microfluidics
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Smartphones have become widely recognized as a very interesting detection and controlling tool in microfluidics. They are portable devices with built-in cameras and internal microprocessors which carry out image processing. In this case, the external computers are not needed and phones can provide fast and accurate results. Moreover, the connectivity of smartphones gives the possibility to share and provide real-time results when needed, whether in health diagnostics, environmental monitoring, immunoassays or food safety. Undoubtedly, the marriage of smartphones and microfluidics has a brilliant future in building low cost and easily operable systems for analysis in the field, realizing the idea of people's "smartlife". The aim of this review is to present and summarize the main advantages and disadvantages of the use of smartphones as well as to take a closer look at some novel achievements published during the last couple of years. In the next paragraphs, readers will find specific uses of a combination of smartphones and microfluidics such as water analysis, health analysis (virus and bacteria detection), and measurement of physical properties or smartphone liquid control in polymer devices.
- MeSH
- chytrý telefon * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mikrofluidika * MeSH
- předpověď MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
Fluid manipulation on the micro-scale (microfluidics) is bringing new potential applications in a number of fields, including chemistry, biology and medicine. At sub-millimeter channel scale, some phenomena, unimportant at the macroscale, become an important force to consider when designing a microfluidics system. For example, the decrease in fluid mass causes the effects of viscosity to overcome the influence of inertia. Turbulent flow cannot be achieved at any realistic fluid velocity, making mixing a challenging task. The only phenomenon capable of blending liquids at microscale is diffusion and liquid streams can be flowed side-by-side for tens of minutes before they completely fuse together. The decrease in the channel size also leads to an increased surface-to-volume ratio, which increases the importance of surface effects, including adsorption, capillary action and surface wetting and/or electric double layer formation with related electrokinetic phenomena. While rivers cannot flow uphill, a stream of liquid can easily flow up against gravity inside a capillary. Similarly, the formation of electric double layer near the charged surface of a micro-channel or capillary can be applied for electrokinetic actuating. This review summarizes selected physical phenomena related to liquid-based (water solutions) microfluidics as described recently.
- MeSH
- adsorpce MeSH
- difuze MeSH
- kapilární jevy MeSH
- mikrofluidika * MeSH
- voda chemie MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
Nowadays, the vastly increasing demand for novel biotechnological products is supported by the continuous development of biocatalytic applications that provide sustainable green alternatives to chemical processes. The success of a biocatalytic application is critically dependent on how quickly we can identify and characterize enzyme variants fitting the conditions of industrial processes. While miniaturization and parallelization have dramatically increased the throughput of next-generation sequencing systems, the subsequent characterization of the obtained candidates is still a limiting process in identifying the desired biocatalysts. Only a few commercial microfluidic systems for enzyme analysis are currently available, and the transformation of numerous published prototypes into commercial platforms is still to be streamlined. This review presents the state-of-the-art, recent trends, and perspectives in applying microfluidic tools in the functional and structural analysis of biocatalysts. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of available technologies, their reproducibility and robustness, and readiness for routine laboratory use. We also highlight the unexplored potential of microfluidics to leverage the power of machine learning for biocatalyst development.
Proteomics provides an understanding of biological systems by enabling the detailed study of protein expression profiles, which is crucial for early disease diagnosis. Microfluidic-based proteomics enhances this field by integrating complex proteome analysis into compact and efficient systems. This review focuses on developing microfluidic chip structures for proteomics, covering on-chip sample pretreatment, protein extraction, purification, and identification in recent years. Furthermore, our work aims to inspire researchers to select proper methodologies in designing novel, efficient assays for proteomics applications by analyzing trends and innovations in this field.
- MeSH
- biosenzitivní techniky přístrojové vybavení metody MeSH
- design vybavení MeSH
- laboratoř na čipu * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mikrofluidika metody MeSH
- mikrofluidní analytické techniky přístrojové vybavení MeSH
- proteiny analýza izolace a purifikace MeSH
- proteom analýza izolace a purifikace chemie MeSH
- proteomika * metody MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
This study investigates various microfluidic chip fabrication techniques, highlighting their applicability and limitations in the context of urgent diagnostic needs showcased by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a detailed examination of methods such as computer numerical control milling of a polymethyl methacrylate, soft lithography for polydimethylsiloxane-based devices, xurography for glass-glass chips, and micromachining-based silicon-glass chips, we analyze each technique's strengths and trade-offs. Hence, we discuss the fabrication complexity and chip thermal properties, such as heating and cooling rates, which are essential features of chip utilization for a polymerase chain reaction. Our comparative analysis reveals critical insights into material challenges, design flexibility, and cost-efficiency, aiming to guide the development of robust and reliable microfluidic devices for healthcare and research. This work underscores the importance of selecting appropriate fabrication methods to optimize device functionality, durability, and production efficiency.
