共查询到20条相似文献，搜索用时 656 毫秒
1.
Harisha Ramachandraiah Sahar Ardabili Asim M. Faridi Jesper Gantelius Jacob M. Kowalewski Gustaf M?rtensson Aman Russom 《Biomicrofluidics》2014,8(3)
Passive particle focusing based on inertial microfluidics was recently introduced as a
high-throughput alternative to active focusing methods that require an external force field to
manipulate particles. In inertial microfluidics, dominant inertial forces cause particles to move
across streamlines and occupy equilibrium positions along the faces of walls in flows through
straight micro channels. In this study, we systematically analyzed the addition of secondary Dean
forces by introducing curvature and show how randomly distributed particles entering a simple
u-shaped curved channel are focused to a fixed lateral position exiting the curvature. We found the
lateral particle focusing position to be fixed and largely independent of radius of curvature and
whether particles entering the curvature are pre-focused (at equilibrium) or randomly distributed.
Unlike focusing in straight channels, where focusing typically is limited to channel cross-sections
in the range of particle size to create single focusing point, we report here particle focusing in a
large cross-section area (channel aspect ratio 1:10). Furthermore, we describe a simple u-shaped
curved channel, with single inlet and four outlets, for filtration applications. We demonstrate
continuous focusing and filtration of 10 μm particles (with >90% filtration
efficiency) from a suspension mixture at throughputs several orders of magnitude higher than flow
through straight channels (volume flow rate of 4.25 ml/min). Finally, as an example of high
throughput cell processing application, white blood cells were continuously processed with a
filtration efficiency of 78% with maintained high viability. We expect the study will aid in the
fundamental understanding of flow through curved channels and open the door for the development of a
whole set of bio-analytical applications. 相似文献
2.
In this paper, we review the recent progress in the development of low-cost microfluidic devices based on multifilament threads and textiles for semi-quantitative diagnostic and environmental assays. Hydrophilic multifilament threads are capable of transporting aqueous and non-aqueous fluids via capillary action and possess desirable properties for building fluid transport pathways in microfluidic devices. Thread can be sewn onto various support materials to form fluid transport channels without the need for the patterned hydrophobic barriers essential for paper-based microfluidic devices. Thread can also be used to manufacture fabrics which can be patterned to achieve suitable hydrophilic-hydrophobic contrast, creating hydrophilic channels which allow the control of fluids flow. Furthermore, well established textile patterning methods and combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic threads can be applied to fabricate low-cost microfluidic devices that meet the low-cost and low-volume requirements. In this paper, we review the current limitations and shortcomings of multifilament thread and textile-based microfluidics, and the research efforts to date on the development of fluid flow control concepts and fabrication methods. We also present a summary of different methods for modelling the fluid capillary flow in microfluidic thread and textile-based systems. Finally, we summarized the published works of thread surface treatment methods and the potential of combining multifilament thread with other materials to construct devices with greater functionality. We believe these will be important research focuses of thread- and textile-based microfluidics in future. 相似文献
3.
"Paper-based microfluidics" or "lab on paper," as a burgeoning research field with its beginning in 2007, provides a novel system for fluid handling and fluid analysis for a variety of applications including health diagnostics, environmental monitoring as well as food quality testing. The reasons why paper becomes an attractive substrate for making microfluidic systems include: (1) it is a ubiquitous and extremely cheap cellulosic material; (2) it is compatible with many chemical/biochemical/medical applications; and (3) it transports liquids using capillary forces without the assistance of external forces. By building microfluidic channels on paper, liquid flow is confined within the channels, and therefore, liquid flow can be guided in a controlled manner. A variety of 2D and even 3D microfluidic channels have been created on paper, which are able to transport liquids in the predesigned pathways on paper. At the current stage of its development, paper-based microfluidic system is claimed to be low-cost, easy-to-use, disposable, and equipment-free, and therefore, is a rising technology particularly relevant to improving the healthcare and disease screening in the developing world, especially for those areas with no- or low-infrastructure and limited trained medical and health professionals. The research in paper-based microfluidics is experiencing a period of explosion; most published works have focused on: (1) inventing low-cost and simple fabrication techniques for paper-based microfluidic devices; and (2) exploring new applications of paper-based microfluidics by incorporating efficient detection methods. This paper aims to review both the fabrication techniques and applications of paper-based microfluidics reported to date. This paper also attempts to convey to the readers, from the authors' point of view the current limitations of paper-based microfluidics which require further research, and a few perspective directions this new analytical system may take in its development. 相似文献
4.
