Inhalable particle is a harmful air pollutant that causes a significant threat to people's health and ecological environments,which should be removed to purify air,but there exists limited removal efficiency due to particle re-entrainment.Here,Operando observation system based on microscopic visualization method is developed to make in situ test of particle migration,deposition and re-entrainment characteristics on a lab-on-a-chip to achieve the investigation in micro-level scale.The deposition evolution of charged particles is recorded in electric field region intuitively,which confirms the fracture of particle chain occurs during the growth process of deposited particles.It captures the instantaneous process that a larger particle with micron size due to the coagulation of submicron particles fractures from main body of the particle chain for the first time.The analysis of migration behavior of a single submicron particle near electrode surface demonstrates the direct influence of drag force on the fracture of particle chain.This work is the first-time visualization of dynamic process and mechanism elucidation of particle re-entrainment at the micron level,and the findings will provide the theory support for the particle re-entrainment mechanism and bring inspires of enhancing capture efficiency of inhalable particle.
Rapid prototyping methods for the design and fabrication of polymeric labs-on-a-chip are on the rise,as they allow high degrees of precision and flexibility.For example,a microfluidic platform may require an optimization phase in which it could be necessary to continuously modify the architecture and geometry;however,this is only possible if easy,controllable fabrication methods and low-cost materials are available.In this paper,we describe the realization process of a microfluidic tool,from the computer-aided design(CAD)to the proof-of-concept application as a capture device for circulating tumor cells(CTCs).The entire platform was realized in polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA),combining femtosecond(fs)laser and micromilling fabrication technologies.The multilayer device was assembled through a facile and low-cost solvent-assisted method.A serpentine microchannel was then directly biofunctionalized by immobilizing capture probes able to distinguish cancer from non-cancer cells without labeling.The low material costs,customizable methods,and biological application of the realized platform make it a suitable model for industrial exploitation and applications at the point of care.
Chip-to-chip and world-to-chip fluidic interconnections are paramount to enable the passage of liquids between component chips and to/from microfluidic systems.Unfortunately,most interconnect designs add additional physical constraints to chips with each additional interconnect leading to over-constrained microfluidic systems.The competing constraints provided by multiple interconnects induce strain in the chips,creating indeterminate dead volumes and misalignment between chips that comprise the microfluidic system.A novel,gasketless superhydrophobic fluidic interconnect(GSFI)that uses capillary forces to form a liquid bridge suspended between concentric through-holes and acting as a fluid passage was investigated.The GSFI decouples the alignment between component chips from the interconnect function and the attachment of the meniscus of the liquid bridge to the edges of the holes produces negligible dead volume.This passive seal was created by patterning parallel superhydrophobic surfaces(water contact angle>150°)around concentric microfluidic ports separated by a gap.The relative position of the two polymer chips was determined by passive kinematic constraints,three spherical ball bearings seated in v-grooves.A leakage pressure model derived from the Young-Laplace equation was used to estimate the leakage pressure at failure for the liquid bridge.Injection-molded,Cyclic Olefin Copolymer(COC)chip assemblies with assembly gaps from 3 to 240μm were used to experimentally validate the model.The maximum leakage pressure measured for the GSFI was 21.4 kPa(3.1 psig),which corresponded to a measured mean assembly gap of 3μm,and decreased to 0.5 kPa(0.073 psig)at a mean assembly gap of 240μm.The effect of radial misalignment on the efficacy of the gasketless seals was tested and no significant effect was observed.This may be a function of how the liquid bridges are formed during the priming of the chip,but additional research is required to test that hypothesis.
Both clenbuterol(CLB)and ractopamine(RAC)areβ-adrenergic agonists.After long-term excessive intake,there will be adverse reactions such as headache,chest tightness,limb numbness,and serious lifethreatening.Simultaneous detection of CLB and RAC in related samples is of great importance for human health.In this work,we outline a microfluidics-based indirect competitive immunoassay(MICI)system that can sensitively detect residual CLB and RAC in pork,swine blood and swine urine.The rapid detection of multiple samples can be achieved in one chip,which greatly improves the detection efficiency.This method has good stability and reproducibility and the microfluidic chips are easy to manufacture.The linear ranges for CLB and RAC detection by MICI are 0.1-2.5 ng/mL and 0.1-5 ng/mL,and the limits of detection(LODs)are 0.094 ng/mL and 0.091 ng/mL,respectively.This straightforward and portable immunoassay system provides a good platform for rapid detection of harmful substances in food samples.
