been demonstrated by aspiration and subsequent droplet pinch-off for use in microfluidic droplet cell culture systems. This method is applied to cell manipulations including aliquots and concentrations of microalgal and mammalian cell suspensions. Especially, medium exchange of spheroid droplets is successfully demonstrated by collecting more than 99% of all culture medium without damaging the spheroids, demonstrating its potential for a 3D cell culture system. Through dimensional analysis and systematic parametric studies, it is found that initial mother droplet size together with aspiration flow rate determines three droplet pinch-off regimes. By observing contact angle changes during aspiration, the difference in the large and the small droplet pinch-off can be quantitatively explained using force balance. It is found that the capillary number plays a significant role in droplet pinch-off, but the Bond number and the Ohnesorge number have minor effects. Since the dispensed droplet size is mainly determined by the capillary number, the dispensed droplet size can be controlled simply by adjusting the aspiration flow rate. It is hoped that this method can contribute to various fields using droplets, such as droplet cell culture and digital microfluidics, beyond the generation of small droplets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seo Jun Bae
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pukyong National University, Yongso-ro, Nam-Gu, Busan, (48513) 45, Korea
| | - Seon Jun Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pukyong National University, Yongso-ro, Nam-Gu, Busan, (48513) 45, Korea
| | - Do Jin Im
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Pukyong National University, Yongso-ro, Nam-Gu, Busan, (48513) 45, Korea
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Sheng H, Chen L, Zhao Y, Long X, Chen Q, Wu C, Li B, Fei Y, Mi L, Ma J. Closed, one-stop intelligent and accurate particle characterization based on micro-Raman spectroscopy and digital microfluidics. Talanta 2024; 266:124895. [PMID: 37454511 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.124895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Monoclonal antibodies are prone to form protein particles through aggregation, fragmentation, and oxidation under varying stress conditions during the manufacturing, shipping, and storage of parenteral drug products. According to pharmacopeia requirements, sub-visible particle levels need to be controlled throughout the shelf life of the product. Therefore, in addition to determining particle counts, it is crucial to accurately characterize particles in drug product to understand the stress condition of exposure and to implement appropriate mitigation actions for a specific formulation. In this study, we developed a new method for intelligent characterization of protein particles using micro-Raman spectroscopy on a digital microfluidic chip (DMF). Several microliters of protein particle solutions induced by stress degradation were loaded onto a DMF chip to generate multiple droplets for Raman spectroscopy testing. By training multiple machine learning classification models on the obtained Raman spectra of protein particles, eight types of protein particles were successfully characterized and predicted with high classification accuracy (93%-100%). The advantages of the novel particle characterization method proposed in this study include a closed system to prevent particle contamination, one-stop testing of morphological and chemical structure information, low sample volume consumption, reusable particle droplets, and simplified data analysis with high classification accuracy. It provides great potential to determine the probable root cause of the particle source or stress conditions by a single testing, so that an accurate particle control strategy can be developed and ultimately extend the product shelf-life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Sheng
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Academy for Engineer and Technology, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Liwen Chen
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-precision Optical Manufacturing, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures (Ministry of Education), Green Photoelectron Platform, Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, China; Ruidge Biotech Co. Ltd., No. 888, Huanhu West 2nd Road, Lin-Gang Special Area, China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Shanghai, 200131, China
| | - Yinping Zhao
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Academy for Engineer and Technology, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Xiangan Long
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Academy for Engineer and Technology, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Qiushu Chen
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-precision Optical Manufacturing, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures (Ministry of Education), Green Photoelectron Platform, Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Chuanyong Wu
- Shanghai Hengxin BioTechnology, Ltd., 1688 North Guo Quan Rd, Bldg A8, Rm 801, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Bei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Applied Optics, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.3888 Dong Nanhu Road, Changchun, Jilin, 130033, China
| | - Yiyan Fei
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-precision Optical Manufacturing, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures (Ministry of Education), Green Photoelectron Platform, Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Lan Mi
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-precision Optical Manufacturing, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures (Ministry of Education), Green Photoelectron Platform, Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, China.
| | - Jiong Ma
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Academy for Engineer and Technology, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultra-precision Optical Manufacturing, Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures (Ministry of Education), Green Photoelectron Platform, Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Industrial Microorganisms, The Multiscale Research Institute of Complex Systems (MRICS), School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, 220 Handan Road, Shanghai, 200433, China.
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6
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Gao S, Rui X, Zeng X, Zhou J. EWOD Chip with Micro-Barrier Electrode for Simultaneous Enhanced Mixing during Transportation. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 23:7102. [PMID: 37631640 PMCID: PMC10459807 DOI: 10.3390/s23167102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Digital microfluidic platforms have been extensively studied in biology. However, achieving efficient mixing of macromolecules in microscale, low Reynolds number fluids remains a major challenge. To address this challenge, this study presents a novel design solution based on dielectric electro-wetting (EWOD) by optimizing the geometry of the transport electrode. The new design integrates micro-barriers on the electrodes to generate vortex currents that promote mixing during droplet transport. This design solution requires only two activation signals, minimizing the number of pins required. The mixing performance of the new design was evaluated by analyzing the degree of mixing inside the droplet and quantifying the motion of the internal particles. In addition, the rapid mixing capability of the new platform was demonstrated by successfully mixing the sorbitol solution with the detection solution and detecting the resulting reaction products. The experimental results show that the transfer electrode with a micro-barrier enables rapid mixing of liquids with a six-fold increase in mixing efficiency, making it ideal for the development of EWOD devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shang Gao
- School of Microelectronics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China; (S.G.); (X.R.)
| | - Xichuan Rui
- School of Microelectronics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China; (S.G.); (X.R.)
- Department of Micro/Nano Electronics State Key Laboratory of Radio Frequency Heterogeneous Integration, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Xiangyu Zeng
- School of Microelectronics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China; (S.G.); (X.R.)
| | - Jia Zhou
- School of Microelectronics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China; (S.G.); (X.R.)
