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Kawakita S, Li S, Nguyen HT, Maity S, Haghniaz R, Bahari J, Yu N, Mandal K, Bandaru P, Mou L, Ermis M, Khalil E, Khosravi S, Peirsman A, Nasiri R, Adachi A, Nakayama A, Bell R, Zhu Y, Jucaud V, Dokmeci MR, Khademhosseini A. Rapid integration of screen-printed electrodes into thermoplastic organ-on-a-chip devices for real-time monitoring of trans-endothelial electrical resistance. Biomed Microdevices 2023; 25:37. [PMID: 37740819 DOI: 10.1007/s10544-023-00669-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Trans-endothelial electrical resistance (TEER) is one of the most widely used indicators to quantify the barrier integrity of endothelial layers. Over the last decade, the integration of TEER sensors into organ-on-a-chip (OOC) platforms has gained increasing interest for its efficient and effective measurement of TEER in OOCs. To date, microfabricated electrodes or direct insertion of wires has been used to integrate TEER sensors into OOCs, with each method having advantages and disadvantages. In this study, we developed a TEER-SPE chip consisting of carbon-based screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) embedded in a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-based multi-layered microfluidic device with a porous poly(ethylene terephthalate) membrane in-between. As proof of concept, we demonstrated the successful cultures of hCMEC/D3 cells and the formation of confluent monolayers in the TEER-SPE chip and obtained TEER measurements for 4 days. Additionally, the TEER-SPE chip could detect changes in the barrier integrity due to shear stress or an inflammatory cytokine (i.e., tumor necrosis factor-α). The novel approach enables a low-cost and facile fabrication of carbon-based SPEs on PMMA substrates and the subsequent assembly of PMMA layers for rapid prototyping. Being cost-effective and cleanroom-free, our method lowers the existing logistical and technical barriers presenting itself as another step forward to the broader adoption of OOCs with TEER measurement capability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoru Kawakita
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
| | - Shaopei Li
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
| | - Huu Tuan Nguyen
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
| | - Surjendu Maity
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
| | - Reihaneh Haghniaz
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
| | - Jamal Bahari
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
| | - Ning Yu
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, California, 92521, USA
| | - Kalpana Mandal
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
| | - Praveen Bandaru
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
| | - Lei Mou
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
| | - Menekse Ermis
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
| | - Enam Khalil
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
- School of Pharmacy, The University of Jordan, Amman, 11942, Jordan
| | - Safoora Khosravi
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T1Z4, Canada
| | - Arne Peirsman
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
- Department of Plastic, Aesthetic & Reconstructive Surgery and Laboratory of Experimental Cancer Research, Ghent University, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Rohollah Nasiri
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
- Division of Nanobiotechnology, Department of Protein Science, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 17165, Solna, Sweden
| | - Annie Adachi
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California, 94158, USA
| | - Aya Nakayama
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, 91125, USA
| | - Remy Bell
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA
| | - Yangzhi Zhu
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA
| | - Vadim Jucaud
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA.
| | - Mehmet Remzi Dokmeci
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA.
| | - Ali Khademhosseini
- Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Los Angeles, California, 90064, USA.
