Rapid microfluidic solid-phase extraction system for hyper-methylated DNA enrichment and epigenetic analysis

Application of microfluidic technologies in forensic analysis

The application of microfluidic technology in forensic medicine has steadily expanded over the last two decades due to the favorable features of low cost, rapidity, high throughput, user-friendliness, contamination-free, and minimum sample and reagent consumption. In this context, bibliometric methods were adopted to visualize the literature information contained in the Science Citation Index Expanded from 1989 to 2022, focusing on the co-occurrence analysis of forensic and microfluidic topics. A deep interpretation of the literature was conducted based on co-occurrence results, in which microfluidic technologies and their applications in forensic medicine, particularly forensic genetics, were elaborated. The purpose of this review is to provide an impartial evaluation of the utilization of microfluidic technology in forensic medicine. Additionally, the challenges and future trends of implementing microfluidic technology in forensic genetics are also addressed.

Epigenetic Mechanisms as Emerging Therapeutic Targets and Microfluidic Chips Application in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease that progress over time and is defined as an increase in pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance that frequently leads to right-ventricular (RV) failure and death. Epigenetic modifications comprising DNA methylation, histone remodeling, and noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been established to govern chromatin structure and transcriptional responses in various cell types during disease development. However, dysregulation of these epigenetic mechanisms has not yet been explored in detail in the pathology of pulmonary arterial hypertension and its progression with vascular remodeling and right-heart failure (RHF). Targeting epigenetic regulators including histone methylation, acetylation, or miRNAs offers many possible candidates for drug discovery and will no doubt be a tempting area to explore for PAH therapies. This review focuses on studies in epigenetic mechanisms including the writers, the readers, and the erasers of epigenetic marks and targeting epigenetic regulators or modifiers for treatment of PAH and its complications described as RHF. Data analyses from experimental cell models and animal induced PAH models have demonstrated that significant changes in the expression levels of multiple epigenetics modifiers such as HDMs, HDACs, sirtuins (Sirt1 and Sirt3), and BRD4 correlate strongly with proliferation, apoptosis, inflammation, and fibrosis linked to the pathological vascular remodeling during PAH development. The reversible characteristics of protein methylation and acetylation can be applied for exploring small-molecule modulators such as valproic acid (HDAC inhibitor) or resveratrol (Sirt1 activator) in different preclinical models for treatment of diseases including PAH and RHF. This review also presents to the readers the application of microfluidic devices to study sex differences in PAH pathophysiology, as well as for epigenetic analysis.

Application of lateral flow and microfluidic bio-assay and biosensing towards identification of DNA-methylation and cancer detection: Recent progress and challenges in biomedicine

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic alteration that results from the covalent transfer of a methyl group to the fifth carbon of a cytosine residue in CpG dinucleotides by DNA methyltransferase. This modification mostly happens in the promoter region and the first exon of most genes and suppresses gene expression. Therefore, aberrant DNA methylation cause tumor progression, metastasis, and resistance to current anti-cancer therapies. So, the detection of DNA methylation is an important issue in diagnosis and therapy of most diseases. Conventional methods for the assay of DNA methylation and activity of DNA methyltransferases are time consuming. So, we need to multiplex operations and expensive instrumentation. To overcome the limitations of conventional methods, new methods such as microfluidic platforms and lateral flow tests have been developed to evaluate DNA methylation. The microfluidic tests are based on optical and electrical biosensing. These tests able us to can analyze DNA methylation with high efficiency and sensitivity without the need for expensive equipment and skilled people. Lateral flow strip tests are another type of rapid, simple, and sensitive test with advanced technology used to assess DNA methylation. Lateral flow strip tests are based on optical biosensors. This review attempts to evaluate new methods for assessing DNA extraction, DNA methylation and DNA methyltransferase activity as well as recent developments in microfluidic technology application for bisulfite treatment and restriction enzyme (bisulfite free), and lateral flow relying on their application in the field of recognition of DNA methylation in blood and body fluids. Also, the advantages and disadvantages of each test are reviewed. Finally, future prospects for the development of the microfluidics biodevices for the detection of DNA methylation is briefly discussed.