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7
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Coelho BJ, Neto JP, Sieira B, Moura AT, Fortunato E, Martins R, Baptista PV, Igreja R, Águas H. Hybrid Digital-Droplet Microfluidic Chip for Applications in Droplet Digital Nucleic Acid Amplification: Design, Fabrication and Characterization. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 23:4927. [PMID: 37430841 DOI: 10.3390/s23104927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Microfluidic-based platforms have become a hallmark for chemical and biological assays, empowering micro- and nano-reaction vessels. The fusion of microfluidic technologies (digital microfluidics, continuous-flow microfluidics, and droplet microfluidics, just to name a few) presents great potential for overcoming the inherent limitations of each approach, while also elevating their respective strengths. This work exploits the combination of digital microfluidics (DMF) and droplet microfluidics (DrMF) on a single substrate, where DMF enables droplet mixing and further acts as a controlled liquid supplier for a high-throughput nano-liter droplet generator. Droplet generation is performed at a flow-focusing region, operating on dual pressure: negative pressure applied to the aqueous phase and positive pressure applied to the oil phase. We evaluate the droplets produced with our hybrid DMF-DrMF devices in terms of droplet volume, speed, and production frequency and further compare them with standalone DrMF devices. Both types of devices enable customizable droplet production (various volumes and circulation speeds), yet hybrid DMF-DrMF devices yield more controlled droplet production while achieving throughputs that are similar to standalone DrMF devices. These hybrid devices enable the production of up to four droplets per second, which reach a maximum circulation speed close to 1540 µm/s and volumes as low as 0.5 nL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatriz J Coelho
- CENIMAT|i3N, Department of Materials Science, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, NOVA University of Lisbon and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
- UCIBIO, I4HB, Department of Life Sciences, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, NOVA University of Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - Joana P Neto
- CENIMAT|i3N, Department of Materials Science, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, NOVA University of Lisbon and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - Bárbara Sieira
- CENIMAT|i3N, Department of Materials Science, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, NOVA University of Lisbon and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - André T Moura
- CENIMAT|i3N, Department of Materials Science, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, NOVA University of Lisbon and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - Elvira Fortunato
- CENIMAT|i3N, Department of Materials Science, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, NOVA University of Lisbon and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - Rodrigo Martins
- CENIMAT|i3N, Department of Materials Science, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, NOVA University of Lisbon and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - Pedro V Baptista
- UCIBIO, I4HB, Department of Life Sciences, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, NOVA University of Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - Rui Igreja
- CENIMAT|i3N, Department of Materials Science, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, NOVA University of Lisbon and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
| | - Hugo Águas
- CENIMAT|i3N, Department of Materials Science, NOVA School of Science and Technology, Campus de Caparica, NOVA University of Lisbon and CEMOP/UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
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8
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Sanders LM, Scott RT, Yang JH, Qutub AA, Garcia Martin H, Berrios DC, Hastings JJA, Rask J, Mackintosh G, Hoarfrost AL, Chalk S, Kalantari J, Khezeli K, Antonsen EL, Babdor J, Barker R, Baranzini SE, Beheshti A, Delgado-Aparicio GM, Glicksberg BS, Greene CS, Haendel M, Hamid AA, Heller P, Jamieson D, Jarvis KJ, Komarova SV, Komorowski M, Kothiyal P, Mahabal A, Manor U, Mason CE, Matar M, Mias GI, Miller J, Myers JG, Nelson C, Oribello J, Park SM, Parsons-Wingerter P, Prabhu RK, Reynolds RJ, Saravia-Butler A, Saria S, Sawyer A, Singh NK, Snyder M, Soboczenski F, Soman K, Theriot CA, Van Valen D, Venkateswaran K, Warren L, Worthey L, Zitnik M, Costes SV. Biological research and self-driving labs in deep space supported by artificial intelligence. NAT MACH INTELL 2023. [DOI: 10.1038/s42256-023-00618-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/28/2023]
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9
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Xu X, Cai L, Liang S, Zhang Q, Lin S, Li M, Yang Q, Li C, Han Z, Yang C. Digital microfluidics for biological analysis and applications. LAB ON A CHIP 2023; 23:1169-1191. [PMID: 36644972 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00756h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Digital microfluidics (DMF) is an emerging liquid-handling technology based on arrays of microelectrodes for the precise manipulation of discrete droplets. DMF offers the benefits of automation, addressability, integration and dynamic configuration ability, and provides enclosed picoliter-to-microliter reaction space, making it suitable for lab-on-a-chip biological analysis and applications that require high integration and intricate processes. A review of DMF bioassays with a special emphasis on those actuated by electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) force is presented here. Firstly, a brief introduction is presented on both the theory of EWOD actuation and the types of droplet motion. Subsequently, a comprehensive overview of DMF-based biological analysis and applications, including nucleic acid, protein, immunoreaction and cell assays, is provided. Finally, a discussion on the strengths, challenges, and potential applications and perspectives in this field is presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Xu
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
| | - Linfeng Cai
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
| | - Shanshan Liang
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
| | - Qiannan Zhang
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
| | - Shiyan Lin
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
| | - Mingying Li
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
| | - Qizheng Yang
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
| | - Chong Li
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
| | - Ziyan Han
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
| | - Chaoyong Yang
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Spectrochemical Analysis & Instrumentation, The Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Department of Chemical Biology, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, China
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10
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Tong Z, Shen C, Li Q, Yin H, Mao H. Combining sensors and actuators with electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD): advanced digital microfluidic systems for biomedical applications. Analyst 2023; 148:1399-1421. [PMID: 36752059 DOI: 10.1039/d2an01707e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
The concept of digital microfluidics (DMF) enables highly flexible and precise droplet manipulation at a picoliter scale, making DMF a promising approach to realize integrated, miniaturized "lab-on-a-chip" (LOC) systems for research and clinical purposes. Owing to its simplicity and effectiveness, electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) is one of the most commonly studied and applied effects to implement DMF. However, complex biomedical assays usually require more sophisticated sample handling and detection capabilities than basic EWOD manipulation. Alternatively, combined systems integrating EWOD actuators and other fluidic handling techniques are essential for bringing DMF into practical use. In this paper, we briefly review the main approaches for the integration/combination of EWOD with other microfluidic manipulation methods or additional external fields for specified biomedical applications. The form of integration ranges from independently operating sub-systems to fully coupled hybrid actuators. The corresponding biomedical applications of these works are also summarized to illustrate the significance of these innovative combination attempts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoduo Tong
- State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China. .,Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Chuanjie Shen
- State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China. .,Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Qiushi Li
- State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China.
| | - Hao Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China. .,Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Hongju Mao
- State Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China.
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11
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Anggraini D, Ota N, Shen Y, Tang T, Tanaka Y, Hosokawa Y, Li M, Yalikun Y. Recent advances in microfluidic devices for single-cell cultivation: methods and applications. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:1438-1468. [PMID: 35274649 DOI: 10.1039/d1lc01030a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Single-cell analysis is essential to improve our understanding of cell functionality from cellular and subcellular aspects for diagnosis and therapy. Single-cell cultivation is one of the most important processes in single-cell analysis, which allows the monitoring of actual information of individual cells and provides sufficient single-cell clones and cell-derived products for further analysis. The microfluidic device is a fast-rising system that offers efficient, effective, and sensitive single-cell cultivation and real-time single-cell analysis conducted either on-chip or off-chip. Here, we introduce the importance of single-cell cultivation from the aspects of cellular and subcellular studies. We highlight the materials and structures utilized in microfluidic devices for single-cell cultivation. We further discuss biological applications utilizing single-cell cultivation-based microfluidics, such as cellular phenotyping, cell-cell interactions, and omics profiling. Finally, present limitations and future prospects of microfluidics for single-cell cultivation are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dian Anggraini
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
| | - Nobutoshi Ota
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yigang Shen
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Tao Tang
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
| | - Yo Tanaka
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yoichiroh Hosokawa
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
| | - Ming Li
- School of Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney 2122, Australia.
| | - Yaxiaer Yalikun
- Division of Materials Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara 630-0192, Japan.
- Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, 1-3 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
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12
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Iwai K, Wehrs M, Garber M, Sustarich J, Washburn L, Costello Z, Kim PW, Ando D, Gaillard WR, Hillson NJ, Adams PD, Mukhopadhyay A, Garcia Martin H, Singh AK. Scalable and automated CRISPR-based strain engineering using droplet microfluidics. MICROSYSTEMS & NANOENGINEERING 2022; 8:31. [PMID: 35359611 PMCID: PMC8924257 DOI: 10.1038/s41378-022-00357-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We present a droplet-based microfluidic system that enables CRISPR-based gene editing and high-throughput screening on a chip. The microfluidic device contains a 10 × 10 element array, and each element contains sets of electrodes for two electric field-actuated operations: electrowetting for merging droplets to mix reagents and electroporation for transformation. This device can perform up to 100 genetic modification reactions in parallel, providing a scalable platform for generating the large number of engineered strains required for the combinatorial optimization of genetic pathways and predictable bioengineering. We demonstrate the system's capabilities through the CRISPR-based engineering of two test cases: (1) disruption of the function of the enzyme galactokinase (galK) in E. coli and (2) targeted engineering of the glutamine synthetase gene (glnA) and the blue-pigment synthetase gene (bpsA) to improve indigoidine production in E. coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kosuke Iwai
- Technology Division, DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 94550 USA
| | - Maren Wehrs
- Biofuels and Bioproducts Division, DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Megan Garber
- Biofuels and Bioproducts Division, DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Jess Sustarich
- Technology Division, DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 94550 USA
| | - Lauren Washburn
- Technology Division, DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 94550 USA
| | - Zachary Costello
- Biofuels and Bioproducts Division, DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Peter W. Kim
- Technology Division, DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 94550 USA
| | - David Ando
- Biofuels and Bioproducts Division, DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - William R. Gaillard
- Technology Division, DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 94550 USA
| | - Nathan J. Hillson
- Technology Division, DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Paul D. Adams
- Technology Division, DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Aindrila Mukhopadhyay
- Biofuels and Bioproducts Division, DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
| | - Hector Garcia Martin
- Biofuels and Bioproducts Division, DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
- BCAM, Basque Center for Applied Mathematics, Bilbao, 48009 Spain
| | - Anup K. Singh
- Technology Division, DOE Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
- Biotechnology and Bioengineering Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 94550 USA
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13
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Kerk YJ, Jameel A, Xing X, Zhang C. Recent advances of integrated microfluidic suspension cell culture system. ENGINEERING BIOLOGY 2021; 5:103-119. [PMID: 36970555 PMCID: PMC9996741 DOI: 10.1049/enb2.12015] [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: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Microfluidic devices with superior microscale fluid manipulation ability and large integration flexibility offer great advantages of high throughput, parallelisation and multifunctional automation. Such features have been extensively utilised to facilitate cell culture processes such as cell capturing and culturing under controllable and monitored conditions for cell-based assays. Incorporating functional components and microfabricated configurations offered different levels of fluid control and cell manipulation strategies to meet diverse culture demands. This review will discuss the advances of single-phase flow and droplet-based integrated microfluidic suspension cell culture systems and their applications for accelerated bioprocess development, high-throughput cell selection, drug screening and scientific research to insight cell biology. Challenges and future prospects for this dynamically developing field are also highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Jing Kerk
- Institute of Biochemical EngineeringDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Aysha Jameel
- Institute of Biochemical EngineeringDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
- MOE Key Laboratory of Industrial BiocatalysisDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Xin‐Hui Xing
- Institute of Biochemical EngineeringDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
- MOE Key Laboratory of Industrial BiocatalysisDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
- Center for Synthetic and Systems BiologyTsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Chong Zhang
- Institute of Biochemical EngineeringDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
- MOE Key Laboratory of Industrial BiocatalysisDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
- Center for Synthetic and Systems BiologyTsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
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14
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Davis AN, Samlali K, Kapadia JB, Perreault J, Shih SCC, Kharma N. Digital Microfluidics Chips for the Execution and Real-Time Monitoring of Multiple Ribozymatic Cleavage Reactions. ACS OMEGA 2021; 6:22514-22524. [PMID: 34514224 PMCID: PMC8427639 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c00239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we describe the design and performance of two digital microfluidics (DMF) chips capable of executing multiple ribozymatic reactions, with proper controls, in response to short single-stranded DNA inducers. Since the fluorescence output of a reaction is measurable directly from the chip, without the need for gel electrophoresis, a complete experiment involving up to eight reactions (per chip) can be carried out reliably, relatively quickly, and efficiently. The ribozymes can also be used as biosensors of the concentration of oligonucleotide inputs, with high sensitivity, low limits of quantification and of detection, and excellent signal-to-noise ratio. The presented chips are readily usable devices that can be used to automate, speed up, and reduce the costs of ribozymatic reaction experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alen N. Davis
- Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Québec H3G 1M8, Canada
| | - Kenza Samlali
- Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Québec H3G 1M8, Canada
- Centre
for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia
University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Jay B. Kapadia
- Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Québec H3G 1M8, Canada
| | - Jonathan Perreault
- Centre
for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia
University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
- Armand-Frappier
Health Biotechnology Center, Institut national
de la recherche scientifique, Laval, Québec H7V 1B7, Canada
| | - Steve C. C. Shih
- Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Québec H3G 1M8, Canada
- Centre
for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia
University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
- Department
of Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Nawwaf Kharma
- Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Québec H3G 1M8, Canada
- Centre
for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia
University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
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15
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Ma Y, Gu M, Chen L, Shen H, Pan Y, Pang Y, Miao S, Tong R, Huang H, Zhu Y, Sun L. Recent advances in critical nodes of embryo engineering technology. Theranostics 2021; 11:7391-7424. [PMID: 34158857 PMCID: PMC8210615 DOI: 10.7150/thno.58799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The normal development and maturation of oocytes and sperm, the formation of fertilized ova, the implantation of early embryos, and the growth and development of foetuses are the biological basis of mammalian reproduction. Therefore, research on oocytes has always occupied a very important position in the life sciences and reproductive medicine fields. Various embryo engineering technologies for oocytes, early embryo formation and subsequent developmental stages and different target sites, such as gene editing, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technologies, have all been established and widely used in industrialization. However, as research continues to deepen and target species become more advanced, embryo engineering technology has also been developing in a more complex and sophisticated direction. At the same time, the success rate also shows a declining trend, resulting in an extension of the research and development cycle and rising costs. By studying the existing embryo engineering technology process, we discovered three critical nodes that have the greatest impact on the development of oocytes and early embryos, namely, oocyte micromanipulation, oocyte electrical activation/reconstructed embryo electrofusion, and the in vitro culture of early embryos. This article mainly demonstrates the efforts made by researchers in the relevant technologies of these three critical nodes from an engineering perspective, analyses the shortcomings of the current technology, and proposes a plan and prospects for the development of embryo engineering technology in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youwen Ma
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Mingwei Gu
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Liguo Chen
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Hao Shen
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yifan Pan
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yan Pang
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Sheng Miao
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Ruiqing Tong
- Cardiology, Dushuhu Public Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University, Suzhou 215000, China
| | - Haibo Huang
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yichen Zhu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Neuropsychiatric Diseases and Cambridge-Suda Genomic Resource Center, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Lining Sun
- School of Mechanical and Electric Engineering, Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Robotics, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
- State Key Laboratory of Robotics & Systems, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
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16
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Abstract
With the rapid development of high technology, chemical science is not as it used to be a century ago. Many chemists acquire and utilize skills that are well beyond the traditional definition of chemistry. The digital age has transformed chemistry laboratories. One aspect of this transformation is the progressing implementation of electronics and computer science in chemistry research. In the past decade, numerous chemistry-oriented studies have benefited from the implementation of electronic modules, including microcontroller boards (MCBs), single-board computers (SBCs), professional grade control and data acquisition systems, as well as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). In particular, MCBs and SBCs provide good value for money. The application areas for electronic modules in chemistry research include construction of simple detection systems based on spectrophotometry and spectrofluorometry principles, customizing laboratory devices for automation of common laboratory practices, control of reaction systems (batch- and flow-based), extraction systems, chromatographic and electrophoretic systems, microfluidic systems (classical and nonclassical), custom-built polymerase chain reaction devices, gas-phase analyte detection systems, chemical robots and drones, construction of FPGA-based imaging systems, and the Internet-of-Chemical-Things. The technology is easy to handle, and many chemists have managed to train themselves in its implementation. The only major obstacle in its implementation is probably one's imagination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gurpur Rakesh D Prabhu
- Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu, 30013, Taiwan.,Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan
| | - Pawel L Urban
- Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu, 30013, Taiwan.,Frontier Research Center on Fundamental and Applied Sciences of Matters, National Tsing Hua University, 101, Section 2, Kuang-Fu Road, Hsinchu, 30013, Taiwan
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17
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Hegde O, Kabi P, Basu S. Enhancement of mixing in a viscous, non-volatile droplet using a contact-free vapor-mediated interaction. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:14570-14578. [PMID: 32596709 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp01004a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Mixing at small fluidic length scales is especially challenging in viscous and non-volatile droplets frequently encountered in bio-chemical assays. In situ methods of mixing, which depend on diffusion or evaporation-driven capillary flow, are typically slow and inefficient, while thermal or electro-capillary methods that are either complicated to implement or may cause sample denaturing. This article demonstrates an enhanced mixing timescale in a sessile droplet of glycerol by simply introducing a droplet of ethanol in its near vicinity. The fast evaporation of ethanol introduces molecules in the proximity of the glycerol droplet, which are preferentially adsorbed (more on the side closer to ethanol) creating a gradient of surface tension driving the Marangoni convection in the droplet. We conclusively show that for the given volume of the droplet, the mixing time reduces by ∼10 hours due to the vapour-mediated Marangoni convection. Simple scaling arguments are used to predict the enhancement of the mixing timescale. Experimental evidence obtained from fluorescence imaging is used to quantify mixing and validate the analytical results. This is the first proof of concept of enhanced mixing in a viscous, sessile droplet using the vapour mediation technique.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omkar Hegde
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560012, India.
| | - Prasenjit Kabi
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Energy Research, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560012, India
| | - Saptarshi Basu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-560012, India.
