Article
Engineering, Chemical
Kaihui Cui, Kun Huang
Summary: The study reveals that the extraction and separation behaviors of target metal ions in microchannels are closely related to the changes in hydrodynamic parameters of the organic and aqueous phases, which can be controlled to achieve controllable separation of target ions.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Jialin Wu, Hui Fang, Jun Zhang, Sheng Yan
Summary: The advancement of microfluidics has led to significant discoveries and technologies in life sciences. However, the lack of industry standards and configurability has made the design and fabrication of microfluidic devices challenging. Modular microfluidics, which integrates standardized microfluidic modules into a complex platform, offers portability, on-site deployability, and high customization. In this review, we discuss the working mechanisms of basic microfluidic modules, their feasibility as modular components, connection approaches, advantages over integrated microfluidics, and future perspectives.
JOURNAL OF NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Mechanics
Jinggang Zhang, Xitong Zhang, Wei Zhao, Haihu Liu, Youhua Jiang
Summary: In this study, the generation of surfactant-laden droplets in a T-junction was simulated using a lattice Boltzmann method. The concentration of surfactants was found to affect the droplet generation regime, shifting from squeezing to dripping and then to jetting as the surfactant concentration increases. The influence of surfactants on the upstream pressure and the role of surfactants under different capillary numbers were also investigated. Additionally, phase diagrams were established to describe the variation of the droplet generation regime with flow rate ratio and capillary number in both clean and surfactant-laden systems.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Shuntaro Mori, Takumi Ito, Hidekuni Takao, Fusao Shimokawa, Kyohei Terao
Summary: In order to accurately reproduce organs in vitro and improve drug screening efficiency and regenerative medicine research, a method to assemble cells with single-cell resolution into cell clusters has been developed. A platform using optically driven microtools in a microfluidic device was used for on-site cell assembly. The microtool, fabricated by SU-8 photolithography, captured cells through the bindings between antibodies on the microtool and surface antigens on the cell membrane. The platform has the potential to produce cell clusters resembling tissues and organs in vivo, which is important in regenerative medicine and drug screening.
IET NANOBIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Yaran Yin, Xianming Zhang, Chunying Zhu, Taotao Fu, Youguang Ma
Summary: This study investigated the hydrodynamics and gas-liquid mass transfer of CO2-monoethanolamine (MEA) aqueous solution in a cross-flow T-junction microchannel. The study compared two operation modes and found that the liquid-side mass transfer coefficient is more likely to be affected by the liquid rate. Additionally, it was observed that in OM-1 there is a more dispersed gas-liquid distribution, enhancing mass transfer but also increasing pressure drop, while in OM-2 there is a narrower residence time distribution in the liquid phase and better mass transfer performance under a strict energy requirement.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Physics, Applied
Ji-Xiang Wang, Wei Yu, Zhe Wu, Xiangdong Liu, Yongping Chen
Summary: This study focuses on modeling and predicting the characteristics of droplet formation in microfluidic cross-junctions using statistical learning techniques. The newly developed Deep-FM algorithm demonstrates a high prediction accuracy, contributing to advancements in microfluidic physics research and industrial applications.
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Wenxing Sun, Xunli Zhang, Chaoqun Yao, Qingqiang Wang, Nan Jin, Hongying Lv, Yuchao Zhao
Summary: In this study, a method based on Pickering emulsion systems (PES) was proposed for manipulating multiphase processes containing solid particles in microchannels without adhesion and accumulation. The characteristics of PES, SS, and VFS in a microchannel were systematically characterized, revealing that flow patterns depend on factors such as surface hydrophobicity, particle amount, viscosity, and flow rate. A scaling law of droplet size was established as a function of various parameters, showing how superficial velocity influences flow pattern transitions.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Qiang Zhang, Zhengya Dong, Shuainan Zhao, Zhikai Liu, Guangwen Chen
Summary: The study focuses on the impact of ultrasound on gas-liquid Taylor flow in ultrasonic microreactors, showing that bubble oscillation and mass transfer behavior are influenced by both frequency and channel dimensions. Bubble oscillation amplitude decreases with smaller channel dimensions, and more significant mass transfer enhancement is observed at lower frequencies. The addition of surfactant can further increase the mass transfer effect.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2021)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Lin Sheng, Kai Wang, Jian Deng, Guangwen Chen, Guangsheng Luo
Summary: This article summarizes recent research progress on gas-liquid microdispersion devices and microflow regulation technology for enhancing CO2 capture and utilization. It introduces low-energy CO2 absorbents and the utilization of CO2 sources in microreactors. Furthermore, it identifies bottlenecks and opportunities for gas-liquid microreaction technology and proposes further research directions.