Technical and Methodological Aspects of Cell-Free Nucleic Acids Analyzes

Analyzes of cell-free nucleic acids (cfNAs) have shown huge potential in many biomedical applications, gradually entering several fields of research and everyday clinical care. Many biological properties of cfNAs can be informative to gain deeper insights into the function of the organism, such as their different types (DNA, RNAs) and subtypes (gDNA, mtDNA, bacterial DNA, miRNAs, etc.), forms (naked or vesicle bound NAs), fragmentation profiles, sequence composition, epigenetic modifications, and many others. On the other hand, the workflows of their analyzes comprise many important steps, from sample collection, storage and transportation, through extraction and laboratory analysis, up to bioinformatic analyzes and statistical evaluations, where each of these steps has the potential to affect the outcome and informational value of the performed analyzes. There are, however, no universal or standard protocols on how to exactly proceed when analyzing different cfNAs for different applications, at least according to our best knowledge. We decided therefore to prepare an overview of the available literature and products commercialized for cfNAs processing, in an attempt to summarize the benefits and limitations of the currently available approaches, devices, consumables, and protocols, together with various factors influencing the workflow, its processes, and outcomes.

Precision cell-free DNA extraction for liquid biopsy by integrated microfluidics

Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has been implicated as an important biomarker in cancer management. Thus, efficient techniques for cfDNA extraction are necessary for precision medicine. We developed a centrifugation-free cfDNA extraction microfluidic chip capable of extracting cfDNA from plasma samples through microfluidic circuits within 15 min under vacuum pressure using an immiscible solvent. The microfluidic chip had excellent performance that was comparable to the most widely used commercial product (QIAamp kit) in terms of extraction efficiency, purity, and quality of DNA samples. The microfluidic chip was validated for the continuous monitoring of HER-2 type breast cancer and was able to successfully detect a point mutation in phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PIK3CA) during severe liver metastasis. The chip effectively eliminates the repetitive centrifugation processes and dramatically shortened the sample preparation time. The proposed platform could facilitate the development of a sample-to-answer system for use in liquid biopsy of cancers.

LMP1 gene detection using a capped gold nanowire array surface plasmon resonance sensor in a microfluidic chip

A new detection device by using SPR nanowire array chip and a microfluidics system was developed. A simple, low-cost and reproducible SPR nanowire chip with a visible light source displayed real-time detection capability.

Microfluidic epigenomic mapping technologies for precision medicine

Epigenomic mapping of tissue samples generates critical insights into genome-wide regulations of gene activities and expressions during normal development and disease processes. Epigenomic profiling using a low number of cells produced by patient and mouse samples presents new challenges to biotechnologists. In this review, we first discuss the rationale and premise behind profiling epigenomes for precision medicine. We then examine the existing literature on applying microfluidics to facilitate low-input and high-throughput epigenomic profiling, with emphasis on technologies enabling interfacing with next-generation sequencing. We detail assays on studies of histone modifications, DNA methylation, 3D chromatin structures and non-coding RNAs. Finally, we discuss what the future may hold in terms of method development and translational potential.

Sensitive detection of methylated DNA and methyltransferase activity based on the lighting up of FAM-labeled DNA quenched fluorescence by gold nanoparticles