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18
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19
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Zhu JY, Suarez SA, Thurgood P, Nguyen N, Mohammed M, Abdelwahab H, Needham S, Pirogova E, Ghorbani K, Baratchi S, Khoshmanesh K. Reconfigurable, Self-Sufficient Convective Heat Exchanger for Temperature Control of Microfluidic Systems. Anal Chem 2019; 91:15784-15790. [PMID: 31726823 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.9b04066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Here, we demonstrate a modular, reconfigurable, and self-sufficient convective heat exchanger for regulation of temperature in microfluidic systems. The heat exchanger consists of polymer tubes wrapped around a plastic pole and fully embedded in an elastomer block, which can be easily mounted onto the microfluidic structure. It is compatible with various microfluidic geometries and materials. Miniaturized, battery-powered piezoelectric pumps are utilized to drive the heat carrying liquid through the heat exchanger at desired flow rates and temperatures. Customized temperature profiles can be generated by changing the configuration of the heat exchanger with respect to the microfluidic structure. Tailored dynamic temperature profiles can be generated by changing the temperature of the heat carrying liquid in successive cycles. This feature is used to study the calcium signaling of endothelial cells under successive temperature cycles of 24 to 37 °C. The versatility, simplicity, and self-sufficiency of the heat exchanger makes it suitable for various microfluidic based cellular assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiu Yang Zhu
- School of Engineering , RMIT University , Melbourne , VIC 3001 , Australia
| | | | - Peter Thurgood
- School of Engineering , RMIT University , Melbourne , VIC 3001 , Australia
| | - Ngan Nguyen
- School of Engineering , RMIT University , Melbourne , VIC 3001 , Australia
| | - Mokhaled Mohammed
- School of Engineering , RMIT University , Melbourne , VIC 3001 , Australia
| | - Haneen Abdelwahab
- School of Engineering , RMIT University , Melbourne , VIC 3001 , Australia
| | - Scott Needham
- Leading Technology Group , Camberwell , VIC 3124 , Australia
| | - Elena Pirogova
- School of Engineering , RMIT University , Melbourne , VIC 3001 , Australia
| | - Kamran Ghorbani
- School of Engineering , RMIT University , Melbourne , VIC 3001 , Australia
| | - Sara Baratchi
- School of Health and Biomedical Sciences , RMIT University , Bundoora , VIC 3083 , Australia
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20
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Sun J, Warden AR, Ding X. Recent advances in microfluidics for drug screening. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2019; 13:061503. [PMID: 31768197 PMCID: PMC6870548 DOI: 10.1063/1.5121200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 11/07/2019] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
With ever increasing drug resistance and emergence of new diseases, demand for new drug development is at an unprecedented urgency. This fact has led to extensive recent efforts to develop new drugs and novel techniques for efficient drug screening. However, new drug development is commonly hindered by cost and time span. Thus, developing more accessible, cost-effective methods for drug screening is necessary. Compared with conventional drug screening methods, a microfluidic-based system has superior advantages in sample consumption, reaction time, and cost of the operation. In this paper, the advantages of microfluidic technology in drug screening as well as the critical factors for device design are described. The strategies and applications of microfluidics for drug screening are reviewed. Moreover, current limitations and future prospects for a drug screening microdevice are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahui Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Institute for
Personalized Medicine and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong
University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Antony R. Warden
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Institute for
Personalized Medicine and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong
University, Shanghai 200030, China
| | - Xianting Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Institute for
Personalized Medicine and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong
University, Shanghai 200030, China
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21
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Langer K, Joensson HN. Rapid Production and Recovery of Cell Spheroids by Automated Droplet Microfluidics. SLAS Technol 2019; 25:111-122. [PMID: 31561747 DOI: 10.1177/2472630319877376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The future of the life sciences is linked to automation and microfluidics. As robots start working side by side with scientists, robotic automation of microfluidics in general, and droplet microfluidics in particular, will significantly extend and accelerate the life sciences. Here, we demonstrate the automation of droplet microfluidics using an inexpensive liquid-handling robot to produce human scaffold-free cell spheroids at high throughput. We use pipette actuation and interface the pipetting tip with a droplet-generating microfluidic device. In this device, we produce highly monodisperse droplets with a diameter coefficient of variation (CV) lower than 2%. By encapsulating cells in these droplets, we produce cell spheroids in droplets and recover them to standard labware containers at a throughput of 85,000 spheroids per microfluidic circuit per hour. The viability of the cells in spheroids remains high throughout the process and decreases by >10% (depending on the cell line used) after a 16 h incubation period in nanoliter droplets and automated recovery. Scaffold-free cell spheroids and 3D tissue constructs recapitulate many aspects of functional human tissue more accurately than 2D or single-cell cultures, but assembly methods for spheroids (e.g., hanging drop microplates) have limited throughput. The increased throughput and decreased cost of our method enable spheroid production at the scale needed for lead discovery drug screening, and approach the cost at which these microtissues could be used as building blocks for organ-scale regenerative medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krzysztof Langer
- Division of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Haakan N Joensson
- Division of Protein Science, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.,Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability at KTH, Stockholm, Sweden
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22
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Chen P, Chen D, Li S, Ou X, Liu BF. Microfluidics towards single cell resolution protein analysis. Trends Analyt Chem 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.trac.2019.06.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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23
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24
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Moazami E, Perry JM, Soffer G, Husser MC, Shih SCC. Integration of World-to-Chip Interfaces with Digital Microfluidics for Bacterial Transformation and Enzymatic Assays. Anal Chem 2019; 91:5159-5168. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b05754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ehsan Moazami
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H3G1M8, Canada
- Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B1R6, Canada
| | - James M. Perry
- Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B1R6, Canada
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B1R6, Canada
| | - Guy Soffer
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H3G1M8, Canada
- Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B1R6, Canada
| | - Mathieu C. Husser
- Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B1R6, Canada
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B1R6, Canada
| | - Steve C. C. Shih
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H3G1M8, Canada
- Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B1R6, Canada
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B1R6, Canada
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25
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Ahmadi F, Samlali K, Vo PQN, Shih SCC. An integrated droplet-digital microfluidic system for on-demand droplet creation, mixing, incubation, and sorting. LAB ON A CHIP 2019; 19:524-535. [PMID: 30633267 DOI: 10.1039/c8lc01170b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Droplet microfluidics is a technique that has the ability to compartmentalize reactions in sub nano- (or pico-) liter volumes that can potentially enable millions of distinct biological assays to be performed on individual cells. In a typical droplet microfluidic system, droplets are manipulated by pressure-based flows. This has limited the fluidic operations that can be performed in these devices. Digital microfluidics is an alternative microfluidic paradigm with precise control and manipulation over individual droplets. Here, we implement an integrated droplet-digital microfluidic (which we call 'ID2M') system in which common fluidic operations (i.e. droplet generation, cell encapsulation, droplet merging and mixing, droplet trapping and incubation, and droplet sorting) can be performed. With the addition of electrodes, we have been able to create droplets on-demand, tune their volumes on-demand, and merge and mix several droplets to produce a dilution series. Moreover, this device can trap and incubate droplets for 24 h that can consequently be sorted and analyzed in multiple n-ary channels (as opposed to typical binary channels). The ID2M platform has been validated as a robust on-demand screening system by sorting fluorescein droplets of different concentration with an efficiency of ∼96%. The utility of the new system is further demonstrated by culturing and sorting tolerant yeast mutants and wild-type yeast cells in ionic liquid based on their growth profiles. This new platform for both droplet and digital microfluidics has the potential to be used for screening different conditions on-chip and for applications like directed evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Ahmadi
