Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Peixian Li, Jianwei Zhong, Ning Liu, Xiaoguang Lu, Minhui Liang, Ye Ai
Summary: The study introduces a novel acoustofluidic sorting device that enables continuous separation of particles based on multiple physical properties. This device utilizes sound wave technology to improve accuracy and efficiency, successfully sorting particles at the micrometer level.
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Xiaoguang Lu, Joycelyn Jia Ming Chow, Seok Hwee Koo, Boran Jiang, Thean Yen Tan, Dahou Yang, Ye Ai
Summary: A novel inertial microfluidic method has been developed to effectively sort bacteria from larger blood cells, improving pathogen detection efficiency and accuracy.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Dina Hussein Yamin, Azlan Husin, Azian Harun
Summary: Catheter-related bloodstream infection, caused by various nosocomial pathogens, is an important healthcare-associated infection, with Candida parapsilosis emerging as a crucial causative agent in the last two decades. Factors such as ICU admission were found to be significantly associated with non-CRBSI, while TPN was significantly positively associated with CRBSI. Patients admitted in ICU were less likely to develop C. parapsilosis CRBSI, while patients receiving TPN were more likely to have C. parapsilosis CRBSI compared to the non-CRBSI group.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Yen-Mu Wu, Po-Yen Huang, Yi-Chuan Cheng, Chih-Hua Lee, Meng-Chieh Hsu, Jang-Jih Lu, Shao-Hung Wang
Summary: Coinfection with Candida and Staphylococcus results in higher mortality in both patients and in vivo surrogate models. The study demonstrates that during co-biofilm formation, C. albicans and S. aureus exhibit enhanced virulence contributing to the high mortality rate observed in mixed BSIs.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Gaole Yuan, Yingqiu Tu, Lili Liu, Tiantian Xu
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of fluconazole combined with caspofungin in treating Candida bloodstream infection in premature infants. Results showed that the treatment regimen successfully eliminated persistent candidemia without significant adverse effects. While the results were promising, further large-scale clinical trials are needed to validate the safety and efficacy of this treatment approach.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Yan Qiao, Zhaoyu Tao, Feiran Hao, Yongqiang Huang, Hong Sun, Pu Guo
Summary: This study retrospectively collected clinical data of 163 patients with Candida bloodstream infection and found that the distribution of Candida strains, drug susceptibility, clinical characteristics, and certain risk factors are associated with the prognosis of the infection.
INFECTION AND DRUG RESISTANCE
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Yao-Sheng Wang, Jen-Fu Hsu, Wei-Ju Lee, Shao-Hung Wang, Shih-Ming Chu, Hsuan-Rong Huang, Peng-Hong Yang, Ren-Huei Fu, Ming-Horng Tsai
Summary: This study investigated the clinical characteristics, risk factors, and outcomes of Candida parapsilosis bloodstream infections (BSIs) in pediatric patients in Taiwan. Pediatric patients with C. parapsilosis BSIs were more likely to have previous azole exposure and be on total parenteral nutrition. The duration of C. parapsilosis candidemia was longer, and patients often required a longer duration of antifungal treatment.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Guillaume de Timary, Jean Cappello, Benoit Scheid
Summary: In this study, we investigated the impact of inertia on the dynamics of neutrally buoyant spherical microbeads in a pinch flow fractionation device. Our findings provided insights into the optimal flow conditions for significantly enhancing size-based separation of microbeads.
MICROFLUIDICS AND NANOFLUIDICS
(2023)
Review
Immunology
Sherry A. Dunbar, Christopher Gardner, Shubhagata Das
Summary: This article describes the application of two rapid, molecular bloodstream infection panels that can identify the most common pathogens and associated genetic determinants of antibiotic resistance, providing clinicians with faster information for treatment. Molecular testing methods reduce the turnaround time for diagnosing bloodstream pathogens to a few hours, helping to initiate timely and effective treatment.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Cynthia Ortiz-Roa, Martha Carolina Valderrama-Rios, Sebastian Felipe Sierra-Umana, Jose Yesid Rodriguez, Gerardo Antonio Muneton-Lopez, Carlos Augusto Solorzano-Ramos, Patricia Escandon, Carlos Arturo Alvarez-Moreno, Jorge Alberto Cortes
Summary: Candida auris infection is associated with lower mortality in adult patients with candidemia compared to other Candida species, and it does not affect the length of hospital stay in surviving patients.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Caitlin Keighley, Alun L. Pope, Debbie Marriott, Sharon C-A Chen, Monica A. Slavin
Summary: Time-to-positivity is associated with the outcome of candidaemia, with shorter time being associated with higher mortality. Different Candida species also have different mortality rates in candidaemia.