DNA methylation of cytosine bases, which is catalyzed by methyltransferase enzymes, involve biochemical processes that contribute to gene expression and gene regulation in cells. Detection of abnormal patterns of both methylated DNA and methyltransferase enzyme activity at early stages could be considered as promising targets for early cancer diagnosis. In the present study, a novel and facile method is introduced for the sensitive detection of the M.SssI methyltransferase (M.SssI MTase) enzyme and methylated DNA based on the fluorescence recovery of FAM-labeled DNA coupled with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Thiol-modified probes were functionalized with AuNPs, which brought the FAM fluorophore into the close proximity of the AuNPs. This led to the overlap between the FAM fluorescence emission and AuNPs absorption spectra, introducing a FRET occurrence and causing fluorescence quenching. The hybridization of the probe and its complementary target provided specific CpG sites for M.SssI MTase enzyme activity. The methylation process gradually converted the quenched FAM fluorophore into an emissive fluorophore upon the addition of the MTase enzyme, and the observed fluorescence recovery proved the efficiency of the assay for the detection of MTase enzyme. The fluorescence intensity showed an increasing trend with M.SssI MTase enzyme activity in the range of 1–8 U mL⁻¹ with a detection limit of 0.14 U mL⁻¹. The addition of methylated ssDNA targets to a ssDNA FAM-labeled probe resulted in a DNA duplex formation, leading to a strong fluorescence signal emission due to the recovery of the fluorophore signal. Conversely, the unmethylated ssDNA target caused no changes in the fluorescence signal. In the presence of methylated DNA targets, the biosensor could specifically recognize it and accordingly trigger the methylated targets through a fluorescence enhancement in the range of 5–100 pM by monitoring the increase in the fluorescence intensity with a detection limit of 2.2 pM. The obtained results showed that the assay could realize the detection of M.SssI MTase and methylated DNA effectively in diluted human serum samples. Human serum conditions showed no significant interference with the assay performance, indicating that the present method has great potential for further application in real samples.

A novel method for detection of DNA methylation based on fluorescence recovery of FAM labeled DNA/Au NPs was introduced.

Towards DNA methylation detection using biosensors

DNA methylation, a stable and heritable covalent modification which mostly occurs in the context of a CpG dinucleotide, has great potential as a biomarker to detect disease, provide prognoses and predict therapeutic responses. It can be detected in a quantitative manner by many different approaches both genome-wide and at specific gene loci, in various biological fluids such as urine, plasma, and serum, which can be obtained without invasive procedures. The current, classical methods are effective in studying DNA methylation patterns, however, for the most part; they have major drawbacks such as expensive instruments, complicated and time consuming protocols as well as relatively low sensitivity, and high false positive rates. To overcome these obstacles, great efforts have been made toward the development of reliable sensor devices to solve these limitations, providing sensitive, fast and cost-effective measurements. The use of biosensors for DNA methylation biomarkers has increased in recent years, because they are portable, simple, rapid, and inexpensive which offers a straightforward way to detect methylated biomarkers. In this review, we give an overview of the conventional techniques for the detection of DNA methylation and then will focus on recent advances in biosensor based methylation detection that eliminate bisulfite conversion and PCR amplification.

Microfluidics for genome-wide studies involving next generation sequencing

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized how molecular biology studies are conducted. Its decreasing cost and increasing throughput permit profiling of genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic features for a wide range of applications. Microfluidics has been proven to be highly complementary to NGS technology with its unique capabilities for handling small volumes of samples and providing platforms for automation, integration, and multiplexing. In this article, we review recent progress on applying microfluidics to facilitate genome-wide studies. We emphasize on several technical aspects of NGS and how they benefit from coupling with microfluidic technology. We also summarize recent efforts on developing microfluidic technology for genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic studies, with emphasis on single cell analysis. We envision rapid growth in these directions, driven by the needs for testing scarce primary cell samples from patients in the context of precision medicine.

A Rapid and Automated Device for Purifying Nucleic Acids

We have developed a rapid, automated nucleic acid purification device in a single cartridge containing silica-coated magnetic beads. We succeeded in extracting the matrix protein gene of influenza A virus from pharyngeal swab samples within 3 min. The device will be widely applicable to detect a specific gene from the various samples for clinical diagnosis and genetic research.