- MeSH
- COVID-19 * virologie MeSH
- design vybavení MeSH
- dimethylpolysiloxany chemie MeSH
- laboratoř na čipu * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mikrofluidika metody přístrojové vybavení MeSH
- mikrofluidní analytické techniky přístrojové vybavení metody MeSH
- polymethylmethakrylát chemie MeSH
- SARS-CoV-2 izolace a purifikace MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- srovnávací studie MeSH
Microfluidic devices are becoming mainstream tools to recapitulate in vitro the behavior of cells and tissues. In this study, we use microfluidic devices filled with hydrogels of mixed collagen-Matrigel composition to study the migration of lung cancer cells under different cancer invasion microenvironments. We present the design of the microfluidic device, characterize the hydrogels morphologically and mechanically and use quantitative image analysis to measure the migration of H1299 lung adenocarcinoma cancer cells in different experimental conditions. Our results show the plasticity of lung cancer cell migration, which turns from mesenchymal in collagen only matrices, to lobopodial in collagen-Matrigel matrices that approximate the interface between a disrupted basement membrane and the underlying connective tissue. Our quantification of migration speed confirms a biphasic role of Matrigel. At low concentration, Matrigel facilitates migration, most probably by providing a supportive and growth factor retaining environment. At high concentration, Matrigel slows down migration, possibly due excessive attachment. Finally, we show that antibody-based integrin blockade promotes a change in migration phenotype from mesenchymal or lobopodial to amoeboid and analyze the effect of this change in migration dynamics, in regards to the structure of the matrix. In summary, we describe and characterize a robust microfluidic platform and a set of software tools that can be used to study lung cancer cell migration under different microenvironments and experimental conditions. This platform could be used in future studies, thus benefitting from the advantages introduced by microfluidic devices: precise control of the environment, excellent optical properties, parallelization for high throughput studies and efficient use of therapeutic drugs.
- MeSH
- buněčné sféroidy MeSH
- difuze MeSH
- extracelulární matrix MeSH
- fenotyp MeSH
- fixní kombinace léků MeSH
- hydrogely MeSH
- kolagen * chemie ultrastruktura MeSH
- konfokální mikroskopie MeSH
- laminin * chemie ultrastruktura MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mechanické jevy MeSH
- metastázy nádorů MeSH
- mikrofluidika * metody MeSH
- nádorové buněčné linie MeSH
- nádorové buňky kultivované MeSH
- nádorové mikroprostředí MeSH
- pohyb buněk * MeSH
- proteoglykany * chemie ultrastruktura MeSH
- tkáňové podpůrné struktury * chemie MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
The application of microfluidic devices as next-generation cell and tissue culture systems has increased impressively in the last decades. With that, a plethora of materials as well as fabrication methods for these devices have emerged. Here, we describe the rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices, using micromilling and vapour-assisted thermal bonding of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), to create a spheroid-on-a-chip culture system. Surface roughness of the micromilled structures was assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), showing that the fabrication procedure can impact the surface quality of micromilled substrates with milling tracks that can be readily observed in micromilled channels. A roughness of approximately 153 nm was created. Chloroform vapour-assisted bonding was used for simultaneous surface smoothing and bonding. A 30-s treatment with chloroform-vapour was able to reduce the surface roughness and smooth it to approximately 39 nm roughness. Subsequent bonding of multilayer PMMA-based microfluidic chips created a durable assembly, as shown by tensile testing. MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were cultured as multicellular tumour spheroids in the device and their characteristics evaluated using immunofluorescence staining. Spheroids could be successfully maintained for at least three weeks. They consisted of a characteristic hypoxic core, along with expression of the quiescence marker, p27kip1. This core was surrounded by a ring of Ki67-positive, proliferative cells. Overall, the method described represents a versatile approach to generate microfluidic devices compatible with biological applications.
Acute intoxication incidents due to neurotoxic organophosphate (OP) insecticides are occasionally reported, related either to suicidal attempts or occupational exposure due to the misuse of protective equipment. Among them, chlorpyrifos is a compound related to great controversy, which is still authorized and easily accessible in many countries around the world. However, to screen for its exposure markers, instrumental methods are commonly applied, which cannot enable rapid monitoring at an early stage of an intoxication. Therefore, in this study, a microfluidic paper-based analytical device (μPAD) able to rapidly screen for chlorpyrifos-oxon, the toxic chlorpyrifos metabolite, in human serum was developed and fully validated. The μPAD combines wax-printed butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) paper sensors, a lab-on-a-chip (LOC) prototype injector and a smartphone as the analytical detector. In principle, the wax-printed strips with adsorbed BChE are embedded into LOC injectors able to deliver samples and reagents on-demand. A smartphone reader was used to monitor the color development on the strips providing binary qualitative results. μPAD method performance characteristics were thoroughly evaluated in terms of specificity, detection capability (CCβ) and ruggedness. The developed analytical platform is rapid (results within 10 min), cost-efficient (0.70 €), potentially applicable at the point-of-need and attained a low CCβ (10 μg L-1 in human serum). Finally, μPAD characteristics were critically compared to well-established methods, namely an in-house BChE microplate assay and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.
- MeSH
- chytrý telefon MeSH
- dursban * MeSH
- laboratoř na čipu MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mikrofluidika MeSH
- mikrofluidní analytické techniky * MeSH
- papír MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