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
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26
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Zeng J, Zhang S, Tang K, Chen G, Yuan W, Tang Y. 3-D manipulation of a single nano-droplet on graphene with an electrowetting driving scheme: critical condition and tunability. NANOSCALE 2018; 10:16079-16086. [PMID: 30109343 DOI: 10.1039/c8nr03330g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The next generation of micro/nano-fluidic systems, featuring manipulation of a single nanoliter volume of a chemical reactant or bio-substance, is greatly dependent on the accurate manipulation of a single nano-droplet. In this paper, to resolve the lack of efficient methods for 3-D actuation of nano-droplets with high tunability, we proposed an electro-wetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) driving scheme on a graphene surface. The droplet could be actuated when the EWOD-saturated contact angle was reached, which determined the critical magnitude of the E-field. The droplet velocity agreed well with the vcom ∼ E1/2C-O law due to the film-detachment mechanism, which indicated the low viscous dissipation and good tunability of the proposed technique. The droplet velocity could also be tuned by changing the initial wettability of the graphene surface. Detailed examination of the liquid-solid interface revealed significant penetration of water molecules into the inner Helmholtz plane (IHP) before the induction of droplet detachment when the electric energy was converted into surface energy. For all the studied cases, the saturated contact angle served as a sufficient condition for the actuation of droplets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Zeng
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
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27
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Husser MC, Vo PQN, Sinha H, Ahmadi F, Shih SCC. An Automated Induction Microfluidics System for Synthetic Biology. ACS Synth Biol 2018. [PMID: 29516725 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.8b00025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
The expression of a recombinant gene in a host organism through induction can be an extensively manual and labor-intensive procedure. Several methods have been developed to simplify the protocol, but none has fully replaced the traditional IPTG-based induction. To simplify this process, we describe the development of an autoinduction platform based on digital microfluidics. This system consists of a 600 nm LED and a light sensor to enable the real-time monitoring of the optical density (OD) samples coordinated with the semicontinuous mixing of a bacterial culture. A hand-held device was designed as a microbioreactor to culture cells and to measure the OD of the bacterial culture. In addition, it serves as a platform for the analysis of regulated protein expression in E. coli without the requirement of standardized well-plates or pipetting-based platforms. Here, we report for the first time, a system that offers great convenience without the user to physically monitor the culture or to manually add inducer at specific times. We characterized our system by looking at several parameters (electrode designs, gap height, and growth rates) required for an autoinducible system. As a first step, we carried out an automated induction optimization assay using a RFP reporter gene to identify conditions suitable for our system. Next, we used our system to identify active thermophilic β-glucosidase enzymes that may be suitable candidates for biomass hydrolysis. Overall, we believe that this platform may be useful for synthetic biology applications that require regulating and analyzing expression of heterologous genes for strain optimization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu C. Husser
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
- Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
| | - Philippe Q. N. Vo
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H3G 1M8, Canada
| | - Hugo Sinha
- Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H3G 1M8, Canada
| | - Fatemeh Ahmadi
- Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H3G 1M8, Canada
| | - Steve C. C. Shih
- Department of Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
- Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H4B 1R6, Canada
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montréal, Québec H3G 1M8, Canada
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28
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Egorova KS, Gordeev EG, Ananikov VP. Biological Activity of Ionic Liquids and Their Application in Pharmaceutics and Medicine. Chem Rev 2017; 117:7132-7189. [PMID: 28125212 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 906] [Impact Index Per Article: 129.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Ionic liquids are remarkable chemical compounds, which find applications in many areas of modern science. Because of their highly tunable nature and exceptional properties, ionic liquids have become essential players in the fields of synthesis and catalysis, extraction, electrochemistry, analytics, biotechnology, etc. Apart from physical and chemical features of ionic liquids, their high biological activity has been attracting significant attention from biochemists, ecologists, and medical scientists. This Review is dedicated to biological activities of ionic liquids, with a special emphasis on their potential employment in pharmaceutics and medicine. The accumulated data on the biological activity of ionic liquids, including their antimicrobial and cytotoxic properties, are discussed in view of possible applications in drug synthesis and drug delivery systems. Dedicated attention is given to a novel active pharmaceutical ingredient-ionic liquid (API-IL) concept, which suggests using traditional drugs in the form of ionic liquid species. The main aim of this Review is to attract a broad audience of chemical, biological, and medical scientists to study advantages of ionic liquid pharmaceutics. Overall, the discussed data highlight the importance of the research direction defined as "Ioliomics", studies of ions in liquids in modern chemistry, biology, and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ksenia S Egorova
- N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences , Leninsky prospect 47, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Evgeniy G Gordeev
- N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences , Leninsky prospect 47, Moscow 119991, Russia
| | - Valentine P Ananikov
- N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences , Leninsky prospect 47, Moscow 119991, Russia.,Department of Chemistry, Saint Petersburg State University , Stary Petergof 198504, Russia
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29
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Heinemann J, Deng K, Shih SCC, Gao J, Adams PD, Singh AK, Northen TR. On-chip integration of droplet microfluidics and nanostructure-initiator mass spectrometry for enzyme screening. LAB ON A CHIP 2017; 17:323-331. [PMID: 27957569 DOI: 10.1039/c6lc01182a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Biological assays often require expensive reagents and tedious manipulations. These shortcomings can be overcome using digitally operated microfluidic devices that require reduced sample volumes to automate assays. One particular challenge is integrating bioassays with mass spectrometry based analysis. Towards this goal we have developed μNIMS, a highly sensitive and high throughput technique that integrates droplet microfluidics with nanostructure-initiator mass spectrometry (NIMS). Enzyme reactions are carried out in droplets that can be arrayed on discrete NIMS elements at defined time intervals for subsequent mass spectrometry analysis, enabling time resolved enzyme activity assay. We apply the μNIMS platform for kinetic characterization of a glycoside hydrolase enzyme (CelE-CMB3A), a chimeric enzyme capable of deconstructing plant hemicellulose into monosaccharides for subsequent conversion to biofuel. This study reveals NIMS nanostructures can be fabricated into arrays for microfluidic droplet deposition, NIMS is compatible with droplet and digital microfluidics, and can be used on-chip to assay glycoside hydrolase enzyme in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Heinemann
- Joint Bioenergy Institute, Emeryville, California 94608, USA and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
| | - Kai Deng
- Joint Bioenergy Institute, Emeryville, California 94608, USA and Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94551, USA
| | - Steve C C Shih
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jian Gao
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.
| | - Paul D Adams
- Joint Bioenergy Institute, Emeryville, California 94608, USA and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. and Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA
| | - Anup K Singh
- Joint Bioenergy Institute, Emeryville, California 94608, USA and Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94551, USA
| | - Trent R Northen
- Joint Bioenergy Institute, Emeryville, California 94608, USA and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. and Joint Genome Institute, Walnut creek, California, 94598, USA
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30
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Kaminski TS, Garstecki P. Controlled droplet microfluidic systems for multistep chemical and biological assays. Chem Soc Rev 2017; 46:6210-6226. [DOI: 10.1039/c5cs00717h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 150] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Droplet microfluidics is a relatively new and rapidly evolving field of science focused on studying the hydrodynamics and properties of biphasic flows at the microscale, and on the development of systems for practical applications in chemistry, biology and materials science.