Microfluidic platforms for DNA methylation analysis

In the field of genetics, epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression without any change in DNA sequences. Chemical base modification in DNA by DNA methyltransferase, and specifically methylation, has been well studied as the main mechanism of epigenetics. Therefore, the determination of DNA methylation of, for example, 5'-methylcytosine in the CpG sequence in mammals has attracted attention because it should prove valuable in a wide range of research fields including diagnosis, drug discovery, and therapy. Methylated DNA bases and DNA methyltransferase activity are analyzed using conventional methods; however, these methods are time-consuming and require complex multiple operations. Therefore, new methods and devices for DNA methylation analysis are now being actively developed. Furthermore, microfluidic technology has also been applied to DNA methylation analysis because the microfluidic platform offers the promising advantage of making it possible to perform thousands of DNA methylation reactions in small reaction volumes, resulting in a high-throughput analysis with high sensitivity. This review discusses epigenetics and the microfluidic platforms developed for DNA methylation analysis.

A paper/polymer hybrid microfluidic microplate for rapid quantitative detection of multiple disease biomarkers

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is one of the most widely used laboratory disease diagnosis methods. However, performing ELISA in low-resource settings is limited by long incubation time, large volumes of precious reagents, and well-equipped laboratories. Herein, we developed a simple, miniaturized paper/PMMA (poly(methyl methacrylate)) hybrid microfluidic microplate for low-cost, high throughput, and point-of-care (POC) infectious disease diagnosis. The novel use of porous paper in flow-through microwells facilitates rapid antibody/antigen immobilization and efficient washing, avoiding complicated surface modifications. The top reagent delivery channels can simply transfer reagents to multiple microwells thus avoiding repeated manual pipetting and costly robots. Results of colorimetric ELISA can be observed within an hour by the naked eye. Quantitative analysis was achieved by calculating the brightness of images scanned by an office scanner. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg) were quantitatively analyzed with good reliability in human serum samples. Without using any specialized equipment, the limits of detection of 1.6 ng/mL for IgG and 1.3 ng/mL for HBsAg were achieved, which were comparable to commercial ELISA kits using specialized equipment. We envisage that this simple POC hybrid microplate can have broad applications in various bioassays, especially in resource-limited settings.

A paper/polymer hybrid microfluidic microplate for rapid quantitative detection of multiple disease biomarkers

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is one of the most widely used laboratory disease diagnosis methods. However, performing ELISA in low-resource settings is limited by long incubation time, large volumes of precious reagents, and well-equipped laboratories. Herein, we developed a simple, miniaturized paper/PMMA (poly(methyl methacrylate)) hybrid microfluidic microplate for low-cost, high throughput, and point-of-care (POC) infectious disease diagnosis. The novel use of porous paper in flow-through microwells facilitates rapid antibody/antigen immobilization and efficient washing, avoiding complicated surface modifications. The top reagent delivery channels can simply transfer reagents to multiple microwells thus avoiding repeated manual pipetting and costly robots. Results of colorimetric ELISA can be observed within an hour by the naked eye. Quantitative analysis was achieved by calculating the brightness of images scanned by an office scanner. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Hepatitis B surface Antigen (HBsAg) were quantitatively analyzed with good reliability in human serum samples. Without using any specialized equipment, the limits of detection of 1.6 ng/mL for IgG and 1.3 ng/mL for HBsAg were achieved, which were comparable to commercial ELISA kits using specialized equipment. We envisage that this simple POC hybrid microplate can have broad applications in various bioassays, especially in resource-limited settings.

Morphological plasticity of bacteria-Open questions

Morphological plasticity of bacteria is a cryptic phenomenon, by which bacteria acquire adaptive benefits for coping with changing environments. Some environmental cues were identified to induce morphological plasticity, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. Physical and chemical factors causing morphological changes in bacteria have been investigated and mostly associated with potential pathways linked to the cell wall synthetic machinery. These include starvation, oxidative stresses, predation effectors, antimicrobial agents, temperature stresses, osmotic shock, and mechanical constraints. In an extreme scenario of morphological plasticity, bacteria can be induced to be shapeshifters when the cell walls are defective or deficient. They follow distinct developmental pathways and transform into assorted morphological variants, and most of them would eventually revert to typical cell morphology. It is suggested that phenotypic heterogeneity might play a functional role in the development of morphological diversity and/or plasticity within an isogenic population. Accordingly, phenotypic heterogeneity and inherited morphological plasticity are found to be survival strategies adopted by bacteria in response to environmental stresses. Here, microfluidic and nanofabrication technology is considered to provide versatile solutions to induce morphological plasticity, sort and isolate morphological variants, and perform single-cell analysis including transcriptional and epigenetic profiling. Questions such as how morphogenesis network is modulated or rewired (if epigenetic controls of cell morphogenesis apply) to induce bacterial morphological plasticity could be resolved with the aid of micro-nanofluidic platforms and optimization algorithms, such as feedback system control.