CURRENT OPINION IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Haiyun Ma, Qiankun Zhao, Chaoqun Yao, Yuchao Zhao, Guangwen Chen
Summary: The hydrodynamics of liquid-liquid slug flow with various fluid systems were investigated to reveal the viscous effects of both phases. The study discussed the operation range, droplet formation, film thickness, and pressure drop of slug flow. Results showed the importance of inertia and viscous forces in flow pattern transition, leading to the adoption of a universal flow map and new empirical correlations for droplet formation and pressure drop.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Martin Kaiser, Sofia S. Kantorovich
Summary: Cubic shaped micrometer and nanometer sized colloids have received less attention in the field of active matter research. This article presents simulations on the hydrodynamic interactions of active cubes with planar and curved boundaries in microchannels. The study reveals that cubes exhibit linear motion near the channel center under certain conditions, unlike other particle shapes that show oscillatory behavior. This highlights the unique hydrodynamic shape of cubes and emphasizes the importance of exploring their potential in colloidal active matter research.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Daniel Widerker, Federico Paratore, Moran Bercovici, Govind Kaigala
Summary: This paper introduces a device and method for rapid prototyping of biochips using a fluidic biomill for mechanical structuring and biofunctionalization of microfluidic channels. The study demonstrates that this method can fabricate fully functional biochips in a short period of time.
ADVANCED MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Tingting Chen, Licong Cui, Wang He, Renxing Liu, Chengqiang Feng, Lei Wu, Yang Wang, Huiyun Liu, Linmao Qian, Bingjun Yu
Summary: As important components in microfluidic chip analysis systems, micromixers have shown wide applications. However, due to fabrication limitations, it is still challenging to achieve high-quality micromixers with both well-designed structures and efficient mixing. This study proposes a method based on the theory of chaotic mixing to design and fabricate sinusoidal structures with variable phases. The results demonstrate that the scratched traces with phase differences can resist etching, leading to the generation of misaligned sine channels with alternating 3D shapes. Further analysis shows that reducing the line spacing in scratching can result in a thicker a-Si layer. With the proposed method, a misaligned sine micromixer with higher mixing efficiency is achieved. The study also investigates the duplicating process for high-precision production of micromixers. Overall, this research provides strategies for miniaturizing high-performance microfluidic chips.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Wasim Khan, Abhishek K. Chandra, Sadhana Sachan, Mohammad Siraj Alam
Summary: The study investigated the two-phase flow of a water-cyclohexane immiscible system in Y-junction microchannels under slug flow regime. Results showed that the slug volume decreases linearly with an increase in flow rate, with a higher rate of declination in water than cyclohexane. Additionally, smaller diameter channels exhibited a more pronounced decrease in slug volume compared to larger diameter channels under identical conditions.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Bushra Khatoon, Shabih Ul Hasan, M. Siraj Alam
Summary: Numerical and experimental studies were conducted to analyze the hydrodynamics and volumetric mass transfer coefficient (k(L)a) in a cross-T junction microchannel for gas-liquid, two phase flow system. The simulations and experiments focused on CO2-water and other CO2-solvent systems, investigating factors such as film thickness and temperature. The results show that the total volumetric mass transfer coefficient increases with gas velocity but decreases with increasing film thickness and temperature.
