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Xu M, Zhang X, Bai Y, Wang X, Yang J, Hu N. Mechanism study on the influences of buffer osmotic pressure on microfluidic chip-based cell electrofusion. APL Bioeng 2024; 8:026103. [PMID: 38638144 PMCID: PMC11026109 DOI: 10.1063/5.0205100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Cell electrofusion is a key process in many research fields, such as genetics, immunology, and cross-breeding. The electrofusion efficiency is highly dependent on the buffer osmotic pressure properties. However, the mechanism by which the buffer osmotic pressure affects cell electrofusion has not been theoretically or numerically understood. In order to explore the mechanism, the microfluidic structure with paired arc micro-cavities was first evaluated based on the numerical analysis of the transmembrane potential and the electroporation induced on biological cells when the electrofusion was performed on this structure. Then, the numerical model was used to analyze the effect of three buffer osmotic pressures on the on-chip electrofusion in terms of membrane tension and cell size. Compared to hypertonic and isotonic buffers, hypotonic buffer not only increased the reversible electroporation area in the cell-cell contact zone by 1.7 times by inducing a higher membrane tension, but also significantly reduced the applied voltage required for cell electroporation by increasing the cell size. Finally, the microfluidic chip with arc micro-cavities was fabricated and tested for electrofusion of SP2/0 cells. The results showed that no cell fusion occurred in the hypertonic buffer. The fusion efficiency in the isotonic buffer was about 7%. In the hypotonic buffer, the fusion efficiency was about 60%, which was significantly higher compared to hypertonic and isotonic buffers. The experimental results were in good agreement with the numerical analysis results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengli Xu
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education and Bioengineering College, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
| | - Xiaoling Zhang
- School of Smart Health, Chongqing College of Electronic Engineering, Chongqing 401331, China
| | - Yaqi Bai
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education and Bioengineering College, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
| | - Xuefeng Wang
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education and Bioengineering College, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
| | - Jun Yang
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education and Bioengineering College, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
| | - Ning Hu
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education and Bioengineering College, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
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Schlotheuber LJ, Lüchtefeld I, Eyer K. Antibodies, repertoires and microdevices in antibody discovery and characterization. LAB ON A CHIP 2024; 24:1207-1225. [PMID: 38165819 PMCID: PMC10898418 DOI: 10.1039/d3lc00887h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/04/2024]
Abstract
Therapeutic antibodies are paramount in treating a wide range of diseases, particularly in auto-immunity, inflammation and cancer, and novel antibody candidates recognizing a vast array of novel antigens are needed to expand the usefulness and applications of these powerful molecules. Microdevices play an essential role in this challenging endeavor at various stages since many general requirements of the overall process overlap nicely with the general advantages of microfluidics. Therefore, microfluidic devices are rapidly taking over various steps in the process of new candidate isolation, such as antibody characterization and discovery workflows. Such technologies can allow for vast improvements in time-lines and incorporate conservative antibody stability and characterization assays, but most prominently screenings and functional characterization within integrated workflows due to high throughput and standardized workflows. First, we aim to provide an overview of the challenges of developing new therapeutic candidates, their repertoires and requirements. Afterward, this review focuses on the discovery of antibodies using microfluidic systems, technological aspects of micro devices and small-scale antibody protein characterization and selection, as well as their integration and implementation into antibody discovery workflows. We close with future developments in microfluidic detection and antibody isolation principles and the field in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Johannes Schlotheuber
- ETH Laboratory for Functional Immune Repertoire Analysis, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, D-CHAB, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
| | - Ines Lüchtefeld
- ETH Laboratory for Functional Immune Repertoire Analysis, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, D-CHAB, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
- ETH Laboratory for Tumor and Stem Cell Dynamics, Institute of Molecular Health Sciences, D-BIOL, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Klaus Eyer
- ETH Laboratory for Functional Immune Repertoire Analysis, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, D-CHAB, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland.