Three-dimensional microfluidics holds great promise for large-scale integration of versatile, digitalized, and multitasking fluidic manipulations for biological and clinical applications. Successful translation of microfluidic toolsets to these purposes faces persistent technical challenges, such as reliable system-level packaging, device assembly and alignment, and world-to-chip interface. In this paper, we extended our previously established fit-to-flow (F2F) world-to-chip interconnection scheme to a complete system-level assembly strategy that addresses the three-dimensional microfluidic integration on demand. The modular F2F assembly consists of an interfacial chip, pluggable alignment modules, and multiple monolithic layers of microfluidic channels, through which convoluted three-dimensional microfluidic networks can be easily assembled and readily sealed with the capability of reconfigurable fluid flow. The monolithic laser-micromachining process simplifies and standardizes the fabrication of single-layer pluggable polymeric modules, which can be mass-produced as the renowned Lego® building blocks. In addition, interlocking features are implemented between the plug-and-play microfluidic chips and the complementary alignment modules through the F2F assembly, resulting in facile and secure alignment with average misalignment of 45 μm. Importantly, the 3D multilayer microfluidic assembly has a comparable sealing performance as the conventional single-layer devices, providing an average leakage pressure of 38.47 kPa. The modular reconfigurability of the system-level reversible packaging concept has been demonstrated by re-routing microfluidic flows through interchangeable modular microchannel layers. 相似文献
5.
Inertial microfluidics has brought enormous changes in the conventional cell/particle detection process and now become the main trend of sample pretreatment with outstanding throughput, low cost, and simple control method. However, inertial microfluidics in a straight microchannel is not enough to provide high efficiency and satisfying performance for cell/particle separation. A contraction–expansion microchannel is a widely used and multifunctional channel pattern involving inertial microfluidics, secondary flow, and the vortex in the chamber. The strengthened inertial microfluidics can help us to focus particles with a shorter channel length and less processing time. Both the vortex in the chamber and the secondary flow in the main channel can trap the target particles or separate particles based on their sizes more precisely. The contraction–expansion microchannels are also capable of combining with a curved, spiral, or serpentine channel to further improve the separation performance. Some recent studies have focused on the viscoelastic fluid that utilizes both elastic forces and inertial forces to separate different size particles precisely with a relatively low flow rate for the vulnerable cells. This article comprehensively reviews various contraction–expansion microchannels with Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids for particle focusing, separation, and microfluid mixing and provides particle manipulation performance data analysis for the contraction–expansion microchannel design. 相似文献
6.
Shimul C. Saha Andrew M. Powl B. A. Wallace Maurits R. R. de Planque Hywel Morgan 《Biomicrofluidics》2015,9(1)
We describe a scalable artificial bilayer lipid membrane platform for rapid electrophysiological screening of ion channels and transporters. A passive pumping method is used to flow microliter volumes of ligand solution across a suspended bilayer within a microfluidic chip. Bilayers are stable at flow rates up to ∼0.5 μl/min. Phospholipid bilayers are formed across a photolithographically defined aperture made in a dry film resist within the microfluidic chip. Bilayers are stable for many days and the low shunt capacitance of the thin film support gives low-noise high-quality single ion channel recording. Dose-dependent transient blocking of α-hemolysin with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and polyethylene glycol is demonstrated and dose-dependent blocking studies of the KcsA potassium channel with tetraethylammonium show the potential for determining IC50 values. The assays are fast (30 min for a complete IC50 curve) and simple and require very small amounts of compounds (100 μg in 15 μl). The technology can be scaled so that multiple bilayers can be addressed, providing a screening platform for ion channels, transporters, and nanopores. 相似文献
7.
We have developed a coaxial flow focusing geometry that can be fabricated using soft lithography in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). Like coaxial flow focusing in glass capillary microfluidics, our geometry can form double emulsions in channels with uniform wettability and of a size much smaller than the channel dimensions. However, In contrast to glass capillary coaxial flow focusing, our geometry can be fabricated using lithographic techniques, allowing it to be integrated as the drop making unit in parallel drop maker arrays. Our geometry enables scalable formation of emulsions down 7 μm in diameter, in large channels that are robust against fouling and clogging. 相似文献
8.