Article
Microbiology
Wei-Ju Lee, Jen-Fu Hsu, Yu-Ning Chen, Shao-Hung Wang, Shih-Ming Chu, Hsuan-Rong Huang, Peng-Hong Yang, Ren-Huei Fu, Ming-Horng Tsai
Summary: Mixed Candida/bacterial bloodstream infections in children do not independently predict treatment failure or final mortality, but are associated with a higher risk of subsequent bacteremia and a relatively higher candidemia-attributable mortality rate.
Article
Medical Laboratory Technology
Huimin Li, Zhen Wang, Xuehua Li
Summary: The study identified G-CSF and IL-6 as cytokines with diagnostic significance in distinguishing Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae bacterial bloodstream infections. Combining these two cytokines improved diagnostic efficiency, suggesting further investigation into the diagnostic potential of G-CSF in different types of bacterial infections is warranted.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL LABORATORY ANALYSIS
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Zhen Chen, Xiaoqing Guo, Peter Y. M. Woo, Yixuan Yuan
Summary: By proposing a framework that enhances medical image diagnosis using super-resolution techniques, this paper effectively utilizes global and local features. Through the joint use of original images and high-resolution images, and the introduction of new constraints, the diagnostic performance of medical images is significantly improved.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MEDICAL IMAGING
(2021)
Article
Medical Laboratory Technology
Chendi Jing, Hongbin Chen, Yong Liang, Ying Zhong, Qi Wang, Lifeng Li, Shijun Sun, Yifan Guo, Ruobing Wang, Zhi Jiang, Hui Wang
Summary: The mNGS workflow showed a high clinical sensitivity of 87.1%, improved clinical specificity of 80.2%, and reduced false-positive results by utilizing multiple control groups. This optimization can enhance the utility of mNGS as a powerful tool for identifying pathogens in bloodstream infections.
CLINICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Peixian Li, Ye Ai
Summary: Biophysical markers of cells have shown promise in studying, characterizing, and classifying different cell types. The lack of cell sorting ability based on multivariate biophysical markers presents a challenge in isolating specific cell types. This study demonstrates label-free and high-throughput acoustic single-cell sorting activated by the characterization of multivariate biophysical phenotypes, providing a solution to the challenges of cell purification without specific molecular biomarkers.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Minhui Liang, Dahou Yang, Yinning Zhou, Peixian Li, Jianwei Zhong, Ye Ai
Summary: The study introduces a high-throughput cellular mechanical phenotyping technique based on a microfluidic system, which extracts cell mechanical characteristics through rapid single-cell hydrodynamic stretching and successfully measures the deformability differences of cells.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Xiaoguang Lu, Mahnoush Tayebi, Ye Ai
Summary: The study developed an inertial microfluidics-based cell sorter for high-throughput isolation and enrichment of WBCs, providing an efficient and effective platform for WBC separation. The sorter is designed to enable broad application for size-based inertial cell sorting and can further enrich specific cell types using different microchips with varying cutoff sizes.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Seok Hwee Koo, Boran Jiang, Pei Qi Lim, My-Van La, Thean Yen Tan
Summary: The study developed a reliable laboratory-developed multiplex qPCR assay for detecting four clinically important CAP-associated microorganisms in Asia, with the potential to provide improved diagnostic capabilities, leading to better treatment outcomes for patients and cost savings in healthcare.
TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND HYGIENE
(2021)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jianwei Zhong, Peixian Li, Minhui Liang, Ye Ai
Summary: The importance of cryopreservation for long-term storage of primary cell samples is highlighted, with special emphasis on the challenges of low viability and cell fragmentation. A label-free viability assessment and on-demand enrichment system for cryopreserved primary human PBMCs with over 90% viability of sorted samples in one step after thawing is demonstrated. This integrated system has broad applications in diverse cellular biology research and cell-related biomedical diagnostics.