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Ngan Ngo TK, Kuo CH, Tu TY. Recent advances in microfluidic-based cancer immunotherapy-on-a-chip strategies. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2023; 17:011501. [PMID: 36647540 PMCID: PMC9840534 DOI: 10.1063/5.0108792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Despite several extraordinary improvements in cancer immunotherapy, its therapeutic effectiveness against many distinct cancer types remains mostly limited and requires further study. Different microfluidic-based cancer immunotherapy-on-a-chip (ITOC) systems have been developed to help researchers replicate the tumor microenvironment and immune system. Numerous microfluidic platforms can potentially be used to perform various on-chip activities related to early clinical cancer immunotherapy processes, such as improving immune checkpoint blockade therapy, studying immune cell dynamics, evaluating cytotoxicity, and creating vaccines or organoid models from patient samples. In this review, we summarize the most recent advancements in the development of various microfluidic-based ITOC devices for cancer treatment niches and present future perspectives on microfluidic devices for immunotherapy research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thi Kim Ngan Ngo
- Biomedical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Hsiang Kuo
- International Center for Wound Repair and Regeneration, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan
| | - Ting-Yuan Tu
- Author to whom correspondence should be addressed:
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Zhang H, Geng Q, Sun Z, Zhong X, Yang Y, Zhang S, Li Y, Zhang Y, Sun L. A Dual-Channel Microfluidic Chip for Single Tobacco Protoplast Isolation and Dynamic Capture. MICROMACHINES 2022; 13:2109. [PMID: 36557407 PMCID: PMC9787963 DOI: 10.3390/mi13122109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 11/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Protoplasts are widely used in gene function verification, subcellular localization, and single-cell sequencing because of their complete physiological activities. The traditional methods based on tissues and organs cannot satisfy the requirement. Therefore, the isolation and capture of a single protoplast are most important to these studies. In this study, a dual-channel microfluidic chip based on PDMS with multi-capture cavities was designed. The design theory of the dual-channel microfluidic chip's geometry was discussed. The capture mechanism of the single cell in a dual-channel microfluidic chip was studied by simulation analysis. Our results showed that a single polystyrene microsphere or tobacco protoplast was successfully isolated and trapped in this chip. The capture efficiency of the chip was 83.33% for the single tobacco protoplast when the inlet flow rate was 0.75 μL/min. In addition, the dynamic capture of the polystyrene microsphere and tobacco protoplasts was also presented. Overall, our study not only provided a new strategy for the subsequent high throughput single protoplast research, but also laid a theoretical foundation for the capture mechanism of the single cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huali Zhang
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China
| | - Qianqian Geng
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China
| | - Zhanghua Sun
- School of Life Sciences, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China
| | - Xiaoxiang Zhong
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China
| | - Ying Yang
- School of Life Sciences, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China
| | - Shuangyu Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China
| | - Ying Li
- School of Life Sciences, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China
| | - Yali Zhang
- School of Medicine, Nantong University, Qixiu Road 19, Nantong 226001, China
| | - Lijun Sun
- School of Life Sciences, Nantong University, Nantong 226019, China
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Abstract
Electroporation (EP) is a commonly used strategy to increase cell permeability for intracellular cargo delivery or irreversible cell membrane disruption using electric fields. In recent years, EP performance has been improved by shrinking electrodes and device structures to the microscale. Integration with microfluidics has led to the design of devices performing static EP, where cells are fixed in a defined region, or continuous EP, where cells constantly pass through the device. Each device type performs superior to conventional, macroscale EP devices while providing additional advantages in precision manipulation (static EP) and increased throughput (continuous EP). Microscale EP is gentle on cells and has enabled more sensitive assaying of cells with novel applications. In this Review, we present the physical principles of microscale EP devices and examine design trends in recent years. In addition, we discuss the use of reversible and irreversible EP in the development of therapeutics and analysis of intracellular contents, among other noteworthy applications. This Review aims to inform and encourage scientists and engineers to expand the use of efficient and versatile microscale EP technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sung-Eun Choi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Harrison Khoo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
| | - Soojung Claire Hur
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
- Institute for NanoBioTechnology, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, United States
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University, 401 North Broadway, Baltimore, Maryland 21231, United States
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