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Vedhanayagam A, Golfetto M, Ram JL, Basu AS. Rapid Micromolding of Sub-100 µm Microfluidic Channels Using an 8K Stereolithographic Resin 3D Printer. MICROMACHINES 2023; 14:1519. [PMID: 37630056 PMCID: PMC10456470 DOI: 10.3390/mi14081519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
Engineering microfluidic devices relies on the ability to manufacture sub-100 micrometer fluidic channels. Conventional lithographic methods provide high resolution but require costly exposure tools and outsourcing of masks, which extends the turnaround time to several days. The desire to accelerate design/test cycles has motivated the rapid prototyping of microfluidic channels; however, many of these methods (e.g., laser cutters, craft cutters, fused deposition modeling) have feature sizes of several hundred microns or more. In this paper, we describe a 1-day process for fabricating sub-100 µm channels, leveraging a low-cost (USD 600) 8K digital light projection (DLP) 3D resin printer. The soft lithography process includes mold printing, post-treatment, and casting polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer. The process can produce microchannels with 44 µm lateral resolution and 25 µm height, posts as small as 400 µm, aspect ratio up to 7, structures with varying z-height, integrated reservoirs for fluidic connections, and a built-in tray for casting. We discuss strategies to obtain reliable structures, prevent mold warpage, facilitate curing and removal of PDMS during molding, and recycle the solvents used in the process. To our knowledge, this is the first low-cost 3D printer that prints extruded structures that can mold sub-100 µm channels, providing a balance between resolution, turnaround time, and cost (~USD 5 for a 2 × 5 × 0.5 cm3 chip) that will be attractive for many microfluidics labs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arpith Vedhanayagam
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
| | - Michael Golfetto
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
| | - Jeffrey L. Ram
- Department of Physiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
| | - Amar S. Basu
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
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Ma X, Guo G, Wu X, Wu Q, Liu F, Zhang H, Shi N, Guan Y. Advances in Integration, Wearable Applications, and Artificial Intelligence of Biomedical Microfluidics Systems. MICROMACHINES 2023; 14:mi14050972. [PMID: 37241596 DOI: 10.3390/mi14050972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Microfluidics attracts much attention due to its multiple advantages such as high throughput, rapid analysis, low sample volume, and high sensitivity. Microfluidics has profoundly influenced many fields including chemistry, biology, medicine, information technology, and other disciplines. However, some stumbling stones (miniaturization, integration, and intelligence) strain the development of industrialization and commercialization of microchips. The miniaturization of microfluidics means fewer samples and reagents, shorter times to results, and less footprint space consumption, enabling a high throughput and parallelism of sample analysis. Additionally, micro-size channels tend to produce laminar flow, which probably permits some creative applications that are not accessible to traditional fluid-processing platforms. The reasonable integration of biomedical/physical biosensors, semiconductor microelectronics, communications, and other cutting-edge technologies should greatly expand the applications of current microfluidic devices and help develop the next generation of lab-on-a-chip (LOC). At the same time, the evolution of artificial intelligence also gives another strong impetus to the rapid development of microfluidics. Biomedical applications based on microfluidics normally bring a large amount of complex data, so it is a big challenge for researchers and technicians to analyze those huge and complicated data accurately and quickly. To address this problem, machine learning is viewed as an indispensable and powerful tool in processing the data collected from micro-devices. In this review, we mainly focus on discussing the integration, miniaturization, portability, and intelligence of microfluidics technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingfeng Ma
- School of Communication and Information Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200000, China
- Department of Microelectronics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200000, China
| | - Gang Guo
- Department of Microelectronics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200000, China
| | - Xuanye Wu
- Department of Microelectronics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200000, China
- Shanghai Industrial μTechnology Research Institute, Shanghai 200000, China
| | - Qiang Wu
- Shanghai Aure Technology Limited Company, Shanghai 200000, China
| | - Fangfang Liu
- Shanghai Industrial μTechnology Research Institute, Shanghai 200000, China
| | - Hua Zhang
- Shanghai Aure Technology Limited Company, Shanghai 200000, China
| | - Nan Shi
- Shanghai Industrial μTechnology Research Institute, Shanghai 200000, China
- Institute of Translational Medicine, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200000, China
| | - Yimin Guan
- Department of Microelectronics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200000, China
- Shanghai Aure Technology Limited Company, Shanghai 200000, China
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Khosla NK, Lesinski JM, Colombo M, Bezinge L, deMello AJ, Richards DA. Simplifying the complex: accessible microfluidic solutions for contemporary processes within in vitro diagnostics. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:3340-3360. [PMID: 35984715 PMCID: PMC9469643 DOI: 10.1039/d2lc00609j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
In vitro diagnostics (IVDs) form the cornerstone of modern medicine. They are routinely employed throughout the entire treatment pathway, from initial diagnosis through to prognosis, treatment planning, and post-treatment surveillance. Given the proven links between high quality diagnostic testing and overall health, ensuring broad access to IVDs has long been a focus of both researchers and medical professionals. Unfortunately, the current diagnostic paradigm relies heavily on centralized laboratories, complex and expensive equipment, and highly trained personnel. It is commonly assumed that this level of complexity is required to achieve the performance necessary for sensitive and specific disease diagnosis, and that making something affordable and accessible entails significant compromises in test performance. However, recent work in the field of microfluidics is challenging this notion. By exploiting the unique features of microfluidic systems, researchers have been able to create progressively simple devices that can perform increasingly complex diagnostic assays. This review details how microfluidic technologies are disrupting the status quo, and facilitating the development of simple, affordable, and accessible integrated IVDs. Importantly, we discuss the advantages and limitations of various approaches, and highlight the remaining challenges within the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan K Khosla
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zürich, Vladimir Prelog Weg 1, Zürich, 8093, Switzerland.