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Affiliation(s)
- T. S. Kaminski
- Institute of Physical Chemistry
- Polish Academy of Sciences
- 01-224 Warsaw
- Poland
| | - P. Garstecki
- Institute of Physical Chemistry
- Polish Academy of Sciences
- 01-224 Warsaw
- Poland
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31
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Latip EA, Coudron L, McDonnell MB, Johnston ID, McCluskey DK, Day R, Tracey MC. Protein droplet actuation on superhydrophobic surfaces: a new approach toward anti-biofouling electrowetting systems. RSC Adv 2017. [DOI: 10.1039/c7ra10920b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Anti-biofouling behaviour of an electrowetting device using off-the-shelf superhydrophobic materials is demonstrated through protein adsorption measurement and protein-laden droplet actuation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - L. Coudron
- School of Engineering and Technology
- University of Hertfordshire
- UK
| | - M. B. McDonnell
- School of Engineering and Technology
- University of Hertfordshire
- UK
- Dstl Porton Down
- Salisbury
| | - I. D. Johnston
- School of Engineering and Technology
- University of Hertfordshire
- UK
| | - D. K. McCluskey
- School of Engineering and Technology
- University of Hertfordshire
- UK
| | - R. Day
- School of Engineering and Technology
- University of Hertfordshire
- UK
| | - M. C. Tracey
- School of Engineering and Technology
- University of Hertfordshire
- UK
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32
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Advances of Microfluidic Technologies Applied in Bio-analytical Chemistry. CHINESE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/s1872-2040(16)60982-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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33
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Oliveira AF, Pessoa ACSN, Bastos RG, de la Torre LG. Microfluidic tools toward industrial biotechnology. Biotechnol Prog 2016; 32:1372-1389. [DOI: 10.1002/btpr.2350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2016] [Revised: 08/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Aline F. Oliveira
- Department of Bioprocesses and Materials Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Campinas; 500 Albert Einstein avenue Campinas P.O. Box 6066
| | - Amanda C. S. N. Pessoa
- Department of Bioprocesses and Materials Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Campinas; 500 Albert Einstein avenue Campinas P.O. Box 6066
| | - Reinaldo G. Bastos
- Department of Agroindustrial Technology and Rural Socioeconomy, Center of Agricultural Sciences, Federal University of São Carlos; Km 174 Anhanguera Highway Araras P.O. Box 153
| | - Lucimara G. de la Torre
- Department of Bioprocesses and Materials Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, University of Campinas; 500 Albert Einstein avenue Campinas P.O. Box 6066
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34
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Abstract
Digital microfluidics (DMF) is a droplet-based liquid-handling technology that has recently become popular for cell culture and analysis. In DMF, picoliter- to microliter-sized droplets are manipulated on a planar surface using electric fields, thus enabling software-reconfigurable operations on individual droplets, such as move, merge, split, and dispense from reservoirs. Using this technique, multistep cell-based processes can be carried out using simple and compact instrumentation, making DMF an attractive platform for eventual integration into routine biology workflows. In this review, we summarize the state-of-the-art in DMF cell culture, and describe design considerations, types of DMF cell culture, and cell-based applications of DMF.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alphonsus H C Ng
- Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G9, Canada; .,The Terrence Donnelly Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E1, Canada
| | - Bingyu Betty Li
- Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G9, Canada; .,The Terrence Donnelly Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E1, Canada
| | - M Dean Chamberlain
- Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G9, Canada; .,The Terrence Donnelly Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E1, Canada
| | - Aaron R Wheeler
- Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G9, Canada; .,The Terrence Donnelly Center for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E1, Canada.,Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada
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35
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FAN YQ, WANG M, GAO F, ZHUANG J, TANG G, ZHANG YJ. Recent Development of Droplet Microfluidics in Digital Polymerase Chain Reaction. CHINESE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/s1872-2040(16)60953-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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36
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Samiei E, Tabrizian M, Hoorfar M. A review of digital microfluidics as portable platforms for lab-on a-chip applications. LAB ON A CHIP 2016; 16:2376-96. [PMID: 27272540 DOI: 10.1039/c6lc00387g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 195] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Following the development of microfluidic systems, there has been a high tendency towards developing lab-on-a-chip devices for biochemical applications. A great deal of effort has been devoted to improve and advance these devices with the goal of performing complete sets of biochemical assays on the device and possibly developing portable platforms for point of care applications. Among the different microfluidic systems used for such a purpose, digital microfluidics (DMF) shows high flexibility and capability of performing multiplex and parallel biochemical operations, and hence, has been considered as a suitable candidate for lab-on-a-chip applications. In this review, we discuss the most recent advances in the DMF platforms, and evaluate the feasibility of developing multifunctional packages for performing complete sets of processes of biochemical assays, particularly for point-of-care applications. The progress in the development of DMF systems is reviewed from eight different aspects, including device fabrication, basic fluidic operations, automation, manipulation of biological samples, advanced operations, detection, biological applications, and finally, packaging and portability of the DMF devices. Success in developing the lab-on-a-chip DMF devices will be concluded based on the advances achieved in each of these aspects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehsan Samiei
- School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada.
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37
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Zhang M, Li S. Controllable liquid colour-changing lenses with microfluidic channels for vision protection, camouflage and optical filtering based on soft lithography fabrication. SPRINGERPLUS 2016; 5:580. [PMID: 27247877 PMCID: PMC4864802 DOI: 10.1186/s40064-016-2231-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2016] [Accepted: 04/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
In this work, liquid colour-changing lenses for vision protection, camouflage and optical filtering are developed by circulating colour liquids through microfluidic channels on the lenses manually. Soft lithography technology is applied to fabricate the silicone liquid colour-changing layers with microfluidic channels on the lenses instead of mechanical machining. To increase the hardness and abrasion resistance of the silicone colour-changing layers on the lenses, proper fabrication parameters such as 6:1 (mass ration) mixing proportion and 100 °C curing temperature for 2 h are approved for better soft lithography process of the lenses. Meanwhile, a new surface treatment for the irreversible bonding of silicone colour-changing layer with optical resin (CR39) substrate lens by using 5 % (volume ratio) 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane solution is proposed. Vision protection, camouflage and optical filtering functions of the lenses are investigated with different designs of the channels and multi-layer structures. Each application can not only well achieve their functional demands, but also shows the advantages of functional flexibility, rapid prototyping and good controllability compared with traditional ways. Besides optometry, some other designs and applications of the lenses are proposed for potential utility in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Zhang
- Department of Fluid Control and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Science Park, No. 2, Yikuang Street Nangang District, Box 3040, Harbin, 150001 China
| | - Songjing Li
- Department of Fluid Control and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Science Park, No. 2, Yikuang Street Nangang District, Box 3040, Harbin, 150001 China
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38
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Gach PC, Shih SC, Sustarich J, Keasling JD, Hillson NJ, Adams PD, Singh AK. A Droplet Microfluidic Platform for Automating Genetic Engineering. ACS Synth Biol 2016; 5:426-33. [PMID: 26830031 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.6b00011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
We present a water-in-oil droplet microfluidic platform for transformation, culture and expression of recombinant proteins in multiple host organisms including bacteria, yeast and fungi. The platform consists of a hybrid digital microfluidic/channel-based droplet chip with integrated temperature control to allow complete automation and integration of plasmid addition, heat-shock transformation, addition of selection medium, culture, and protein expression. The microfluidic format permitted significant reduction in consumption (100-fold) of expensive reagents such as DNA and enzymes compared to the benchtop method. The chip contains a channel to continuously replenish oil to the culture chamber to provide a fresh supply of oxygen to the cells for long-term (∼5 days) cell culture. The flow channel also replenished oil lost to evaporation and increased the number of droplets that could be processed and cultured. The platform was validated by transforming several plasmids into Escherichia coli including plasmids containing genes for fluorescent proteins GFP, BFP and RFP; plasmids with selectable markers for ampicillin or kanamycin resistance; and a Golden Gate DNA assembly reaction. We also demonstrate the applicability of this platform for transformation in widely used eukaryotic organisms such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Aspergillus niger. Duration and temperatures of the microfluidic heat-shock procedures were optimized to yield transformation efficiencies comparable to those obtained by benchtop methods with a throughput up to 6 droplets/min. The proposed platform offers potential for automation of molecular biology experiments significantly reducing cost, time and variability while improving throughput.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip C. Gach
- Technology
Division, Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), Emeryville, California 94608, United States
- Applied
Biosciences and Engineering, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94550, United States
| | - Steve C.C. Shih
