Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Bei Zheng, Cheng-Yu Li, Sha Huang, Zhi-Ling Zhang, Qiong-Shui Wu, Dai-Wen Pang, Hong-Wu Tang
Summary: A special fluorescence activated cell sorting platform assisted by optical tweezers (FACS-OT) in a microfluidic chip is developed to achieve stable and accurate analysis and sorting of single cells, offering a special strategy for studying heterogeneity in single cell.
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Kai Zhao, Penglu Zhao, Jianhong Dong, Yunman Wei, Bin Chen, Yanjuan Wang, Xinxiang Pan, Junsheng Wang
Summary: This study demonstrates the successful isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood cells using a combination of dielectrophoresis and magnetophoresis in a microfluidic chip. The results show the potential application of this method in diagnostics.
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Yu-Jia Wei, Ya-Nan Zhao, Xuan Zhang, Xing Wei, Ming-Li Chen, Xu-Wei Chen
Summary: Nowadays, biochemical analysis, such as cell analysis, disease diagnosis and treatment, environmental monitoring, and food safety, is receiving increasing attention. Optically integrated microfluidic technology combines the benefits of high sensitivity, fast detection, and excellent selectivity. By utilizing flexible optical detection techniques and precisely-controlled fluidics, microfluidic chips enable high throughput analysis, reduced reagent consumption, and decreased assay expenditure. This review introduces the integration of microfluidic chips with various optical detection techniques and their applications in biochemical analysis, and also discusses the future prospects of optically integrated microfluidic chips.
TRAC-TRENDS IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Physics, Applied
Xionggui Tang, Yanhua Xu, Zijie Yan
Summary: The researchers proposed an optical tweezer with tunable potential wells by manipulating the phase gradient of light, allowing for versatile optical nanomanipulation. The tunable optical tweezer offers benefits such as flexible design, easy control, and high tunability, providing a new tool for exploring novel functions in optical nanomanipulation.
APPLIED PHYSICS EXPRESS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Gareth W. H. Evans, Wahida T. Bhuiyan, Susan Pang, Brett Warren, Kyriacos Makris, Sharon Coleman, Sammer-ul Hassan, Xize Niu
Summary: Real-time point-of-care monitoring of chemical biomarkers holds great potential in disease diagnostics and precision medicine. A prototype device described in this paper is capable of autonomously performing ELISA at a high frequency using droplet microfluidics, showing promising results for rapid and accurate detection of biomarkers like cortisol. This approach could serve as a platform technology for measurement or continuous monitoring of biomarkers at the point-of-care.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Pouya Sharbati, Abdolali K. Sadaghiani, Ali Kosar
Summary: This study presents a new dielectrophoretic-based microfluidic device that can accurately separate multiple particle/cell types. The device utilizes cylindrical and sidewall electrodes and has three outlets for different particles. Experiment using various types of particles showed that the device achieved a separation efficiency of 95.5% when sidewall electrodes of 200 mu m were used. The device performed best at different voltages for each separation step, and the electric field remained below the cell electroporation threshold.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Can Huang, Song- Han, Han Zhang, Arum Han
Summary: Microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems provide cost-effective and time-efficient biological assays at a small volume scale. Dielectrophoretic (DEP)-based manipulation technologies, due to their label-free and high selectivity natures, have been extensively developed for accurate and specific cell and reagent control. This article provides a tutorial on developing DEP-based microfluidic systems, including theory, simulation, microfabrication, and applications. Possible future directions on utilizing DEP-based technologies to overcome challenges and improve microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems are suggested.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIOMEDICAL CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Yanqi Wu, Alastair G. Stewart, Peter V. S. Lee
Summary: This study developed a high-throughput microfluidic compressibility cytometry approach using multi-tilted-angle surface acoustic wave for rapid measurement of thousands of single-cell compressibility. Experimental validation and characterization of tumor cells showed the potential utility of high-throughput mechanophenotyping.
Article
Optics
Yuzhi Shi, Yongfeng Wu, Lip Ket Chin, Zhenyu Li, Jingquan Liu, Mu Ku Chen, Shubo Wang, Yi Zhang, Patricia Yang Liu, Xiaohong Zhou, Hong Cai, Wanzhen Jin, Yefeng Yu, Ruozhen Yu, Wei Huang, Peng Huat Yap, Limin Xiao, Wee Ser, Thi Thanh Binh Nguyen, Yu-Tsung Lin, Pin Chieh Wu, Jiayan Liao, Fan Wang, C. T. Chan, Yuri Kivshar, Din Ping Tsai, Ai Qun Liu
Summary: This study demonstrates a multifunctional virus manipulation technique that enables efficient trapping and manipulation of arbitrary number of viruses. Enhanced optical forces are produced by fine tuning of interference resonances in engineered arrays of nanocavities, allowing trapping and manipulation of viruses as small as 40 nm. This technique opens up new opportunities for studying virus pathogenesis and inhibitor development.
LASER & PHOTONICS REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hao Yang, Mingjie Zhu, Tao Chen, Fuzhou Niu, Lining Sun, Liang Cheng
Summary: Cell mechanics is closely related to cellular functions and can serve as an effective biomarker for disease onset and progression. However, current techniques for measuring cell mechanical properties have limited data and biological significance. This study proposes a dielectrophoresis-based solution that combines a microfluidic device and an automatic control scheme to automatically obtain cell mechanical data. Experiments demonstrate the automation capability of this device.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Pisrut Phummirat, Nicholas Mann, Daryl Preece
Summary: Optical tweezers have been proven as a useful tool for improving human understanding of the microscopic world with broad applications across science since their inception. In recent years, they have found appealing applications in the field of biomedical engineering, particularly with the utilization of metallic nanostructures like gold nanoparticles. Recent research progress in utilizing optically trapped gold nanomaterials for bioengineering problems has been highlighted, with discussions on challenges and future directions in this field.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Riccardo Zamboni, Carlos Sebastian-Vicente, Cornelia Denz, Joerg Imbrock
Summary: This study presents an electro-coalescence method for microfluidic droplet surfactant-stabilized emulsion based on light-induced virtual electrodes. By adjusting the exposure time, droplet pairs can be selectively coalesced or the entire emulsion can be dispersed.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nicholas A. W. Bell, Justin E. Molloy
Summary: The paper introduces a simple and fast technique for creating diverse DNA constructs by combining PCR amplicons and synthetic oligonucleotides using golden gate assembly rules. The method allows for high-yield fabrication of torsionally-constrained DNA and various DNA hairpin structures, as well as improving measurement lifetime.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Chia-Ling Hung, Ying-Chuan Kao, Jia-Yang Juang
Summary: Through studying two-sphere particles, it was found that the crossover frequency of a two-sphere particle is lower than that of a single sphere due to the competing effect of volume and surface area. Additionally, a relationship formula was discovered between the crossover frequency of an n-sphere chain and that of a single sphere, which is independent of sphere size, medium conductivity, and functional group.
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL
(2021)
Article
Biology
Martin Rieu, Jessica Valle-Orero, Bertrand Ducos, Jean-Francois Allemand, Vincent Croquette
Summary: The researchers introduced a single-molecule manipulation method called kinetic locking based on magnetic tweezers, which enables direct detection of biomolecular binding without the use of fluorescent probes. By measuring the dynamic interactions of E. coli RecQ helicase with its DNA substrate, they demonstrated the potential of this method for studying DNA-DNA and DNA-protein interactions while avoiding the need for labeling. This fluorescence-free micro-manipulation technique allows functional characterization of DNA/RNA processing proteins, without interference from labels.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2021)