Towards plug and play filling of microfluidic devices by utilizing networks of capillary stop valves
Robust bubble-free priming of complex microfluidic chips represents a critical, yet often unmet prerequisite to enable their practical and widespread application. Towards this end, the usage of a network of capillary stop valves as a generic design feature is proposed. Design principles, numerical simulations, and their application in the development of a microfluidic cell culture device are presented. This chip comprises eight parallel chambers for the assembly and cultivation of human hepatocytes and endothelial cells. The inlet channel divides into cell chambers, after which the flows are reunited to a single chip outlet. Dimensions and geometry of channels and cell chambers are designed to yield capillary burst pressures sequentially increasing towards the chip outlet. Thus, progress of liquid flow through the device is predefined by design and enclosure of air bubbles inside the microfluidic structures is efficiently avoided. Capillary stop valves were designed using numerical simulations. Devices were fabricated in cyclic olefin polymer. Pressure during filling was determined experimentally and is in good agreement with data obtained from simulation. 相似文献
9.
There is an increasing need to develop optofluidic flow cytometers. Optofluidics, where optics and microfluidics work together to create novel functionalities on a small chip, holds great promise for lab-on-a-chip flow cytometry. The development of a low-cost, compact, handheld flow cytometer and microfluorescence-activated cell sorter system could have a significant impact on the field of point-of-care diagnostics, improving health care in, for example, underserved areas of Africa and Asia, that struggle with epidemics such as HIV∕AIDS. In this paper, we review recent advancements in microfluidics, on-chip optics, novel detection architectures, and integrated sorting mechanisms. 相似文献
10.
The architecture of microfluidic networks can significantly impact the flow distribution within its different branches and thereby influence tracer transport within the network. In this paper, we study the flow rate distribution within a network of parallel microfluidic channels with a single input and single output, using a combination of theoretical modeling and microfluidic experiments. Within the ladder network, the flow rate distribution follows a U-shaped profile, with the highest flow rate occurring in the initial and final branches. The contrast with the central branches is controlled by a single dimensionless parameter, namely, the ratio of hydrodynamic resistance between the distribution channel and the side branches. This contrast in flow rates decreases when the resistance of the side branches increases relative to the resistance of the distribution channel. When the inlet flow is composed of two parallel streams, one of which transporting a diffusing species, a concentration variation is produced within the side branches of the network. The shape of this concentration gradient is fully determined by two dimensionless parameters: the ratio of resistances, which determines the flow rate distribution, and the Péclet number, which characterizes the relative speed of diffusion and advection. Depending on the values of these two control parameters, different distribution profiles can be obtained ranging from a flat profile to a step distribution of solute, with well-distributed gradients between these two limits. Our experimental results are in agreement with our numerical model predictions, based on a simplified 2D advection-diffusion problem. Finally, two possible applications of this work are presented: the first one combines the present design with self-digitization principle to encapsulate the controlled concentration in nanoliter chambers, while the second one extends the present design to create a continuous concentration gradient within an open flow chamber. 相似文献
11.
Droplet microfluidics is a powerful method used to characterize chemical reactions at high throughput. Often detection is performed via in-line optical readout, which puts high demands on the detection system or makes detection of low concentration substrates challenging. Here, we have developed a droplet acoustofluidic chip for time-controlled reactions that can be combined with off-line optical readout. The principle of the platform is demonstrated by the enzymatic conversion of fluorescein diphosphate to fluorescein by alkaline phosphatase. The novelty of this work is that the time of the enzymatic reaction is controlled by physically removing the enzymes from the droplets instead of using chemical inhibitors. This is advantageous as inhibitors could potentially interact with the readout. Droplets containing substrate were generated on the chip, and enzyme-coupled microbeads were added into the droplets via pico-injection. The reaction starts as soon as the enzyme/bead complexes are added, and the reaction is stopped when the microbeads are removed from the droplets at a channel bifurcation. The encapsulated microbeads were focused in the droplets by acoustophoresis during the split, leaving the product in the side daughter droplet to be collected for the analysis (without beads). The time of the reaction was controlled by using different outlets, positioned at different lengths from the pico-injector. The enzymatic conversion could be measured with fluorescence readout in a separate PDMS based assay chip. We show the ability to perform time-controlled enzymatic assays in droplet microfluidics coupled to an off-line optical readout, without the need of enzyme inhibitors. 相似文献
12.
We here present and characterize a programmable nanoliter scale droplet-on-demand device that can be used separately or readily integrated into low cost single layer rapid prototyping microfluidic systems for a wide range of user applications. The passive microfluidic device allows external (off-the-shelf) electronically controlled pinch valves to program the delivery of nanoliter scale aqueous droplets from up to 9 different inputs to a central outlet channel. The inputs can be either continuous aqueous fluid streams or microliter scale aqueous plugs embedded in a carrier fluid, in which case the number of effective input solutions that can be employed in an experiment is no longer strongly constrained (100 s–1000 s). Both nanoliter droplet sequencing output and nanoliter-scale droplet mixing are reported with this device. Optimization of the geometry and pressure relationships in the device was achieved in several hardware iterations with the support of open source microfluidic simulation software and equivalent circuit models. The requisite modular control of pressure relationships within the device is accomplished using hydrodynamic barriers and matched resistance channels with three different channel heights, custom parallel reversible microfluidic I/O connections, low dead-volume pinch valves, and a simply adjustable array of external screw valves. Programmable sequences of droplet mixes or chains of droplets can be achieved with the device at low Hz frequencies, limited by device elasticity, and could be further enhanced by valve integration. The chip has already found use in the characterization of droplet bunching during export and the synthesis of a DNA library. 相似文献
13.