The field of microfluidics has been struggling to obtain widespread market penetration.In order to overcome this struggle,a standardized and modular platform is introduced and applied.By providing easy-to-fabricate modular building blocks which are compatible with mass manufacturing,we decrease the gap from lab-to-fab.These standardized blocks are used in combination with an application-specific fluidic circuit board.On this board,electrical and fluidic connections are demonstrated by implementing an alternating current Coulter counter.This multipurpose building block is reusable in many applications.In this study,it identifies and counts 6 and 11μm beads.The system is kept in a credit card-sized footprint,as a result of in-house-developed electronics and standardized building blocks.We believe that this easy-to-fabricate,credit card-sized,modular,and standardized prototype brings us closer to clinical and veterinary applications,because it provides an essential stepping stone to fully integrated point-of-care devices.
Stefan DekkerPelin Kubra IsgorTobias FeijtenLoes I.SegerinkMathieu Odijk
This paper proposes an additive nanomanufacturing approach to fabricate a personalized lab-on-a-chip fluorescent peptide nanoparticles （f-PNPs） array for simultaneous multi-biomarker detection that can be used in Alzheimer＇s disease （AD） diagnosis. We will discuss optimization techniques for the additive nanomanufacturing process in terms of reliability, yield and manufacturing efficiency. One contribution of this paper lies in utilization of additive nanomanufacturing techniques to fabricate a patient-specific customize-designed lab-on-a-chip device for personalized AD diagnosis, which remains a major challenge for biomedical engineering. Through the integrated bio-design and bio-manufacturing process, doctor＇s check- up and computer-aided customized design are integrated into the lab-on-a-chip array for patient-specific AD diagnosis. In addition, f-PNPs with targeting moieties for personalized AD biomarkers will be self-assembled onto the customized lab-on-a- chip through the additive nanomanufacturing process, which has not been done before. Another contribution of this research is the personalized lab-on-a-chip f-PNPs array for AD diagnosis utilizing limited human blood. Blood-based AD assessment has been described as ＂the holy grail＂ of early AD detection. This research created the computer-aided design, fabrication through additive nanomanufacturing, and validation of the f-PNPs array for AD diagnosis. This is a highly interdisciplinary research contributing to nanotechnology, biomaterials, and biomedical engineering for neurodegenerative disease. The conceptual work is preliminary with intent to introduce novel techniques to the application. Large-scale manufacturing based on the proposed framework requires extensive validation and optimization.
A novel miniaturized microfluidic platform was developed for the simultaneous detection and removal of polybrominated diphenyl ethers （PBDEs）. The platform consists of a polydimethylsiloxane （PDMS） microfluidic chip for an immunoreaction step, a PDMS chip with an integrated screen-printed electrode （SPCE） for detection, and a PDMS-reduced graphene oxide （rGO） chip for physical adsorption and subsequent removal of PBDE residues. The detection was based on competitive immunoassay-linked binding between PBDE and PBDE modified with horseradish peroxidase （HRP-PBDE） followed by the monitoring of enzymatic oxidation of o-aminophenol （o-AP） using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry （SW-ASV）. PBDE was detected with good sensitivity and a limit of detection similar to that obtained with a commercial colorimetric test （0.018 ppb）, but with the advantage of using lower reagent volumes and a reduced analysis time. The use of microfluidic chips also provides improved linearity and a better reproducibility in comparison to those obtained with batch-based measurements using screen-printed electrodes. In order to design a detection system suitable for toxic compounds such as PBDEs, a reduced graphene oxide-PDMS composite was developed and optimized to obtain increased adsorption （based on both the hydrophobicity and rr-v~ stacking between rGO and PBDE molecules） compared to those of non-modified PDMS. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of electrochemical detection of flame retardants and a novel application of the rGO-PDMS composite in a biosensing system. This system can be easily applied to detect any analyte using the appropriate immunoassay and it supports operation in complex matrices such as seawater.
A pocket holographic slide enables the high-throughput screening of fluid samples by embedding micro-optics directly on a microchannel to achieve off-axis interferometric imaging.This holographic slide can be used to turn a conventional microscope into a phase-contrast imager or as a stand-alone compact imaging device by incorporating polymer lenses that are printed directly on-chip.For decades,researchers have been developing lab-on-a-chip(LoC)technologies integrated with optics in an attempt to bring sensitive diagnostic measurements to practical and fully contained systems,which can be used at the point-of-care and in resource-limited settings1.Digital holography(DH)is an imaging technique that is particularly well suited for LoC technologies because(i)it is label-free,which means that it does not require any sample pretreatment or labeling steps,thus forgoing the need for costly reagents and their refrigeration,and(ii)it can be easily incorporated with fluids to quickly screen large volumes of biofluids such as blood,serum,urine and saliva.