| | - Jake M Lesinski
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zürich, Vladimir Prelog Weg 1, Zürich, 8093, Switzerland.
| | - Monika Colombo
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zürich, Vladimir Prelog Weg 1, Zürich, 8093, Switzerland.
| | - Léonard Bezinge
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zürich, Vladimir Prelog Weg 1, Zürich, 8093, Switzerland.
| | - Andrew J deMello
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zürich, Vladimir Prelog Weg 1, Zürich, 8093, Switzerland.
| | - Daniel A Richards
- Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zürich, Vladimir Prelog Weg 1, Zürich, 8093, Switzerland.
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Mohd Asri MA, Mak WC, Norazman SA, Nordin AN. Low-cost and rapid prototyping of integrated electrochemical microfluidic platforms using consumer-grade off-the-shelf tools and materials. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:1779-1792. [PMID: 35293400 DOI: 10.1039/d1lc01100f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We present a low-cost, accessible, and rapid fabrication process for electrochemical microfluidic sensors. This work leverages the accessibility of consumer-grade electronic craft cutters as the primary tool for patterning of sensor electrodes and microfluidic circuits, while commodity materials such as gold leaf, silver ink pen, double-sided tape, plastic transparency films, and fabric adhesives are used as its base structural materials. The device consists of three layers, the silver reference electrode layer at the top, the PET fluidic circuits in the middle and the gold sensing electrodes at the bottom. Separation of the silver reference electrode from the gold sensing electrodes reduces the possibility of cross-contamination during surface modification. A novel approach in mesoscale patterning of gold leaf electrodes can produce generic designs with dimensions as small as 250 μm. Silver electrodes with dimensions as small as 385 μm were drawn using a plotter and a silver ink pen, and fluid microchannels as small as 300 μm were fabricated using a sandwich of iron-on adhesives and PET. Device layers are then fused together using an office laminator. The integrated microfluidic electrochemical platform has electrode kinetics/performance of ΔEp = 91.3 mV, Ipa/Ipc = 0.905, characterized by cyclic voltammetry using a standard ferrocyanide redox probe, and this was compared against a commercial screen-printed gold electrode (ΔEp = 68.9 mV, Ipa/Ipc = 0.984). To validate the performance of the integrated microfluidic electrochemical platform, a catalytic hydrogen peroxide sensor and enzyme-coupled glucose biosensors were developed as demonstrators. Hydrogen peroxide quantitation achieves a limit of detection of 0.713 mM and sensitivity of 78.37 μA mM-1 cm-2, while glucose has a limit of detection of 0.111 mM and sensitivity of 12.68 μA mM-1 cm-2. This rapid process allows an iterative design-build-test cycle in under 2 hours. The upfront cost to set up the system is less than USD 520, with each device costing less than USD 0.12, making this manufacturing process suitable for low-resource laboratories or classroom settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohd Afiq Mohd Asri
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Kulliyyah of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia, 53100 Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia.
| | - Wing Cheung Mak
- Biosensors and Bioelectronics Centre, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, 58183, Linköping, Sweden
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
| | - Siti Azizah Norazman
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Kulliyyah of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia, 53100 Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia.
| | - Anis Nurashikin Nordin
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Kulliyyah of Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia, 53100 Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia.
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