- Technology
Division, Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), Emeryville, California 94608, United States
- Applied
Biosciences and Engineering, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94550, United States
| | - Jess Sustarich
- Technology
Division, Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), Emeryville, California 94608, United States
- Applied
Biosciences and Engineering, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94550, United States
| | - Jay D. Keasling
- Fuels
Synthesis Division, Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), Emeryville, California 94608, United States
- Biological
Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Department
of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Nathan J. Hillson
- Technology
Division, Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), Emeryville, California 94608, United States
- Fuels
Synthesis Division, Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), Emeryville, California 94608, United States
- Biological
Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- DOE Joint Genome Institute, Walnut
Creek, California 94598, United States
| | - Paul D. Adams
- Technology
Division, Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), Emeryville, California 94608, United States
- Department
of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Molecular
Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Anup K. Singh
- Technology
Division, Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), Emeryville, California 94608, United States
- Applied
Biosciences and Engineering, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94550, United States
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39
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Kong T, Brien R, Njus Z, Kalwa U, Pandey S. Motorized actuation system to perform droplet operations on printed plastic sheets. LAB ON A CHIP 2016; 16:1861-72. [PMID: 27080172 DOI: 10.1039/c6lc00176a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
We developed an open microfluidic system to dispense and manipulate discrete droplets on planar plastic sheets. Here, a superhydrophobic material is spray-coated on commercially-available plastic sheets followed by the printing of hydrophilic symbols using an inkjet printer. The patterned plastic sheets are taped to a two-axis tilting platform, powered by stepper motors, that provides mechanical agitation for droplet transport. We demonstrate the following droplet operations: transport of droplets of different sizes, parallel transport of multiple droplets, merging and mixing of multiple droplets, dispensing of smaller droplets from a large droplet or a fluid reservoir, and one-directional transport of droplets. As a proof-of-concept, a colorimetric assay is implemented to measure the glucose concentration in sheep serum. Compared to silicon-based digital microfluidic devices, we believe that the presented system is appealing for various biological experiments because of the ease of altering design layouts of hydrophilic symbols, relatively faster turnaround time in printing plastic sheets, larger area to accommodate more tests, and lower operational costs by using off-the-shelf products.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taejoon Kong
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University, 1050 Coover Hall, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
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40
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A review on continuous-flow microfluidic PCR in droplets: Advances, challenges and future. Anal Chim Acta 2016; 914:7-16. [DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2016.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2015] [Revised: 01/20/2016] [Accepted: 02/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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41
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He JL, Wang DS, Fan SK. Opto-Microfluidic Immunosensors: From Colorimetric to Plasmonic. MICROMACHINES 2016; 7:E29. [PMID: 30407402 PMCID: PMC6189923 DOI: 10.3390/mi7020029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2015] [Revised: 01/25/2016] [Accepted: 02/04/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Optical detection has long been the most popular technique in immunosensing. Recent developments in the synthesis of luminescent probes and the fabrication of novel nanostructures enable more sensitive and efficient optical detection, which can be miniaturized and integrated with microfluidics to realize compact lab-on-a-chip immunosensors. These immunosensors are portable, economical and automated, but their sensitivity is not compromised. This review focuses on the incorporation and implementation of optical detection and microfluidics in immunosensors; it introduces the working principles of each optical detection technique and how it can be exploited in immunosensing. The recent progress in various opto-microfluidic immunosensor designs is described. Instead of being comprehensive to include all opto-microfluidic platforms, the report centers on the designs that are promising for point-of-care immunosensing diagnostics, in which ease of use, stability and cost-effective fabrication are emphasized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie-Long He
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
| | - Da-Shin Wang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
| | - Shih-Kang Fan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan.
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42
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Patabadige DEW, Jia S, Sibbitts J, Sadeghi J, Sellens K, Culbertson CT. Micro Total Analysis Systems: Fundamental Advances and Applications. Anal Chem 2015; 88:320-38. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.5b04310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Damith E. W. Patabadige
- Department
of Chemistry, Kansas State University, 213 CBC Building, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, United States
| | - Shu Jia
- Department
of Chemistry, Kansas State University, 213 CBC Building, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, United States
| | - Jay Sibbitts
- Department
of Chemistry, Kansas State University, 213 CBC Building, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, United States
| | - Jalal Sadeghi
- Department
of Chemistry, Kansas State University, 213 CBC Building, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, United States
- Laser & Plasma Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Evin, Tehran, 1983963113, Iran
| | - Kathleen Sellens
- Department
of Chemistry, Kansas State University, 213 CBC Building, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, United States
| | - Christopher T. Culbertson
- Department
of Chemistry, Kansas State University, 213 CBC Building, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, United States
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43
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Shih SCC, Goyal G, Kim PW, Koutsoubelis N, Keasling JD, Adams PD, Hillson NJ, Singh AK. A Versatile Microfluidic Device for Automating Synthetic Biology. ACS Synth Biol 2015; 4:1151-64. [PMID: 26075958 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.5b00062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
New microbes are being engineered that contain the genetic circuitry, metabolic pathways, and other cellular functions required for a wide range of applications such as producing biofuels, biobased chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Although currently available tools are useful in improving the synthetic biology process, further improvements in physical automation would help to lower the barrier of entry into this field. We present an innovative microfluidic platform for assembling DNA fragments with 10× lower volumes (compared to that of current microfluidic platforms) and with integrated region-specific temperature control and on-chip transformation. Integration of these steps minimizes the loss of reagents and products compared to that with conventional methods, which require multiple pipetting steps. For assembling DNA fragments, we implemented three commonly used DNA assembly protocols on our microfluidic device: Golden Gate assembly, Gibson assembly, and yeast assembly (i.e., TAR cloning, DNA Assembler). We demonstrate the utility of these methods by assembling two combinatorial libraries of 16 plasmids each. Each DNA plasmid is transformed into Escherichia coli or Saccharomyces cerevisiae using on-chip electroporation and further sequenced to verify the assembly. We anticipate that this platform will enable new research that can integrate this automated microfluidic platform to generate large combinatorial libraries of plasmids and will help to expedite the overall synthetic biology process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steve C. C. Shih
- Sandia National Laboratories, 7011 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550, United States
| | - Garima Goyal
- Physical
Bioscience Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron
Road, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Peter W. Kim
- Sandia National Laboratories, 7011 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550, United States
| | - Nicolas Koutsoubelis
- Physical
Bioscience Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron
Road, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Jay D. Keasling
- Physical
Bioscience Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron
Road, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Paul D. Adams
- Physical
Bioscience Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron
Road, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Nathan J. Hillson
- Physical
Bioscience Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron
Road, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Anup K. Singh
- Sandia National Laboratories, 7011 East Avenue, Livermore, California 94550, United States
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Digital Microfluidics for Manipulation and Analysis of a Single Cell. Int J Mol Sci 2015; 16:22319-32. [PMID: 26389890 PMCID: PMC4613310 DOI: 10.3390/ijms160922319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2015] [Revised: 08/12/2015] [Accepted: 08/18/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The basic structural and functional unit of a living organism is a single cell. To understand the variability and to improve the biomedical requirement of a single cell, its analysis has become a key technique in biological and biomedical research. With a physical boundary of microchannels and microstructures, single cells are efficiently captured and analyzed, whereas electric forces sort and position single cells. Various microfluidic techniques have been exploited to manipulate single cells through hydrodynamic and electric forces. Digital microfluidics (DMF), the manipulation of individual droplets holding minute reagents and cells of interest by electric forces, has received more attention recently. Because of ease of fabrication, compactness and prospective automation, DMF has become a powerful approach for biological application. We review recent developments of various microfluidic chips for analysis of a single cell and for efficient genetic screening. In addition, perspectives to develop analysis of single cells based on DMF and emerging functionality with high throughput are discussed.