Recent advances in salivary cancer diagnostics enabled by biosensors and bioelectronics

There is a high demand for a non-invasive, rapid, and highly accurate tool for disease diagnostics. Recently, saliva based diagnostics for the detection of specific biomarkers has drawn significant attention since the sample extraction is simple, cost-effective, and precise. Compared to blood, saliva contains a similar variety of DNA, RNA, proteins, metabolites, and microbiota that can be compiled into a multiplex of cancer detection markers. The salivary diagnostic method holds great potential for early-stage cancer diagnostics without any complicated and expensive procedures. Here, we review various cancer biomarkers in saliva and compare the biomarkers efficacy with traditional diagnostics and state-of-the-art bioelectronics. We summarize biomarkers in four major groups: genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics/microbiota. Representative bioelectronic systems for each group are summarized based on various stages of a cancer. Systematic study of oxidative stress establishes the relationship between macromolecules and cancer biomarkers in saliva. We also introduce the most recent examples of salivary diagnostic electronics based on nanotechnologies that can offer rapid, yet highly accurate detection of biomarkers. A concluding section highlights areas of opportunity in the further development and applications of these technologies.

LoMA-B: a simple and versatile lab-on-a-chip system based on single-channel bisulfite conversion for DNA methylation analysis

Miniaturized lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems have been developed for genetic and epigenetic analyses in clinical applications because of advantages such as reduced sample size and reagent consumption, rapid processing speed, simplicity, and enhanced sensitivity. Despite tremendous efforts made towards developing LOC systems for use in the clinical setting, the development of LOC systems to analyze DNA methylation, which is an emerging epigenetic marker causing the abnormal silencing of genes including tumor suppressor genes, is still challenging because of the gold standard methods involving a bisulfite conversion step. Existing bisulfite conversion-based techniques are not suitable for clinical use due to their long processing time, labor intensiveness, and the purification steps involved. Here, we present a lab-on-a-chip system for DNA methylation analysis based on bisulfite conversion (LoMA-B), which couples a sample pre-processing module for on-chip bisulfite conversion and a label-free, real-time detection module for rapid analysis of DNA methylation status using an isothermal DNA amplification/detection technique. The methylation status of the RARβ gene in human genomic DNA extracted from MCF-7 cells was analyzed by the LoMA-B system within 80 min (except 16 h for sensor preparation) compared to conventional MS-PCR within 24 h. Furthermore, the LoMA-B system is highly sensitive and can detect as little as 1% methylated DNA in a methylated/unmethylated cell mixture. Therefore, the LoMA-B system is an efficient diagnostic tool for the simple, versatile, and quantitative evaluation of DNA methylation patterns for clinical applications.

Rapid microfluidic solid-phase extraction system for hyper-methylated DNA enrichment and epigenetic analysis

Genetic sequence and hyper-methylation profile information from the promoter regions of tumor suppressor genes are important for cancer disease investigation. Since hyper-methylated DNA (hm-DNA) is typically present in ultra-low concentrations in biological samples, such as stool, urine, and saliva, sample enrichment and amplification is typically required before detection. We present a rapid microfluidic solid phase extraction (μSPE) system for the capture and elution of low concentrations of hm-DNA (≤1 ng ml(-1)), based on a protein-DNA capture surface, into small volumes using a passive microfluidic lab-on-a-chip platform. All assay steps have been qualitatively characterized using a real-time surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor, and quantitatively characterized using fluorescence spectroscopy. The hm-DNA capture/elution process requires less than 5 min with an efficiency of 71% using a 25 μl elution volume and 92% efficiency using a 100 μl elution volume.