This paper examined the feasibility of a microfluidics chip for cell capturing and pairing with a high efficiency. The chip was fabricated by the polydimethylsiloxane-based soft-lithography technique and contained two suction duct arrays set in parallel on both sides of a main microchannel. Cells were captured and paired by activating two sets of suction ducts one by one with the help of syringe pumps along with switching the cell suspensions inside the main microchannel correspondingly. The effects of suction flow rate and the dimensions of suction channels on the cell capturing and pairing efficiency were characterized. The present chip was capable of creating 1024 pairs of two different cell populations in parallel. The preliminary experimental results showed that the cell capturing efficiency was 100% and the pairing one was 88% with an optimal suction rate of 5 μl/min in the chip in the 2 μm-sized suction duct chip. The cell viability after capture inside the microfluidic device was 90.0 ± 5.3%. With this cell capturing and pairing chip, interaction between cells in a single pair mode can be studied. The ability to create cell pairs has a number of biological applications for cell fusion, cell-cell interaction studies, and cell toxicity screening. 相似文献
14.
Spheroid culture is a preferable cell culture approach for some cell types, including hepatocytes, as this type of culture often allows maintenance of organ-specific functions. In this study, we describe a spheroid microarray chip (SM chip) that allows stable immobilization of hepatocyte spheroids in microwells and that can be used to evaluate drug metabolism with high efficiency. The SM chip consists of 300-μm-diameter cylindrical wells with chemically modified bottom faces that form a 100-μm-diameter cell adhesion region surrounded by a nonadhesion region. Primary hepatocytes seeded onto this chip spontaneously formed spheroids of uniform diameter on the cell adhesion region in each microwell and these could be used for cytochrome P-450 fluorescence assays. A row of microwells could also be connected to a microchannel for simultaneous detection of different cytochrome P-450 enzyme activities on a single chip. The miniaturized features of this SM chip reduce the numbers of cells and the amounts of reagents required for assays. The detection of four cytochrome P-450 enzyme activities was demonstrated following induction by 3-methylcholantlene, with a sensitivity significantly higher than that in conventional monolayer culture. This microfabricated chip could therefore serve as a novel culture platform for various cell-based assays, including those used in drug screening, basic biological studies, and tissue engineering applications. 相似文献
15.
Optical based analysis in microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip systems are currently considered the gold standard methodology for the determination of end point reactions for various chemical and biological reaction processes. Typically, assays are performed using bulky ancillary apparatus such as microscopes and complex optical excitation and detection systems. Such instrumentation negates many of the advantages offered by device miniaturisation, particularly with respect to overall portability. In this article, we present a CO2 laser ablation technique for rapidly prototyping on-chip planar lenses, in conjunction with capillary action based autonomous microfluidics, to create a miniaturised and fully integrated optical biosensing platform. The presented self-aligned on-chip optical components offer an efficient means to direct excitation light within microfluidics and to directly couple light from a LED source. The device has been used in conjunction with a miniaturised and bespoke fluorescence detection platform to create a complete, palm sized system (≈60 × 80 × 60 mm) capable of performing fluoro-immunoassays. The system has been applied to the detection of cardiac Troponin I, one of the gold standard biomarkers for the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, achieving a lower detection limit of 0.08 ng/ml, which is at the threshold of clinically applicable concentrations. The portable nature of the complete system and the biomarker detection capabilities demonstrate the potential of the devised instrumentation for use as a medical diagnostics device at the point of care. 相似文献
16.
This paper presents a convenient strategy to modify the surface of whole-Teflon microfluidic chips by coating the channel walls with a thin layer of polydopamine (PDA) film, which is formed by oxidation-induced self-polymerization of dopamine in alkaline solution. Two coating strategies, static incubation and dynamic flow, are demonstrated and used for tuning the physical and chemical properties of the coated channel walls. The functionalized surfaces were investigated with the contact angle, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy measurements. The coating time was optimized according to the fluorescent intensity of the green fluorescent protein immobilized on the modified surface. Applications of the PDA-modified Teflon microchips in bioanalysis were demonstrated with a typical sandwich immunoassay. Moreover, long-term cell culture experiments on modified and native Teflon chips revealed that the chip biocompatibility can be greatly improved with PDA coating. The results indicate that the surface properties of the Teflon can be easily controlled by the PDA modification, thus greatly expanding the application scope of whole-Teflon chips for various chemical and biological research fields. 相似文献
17.