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Lan C, Pal S, Li Z, Ma Y. Numerical Simulations of the Digital Microfluidic Manipulation of Single Microparticles. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2015; 31:9636-9645. [PMID: 26241832 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b02011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Single-cell analysis techniques have been developed as a valuable bioanalytical tool for elucidating cellular heterogeneity at genomic, proteomic, and cellular levels. Cell manipulation is an indispensable process for single-cell analysis. Digital microfluidics (DMF) is an important platform for conducting cell manipulation and single-cell analysis in a high-throughput fashion. However, the manipulation of single cells in DMF has not been quantitatively studied so far. In this article, we investigate the interaction of a single microparticle with a liquid droplet on a flat substrate using numerical simulations. The droplet is driven by capillary force generated from the wettability gradient of the substrate. Considering the Brownian motion of microparticles, we utilize many-body dissipative particle dynamics (MDPD), an off-lattice mesoscopic simulation technique, in this numerical study. The manipulation processes (including pickup, transport, and drop-off) of a single microparticle with a liquid droplet are simulated. Parametric studies are conducted to investigate the effects on the manipulation processes from the droplet size, wettability gradient, wetting properties of the microparticle, and particle-substrate friction coefficients. The numerical results show that the pickup, transport, and drop-off processes can be precisely controlled by these parameters. On the basis of the numerical results, a trap-free delivery of a hydrophobic microparticle to a destination on the substrate is demonstrated in the numerical simulations. The numerical results not only provide a fundamental understanding of interactions among the microparticle, the droplet, and the substrate but also demonstrate a new technique for the trap-free immobilization of single hydrophobic microparticles in the DMF design. Finally, our numerical method also provides a powerful design and optimization tool for the manipulation of microparticles in DMF systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuanjin Lan
- School of Engineering, University of California-Merced , Merced, California 95343, United States
| | - Souvik Pal
- School of Engineering, University of California-Merced , Merced, California 95343, United States
| | - Zhen Li
- Division of Applied Mathematics, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island 02912, United States
| | - Yanbao Ma
- School of Engineering, University of California-Merced , Merced, California 95343, United States
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Petzold CJ, Chan LJG, Nhan M, Adams PD. Analytics for Metabolic Engineering. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2015; 3:135. [PMID: 26442249 PMCID: PMC4561385 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2015.00135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2015] [Accepted: 08/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Realizing the promise of metabolic engineering has been slowed by challenges related to moving beyond proof-of-concept examples to robust and economically viable systems. Key to advancing metabolic engineering beyond trial-and-error research is access to parts with well-defined performance metrics that can be readily applied in vastly different contexts with predictable effects. As the field now stands, research depends greatly on analytical tools that assay target molecules, transcripts, proteins, and metabolites across different hosts and pathways. Screening technologies yield specific information for many thousands of strain variants, while deep omics analysis provides a systems-level view of the cell factory. Efforts focused on a combination of these analyses yield quantitative information of dynamic processes between parts and the host chassis that drive the next engineering steps. Overall, the data generated from these types of assays aid better decision-making at the design and strain construction stages to speed progress in metabolic engineering research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J Petzold
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley, CA , USA
| | - Leanne Jade G Chan
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley, CA , USA
| | - Melissa Nhan
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley, CA , USA
| | - Paul D Adams
- Joint BioEnergy Institute, Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley, CA , USA ; Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley , Berkeley, CA , USA
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47
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Digital microfluidic immunocytochemistry in single cells. Nat Commun 2015; 6:7513. [PMID: 26104298 PMCID: PMC4491823 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2015] [Accepted: 05/14/2015] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
We report a new technique called Digital microfluidic Immunocytochemistry in Single Cells (DISC). DISC automates protocols for cell culture, stimulation and immunocytochemistry, enabling the interrogation of protein phosphorylation on pulsing with stimulus for as little as 3 s. DISC was used to probe the phosphorylation states of platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR) and the downstream signalling protein, Akt, to evaluate concentration- and time-dependent effects of stimulation. The high time resolution of the technique allowed for surprising new observations-for example, a 10 s pulse stimulus of a low concentration of PDGF is sufficient to cause >30% of adherent fibroblasts to commit to Akt activation. With the ability to quantitatively probe signalling events with high time resolution at the single-cell level, we propose that DISC may be an important new technique for a wide range of applications, especially for screening signalling responses of a heterogeneous cell population.
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Abstract
This minireview discusses universal electronic modules (generic programmable units) and their use by analytical chemists to construct inexpensive, miniature or automated devices. Recently, open-source platforms have gained considerable popularity among tech-savvy chemists because their implementation often does not require expert knowledge and investment of funds. Thus, chemistry students and researchers can easily start implementing them after a few hours of reading tutorials and trial-and-error. Single-board microcontrollers and micro-computers such as Arduino, Teensy, Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone enable collecting experimental data with high precision as well as efficient control of electric potentials and actuation of mechanical systems. They are readily programmed using high-level languages, such as C, C++, JavaScript or Python. They can also be coupled with mobile consumer electronics, including smartphones as well as teleinformatic networks. More demanding analytical tasks require fast signal processing. Field-programmable gate arrays enable efficient and inexpensive prototyping of high-performance analytical platforms, thus becoming increasingly popular among analytical chemists. This minireview discusses the advantages and drawbacks of universal electronic modules, considering their application in prototyping and manufacture of intelligent analytical instrumentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pawel L Urban
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
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Kumar PT, Vriens K, Cornaglia M, Gijs M, Kokalj T, Thevissen K, Geeraerd A, Cammue BPA, Puers R, Lammertyn J. Digital microfluidics for time-resolved cytotoxicity studies on single non-adherent yeast cells. LAB ON A CHIP 2015; 15:1852-1860. [PMID: 25710603 DOI: 10.1039/c4lc01469c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Single cell analysis (SCA) has gained increased popularity for elucidating cellular heterogeneity at genomic, proteomic and cellular levels. Flow cytometry is considered as one of the most widely used techniques to characterize single cell responses; however, its inability to analyse cells with spatio-temporal resolution poses a major drawback. Here, we introduce a digital microfluidic (DMF) platform as a useful tool for conducting studies on isolated yeast cells in a high-throughput fashion. The reported system exhibits (i) a microwell array for trapping single non-adherent cells by shuttling a cell-containing droplet over the array, and allows (ii) implementation of high-throughput cytotoxicity assays with enhanced spatio-temporal resolution. The system was tested for five different concentrations of the antifungal drug Amphotericin B, and the cell responses were monitored over time by time lapse fluorescence microscopy. The DMF platform was validated by bulk experiments, which mimicked the DMF experimental design. A correlation analysis revealed that the results obtained on the DMF platform are not significantly different from those obtained in bulk; hence, the DMF platform can be used as a tool to perform SCA on non-adherent cells, with spatio-temporal resolution. In addition, no external forces, other than the physical forces generated by moving the droplet, were used to capture single cells, thereby avoiding cell damage. As such, the information on cellular behaviour during treatment could be obtained for every single cell over time making this platform noteworthy in the field of SCA.
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Affiliation(s)
- P T Kumar
- BIOSYST-MEBIOS, KU Leuven, Willem de Croylaan 42, Heverlee, Belgium.
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