Review
Biochemical Research Methods
Fei Tian, Lili Cai, Chao Liu, Jiashu Sun
Summary: Functional nanoparticles (NPs) have immense potential in various fields due to their unique properties related to size or morphology. Microfluidic technologies are versatile toolkits for manufacturing NPs in a highly controlled manner with low variability between batches. Future directions in microfluidic fabrication inclu
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Ruochen Liu, Wenming Yang, Wanzhen Xu, Junyang Deng, Chenming Ding, Yifu Guo, Lei Zheng, Jiashu Sun, Mengmeng Li
Summary: This review article summarizes the recent advances on the effect of molecular design on the polymer packing orientation, focusing on the key structural factor of side chains and the modulation of π-π interactions and conjugation length in solid states.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Yangchang Cheng, Shaohua Zhang, Lili Qin, Junxiang Zhao, Hua Song, Yang Yuan, Jiashu Sun, Fei Tian, Chao Liu
Summary: In this study, a microfluidic method based on poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) concentration gradient was developed for rapid, label-free, and highly efficient isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from whole blood samples. By co-injecting blood sample spiked with 0.025% PEO as the side fluid and 0.075% PEO solution as the center fluid, stable concentration gradients of PEO were formed within the microchannel. The competition between elastic lift force and inertial lift force enabled size-based separation of CTCs and blood cells, with a processing capacity of 1 mL of blood sample in 30 min, separation efficiency >90%, and enrichment ratio >700 for tumor cells. Immunofluorescence staining of the isolated CTCs allowed for accurate discrimination of breast cancer patients from healthy donors with an accuracy of 84.2%. The concentration gradient-based microfluidic separation provides a powerful tool for label-free isolation of CTCs for various clinical applications.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Jiuhong Yi, Zexiang Wang, Jing Hu, Ting Yu, Yidan Wang, Pengfei Ge, Yunlei Xianyu
Summary: In this work, a plasmonic sensing approach using core-shell Au@Ag nanostars is developed for the determination of antioxidants based on their anti-etching capacity. The nanostars can be etched by chloroauric acid, but antioxidants can prevent the etching. By modulating the shell thickness and nanostructure morphology, the nanostars with the thinnest shell show the best etching sensitivity. The anti-etching effect of antioxidants induces changes in SPR spectrum and solution color, facilitating both quantitative detection and naked-eye readout.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ting Yu, Ying Fu, Jintao He, Jun Zhang, Yunlei Xianyu
Summary: We developed a rapid, facile, and sensitive technique for determining the antibiotic resistance phenotype among ESKAPE pathogens using plasmonic nanosensors and machine learning. This machine-learning-based approach can identify antibiotic-resistant pathogens from patients within 20 minutes with an overall accuracy of 89.74%. It holds great promise as a clinical tool for biomedical diagnosis.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Yidan Wang, Yunlei Xianyu
Summary: This study reports a colorimetric sensing strategy based on the coordination chemistry between ascorbic acid 2-phosphate (AAP) and copper ions. The AAP with phosphate group can coordinate with copper ions, resulting in a color change from blue to green, which can be easily detected by the naked eye or a smartphone based on the blue-to-green (B/G) ratio. This coordination chemistry offers a facile and convenient approach for designing colorimetric assays. Alkaline phosphatase can modulate the AAP/AA transformation and the AAP-mediated coordination, providing a straightforward method for monitoring enzymatic activity. This colorimetric sensing strategy exhibits excellent stability, sensitivity, cost-effectiveness, and scalability, showing great potential as a point-of-care technique for diagnostic applications.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jinjie Hou, Yunlei Xianyu
Summary: With diverse structures, tunable enzymatic activity, and high stability, nanozymes are widely used in various fields such as medicine, chemistry, food, and environment. They have gained increasing attention as an alternative to traditional antibiotics. Developing antibacterial materials based on nanozymes opens up a new avenue for bacterial disinfection and sterilization.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ruijie Fu, Yunlei Xianyu
Summary: Due to their simple design and precise targeting, CRISPR-Cas systems have attracted significant interest for biosensing. These systems have the capacity to recognize and cleave specific DNA and RNA sequences, making them suitable for biosensing by degrading tagged nucleic acids to produce detectable signals.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jiuhong Yi, Yunlei Xianyu
Summary: This paper reports a simple sensor based on paper, which takes advantage of the easily accessible paper and the plasmonic property of gold nanomaterials. The versatility of the paper substrate allows for the facile immobilization of gold nanostars by a simple immersing method, which is easy to operate and free from specialized skills and equipment. In addition, the readout of the paper strip can be conveniently visualized by the naked eye or through a smartphone. This paper-based sensor has the advantages of low cost, light weight, easy handling, and disposability, which holds great promise as a point-of-care detection platform in resource-constrained settings.