ADVANCED MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Xiaoguang Lu, Ye Ai
Summary: A centrifuge-free and automatic cell wash platform, Puriogen, has been developed for efficient cell purification and has broad applications in cell preparation.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Minhui Liang, Jianwei Zhong, Ye Ai
Summary: Cellular mechanical properties play a significant role in cell state and health. Microfluidic mechanical phenotyping methods are promising tools that can address the limitations of traditional approaches. This study comprehensively compares two types of microfluidic cellular mechanical phenotyping methods and provides important findings.
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Li Liang, Xuejia Hu, Yang Shi, Shukun Zhao, Qinghao Hu, Minhui Liang, Ye Ai
Summary: This paper introduces a novel optofluidic method for fabricating tunable liquid microlens arrays (MLAs) and demonstrates their ability to achieve tunable focusing and high-quality imaging. The focal length of the MLAs can be adjusted by changing the refractive index of the liquid droplets, showing promising opportunities for various applications.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Jianwei Zhong, Qiang Tang, Minhui Liang, Ye Ai
Summary: This article proposes a microfluidic high-throughput impedance cytometry using a unique coplanar electrode configuration, which eliminates height-dependent sensitivity variation and enables accurate electrical cell profiling. The proposed technology can accurately classify and quantify both leukocytes and erythrocytes, offering red blood cell indices for diagnosis.
SENSORS AND ACTUATORS B-CHEMICAL
(2022)
Article
Biophysics
Minhui Liang, Qiang Tang, Jianwei Zhong, Ye Ai
Summary: Microfluidics provides a powerful platform for biological analysis by precisely manipulating fluids and microparticles. The imaging and impedance cell analyzer (IM2Cell) introduced here combines single cell level impedance analysis and hydrodynamic mechanical phenotyping, demonstrating multi-stress level mechanical phenotyping capabilities. IM2Cell can characterize cell diameter, deformability responses, and electrical properties, providing high-dimensional information about subcellular components. It has been validated for different cell lines and shows potential for deformability studies of PBMC subpopulations.
BIOSENSORS & BIOELECTRONICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jianwei Zhong, Minhui Liang, Ye Ai
Summary: Co-encapsulation of bead carriers and biological cells in microfluidics has become a powerful technique for various biological assays in single-cell genomics and drug screening. However, current co-encapsulation approaches limit the effective throughput due to a trade-off between cell/bead pairing rate and probability of multiple cells in individual droplets. The DUPLETS system is reported to overcome this problem by differentiating the encapsulated content in individual droplets and sorting out targeted droplets via a combined screening of mechanical and electrical characteristics.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Jianwei Zhong, Minhui Liang, Qiang Tang, Ye Ai
Summary: By introducing a label-free selectable cell quantity encapsulation in droplets sorting system, the purity and throughput of single-cell droplets can be improved. This system combines electrical impedance based screening with biocompatible acoustic sorting to achieve high efficiency and throughput while removing multi-cells and empty droplets.
MATERIALS TODAY BIO
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jiahong Chen, Jianwei Zhong, Yifu Chang, Yinning Zhou, Seok Hwee Koo, Thean Yen Tan, Hongtao Lei, Ye Ai
Summary: Antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat to global public health. A label-free electrical impedance-based microfluidic platform has been designed to expedite and streamline antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) for clinical practice, with a rapid 2-minute AST assay at the single-bacterium level. This platform enables accurate analysis of bacterial viability and determination of antimicrobial resistance.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Jiahong Chen, Jianwei Zhong, Hongtao Lei, Ye Ai
Summary: This study presents a novel microfluidic electrical impedance-based multidimensional single-bacterium profiling system that can detect bacteria in a wide concentration range and accurately differentiate their viability and gram types. The system utilizes multi-frequency impedance quantification to analyze the size, concentration, and membrane impedance of bacteria in a single flow-through interrogation. The system has been demonstrated to have a wide bacterial counting range and can rapidly and accurately discriminate the viability and gram types of bacteria in a label-free manner.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Xiaoguang Lu, Ye Ai
Summary: A centrifuge-free and automatic cell wash platform, Puriogen, has been developed in this study, which can efficiently remove interfering substances from cell samples, improve cell wash efficiency and cell viability, and has broad applications in cell preparation.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)