Systematic characterization of degas-driven flow for poly(dimethylsiloxane) microfluidic devices 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
Degas-driven flow is a novel phenomenon used to propel fluids in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based microfluidic devices without requiring any external power. This method takes advantage of the inherently high porosity and air solubility of PDMS by removing air molecules from the bulk PDMS before initiating the flow. The dynamics of degas-driven flow are dependent on the channel and device geometries and are highly sensitive to temporal parameters. These dependencies have not been fully characterized, hindering broad use of degas-driven flow as a microfluidic pumping mechanism. Here, we characterize, for the first time, the effect of various parameters on the dynamics of degas-driven flow, including channel geometry, PDMS thickness, PDMS exposure area, vacuum degassing time, and idle time at atmospheric pressure before loading. We investigate the effect of these parameters on flow velocity as well as channel fill time for the degas-driven flow process. Using our devices, we achieved reproducible flow with a standard deviation of less than 8% for flow velocity, as well as maximum flow rates of up to 3 nL∕s and mean flow rates of approximately 1-1.5 nL∕s. Parameters such as channel surface area and PDMS chip exposure area were found to have negligible impact on degas-driven flow dynamics, whereas channel cross-sectional area, degas time, PDMS thickness, and idle time were found to have a larger impact. In addition, we develop a physical model that can predict mean flow velocities within 6% of experimental values and can be used as a tool for future design of PDMS-based microfluidic devices that utilize degas-driven flow. 相似文献
18.
Ramesh Ramji Ming Wang Ali Asgar S. Bhagat Daniel Tan Shao Weng Nitish V. Thakor Chwee Teck Lim Chia-Hung Chen 《Biomicrofluidics》2014,8(3)
Droplet-based microfluidics has shown potential in high throughput single cell assays by encapsulating individual cells in water-in-oil emulsions. Ordering cells in a micro-channel is necessary to encapsulate individual cells into droplets further enhancing the assay efficiency. This is typically limited due to the difficulty of preparing high-density cell solutions and maintaining them without cell aggregation in long channels (>5 cm). In this study, we developed a short pinched flow channel (5 mm) to separate cell aggregates and to form a uniform cell distribution in a droplet-generating platform that encapsulated single cells with >55% encapsulation efficiency beating Poisson encapsulation statistics. Using this platform and commercially available Sox substrates (8-hydroxy-5-(N,N-dimethylsulfonamido)-2-methylquinoline), we have demonstrated a high throughput dynamic single cell signaling assay to measure the activity of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) in lung cancer cells triggered by cell surface ligand binding. The phosphorylation of the substrates resulted in fluorescent emission, showing a sigmoidal increase over a 12 h period. The result exhibited a heterogeneous signaling rate in individual cells and showed various levels of drug resistance when treated with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, gefitinib. 相似文献
19.
Studying the effects of pharmacological agents on human endothelium includes the routine use of cell monolayers cultivated in multi-well plates. This configuration fails to recapitulate the complex architecture of vascular networks in vivo and does not capture the relationship between shear stress (i.e. flow) experienced by the cells and dose of the applied pharmacological agents. Microfluidic platforms have been applied extensively to create vascular systems in vitro; however, they rely on bulky external hardware to operate, which hinders the wide application of microfluidic chips by non-microfluidic experts. Here, we have developed a standalone perfusion platform where multiple devices were perfused at a time with a single miniaturized peristaltic pump. Using the platform, multiple micro-vessel networks, that contained three levels of branching structures, were created by culturing endothelial cells within circular micro-channel networks mimicking the geometrical configuration of natural blood vessels. To demonstrate the feasibility of our platform for drug testing and validation assays, a drug induced nitric oxide assay was performed on the engineered micro-vessel network using a panel of vaso-active drugs (acetylcholine, phenylephrine, atorvastatin, and sildenafil), showing both flow and drug dose dependent responses. The interactive effects between flow and drug dose for sildenafil could not be captured by a simple straight rectangular channel coated with endothelial cells, but it was captured in a more physiological branching circular network. A monocyte adhesion assay was also demonstrated with and without stimulation by an inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor-α. 相似文献