ADVANCED MATERIALS TECHNOLOGIES
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Mingming Guo, Xinhui Zhang, Balarabe B. Ismail, Qiao He, Zhehao Yang, Yunlei Xianyu, Wentao Liu, Jianwei Zhou, Xingqian Ye, Donghong Liu
Summary: In this study, a novel ultrasound-assisted method was used to fabricate oxidative chlorine-loaded AH@PBAT/PBF-Cl films with superior grafting efficiency and rechargeable antibacterial effect. The films showed significant antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus cells, inducing cell deformations and mechanical instability. The specific antibacterial mechanism against E. coli was revealed through various analyses, indicating the cell envelope as the primary target. The films can potentially combat a wide range of bacteria, laying a theoretical basis for developing efficient antibacterial materials for food safety or biomedical applications.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Weiqi Zhao, Yang Zhou, Yao-Ze Feng, Xiaohu Niu, Yongkun Zhao, Junpeng Zhao, Yongzhen Dong, Mingqian Tan, Yunlei Xianyu, Yiping Chen
Summary: In this work, a multidimensional digital immunoassay has been developed using microparticle-based encoding and artificial intelligence-based decoding, enabling multiplexed detection with high sensitivity and convenient operation. The features of microspheres, including size, number, and color, encode information for simultaneous identification and accurate quantification of multiple targets. Computer vision-based artificial intelligence analyzes microscopy images for information decoding and visually outputs identification results. Additionally, optical microscopy imaging can be integrated with microfluidic platforms for encoding-decoding using computer vision-based artificial intelligence. This microfluidic digital immunoassay can simultaneously analyze multiple inflammatory markers and antibiotics within 30 minutes, with a broad detection range from pg/mL to μg/mL, holding great promise as an intelligent bioassay for next-generation multiplexed biosensing.
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Pengfei Ge, Jun Zhang, Tian Ding, Yunlei Xianyu
Summary: Bacteria can infect the human body and pose a threat to public safety. The emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria has made the treatment of bacterial infections challenging. Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) have been widely used for rapid bacterial detection due to their surface plasmon resonance properties. Functionalized Au NPs with versatile surface modifications have shown effective bactericidal effects. This review focuses on strategies for bacterial detection and antibacterial applications using the surface chemistry of Au NPs with recent advances and prospects.
ACS MATERIALS LETTERS
(2023)
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Pengfei Ge, Jun Zhang, Tian Ding, Yunlei Xianyu
Summary: Bacteria infection is a threat to public safety. Multidrug-resistant bacteria pose a challenge in bacterial infection treatment. Rapid detection and effective killing of pathogenic bacteria are important for targeted treatment. Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) offer a visible readout for bacterial detection and show good bactericidal effects. By tailoring the surface chemistry of Au NPs, they can integrate bacterial detection and antibacterial activity, allowing for early inhibition of bacterial growth.
ACS MATERIALS LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Fei Tian, Chao Liu, Jinqi Deng, Jiashu Sun
Summary: This article reviews the advances in microfluidic technologies for the study of extracellular vesicles (EVs). Microfluidic platforms offer advantages such as small-volume capacity, cost effectiveness, precise manipulation, streamlined workflows, high sensitivity and specificity, and good reproducibility and stability. The article elaborates on passive and active microfluidic approaches for EV separation, as well as different strategies for sensitive and specific characterization of EVs in clinical samples. The article also surveys the progress in microfluidic engineering of EVs for advanced drug delivery systems. The challenges, opportunities, and future directions in the clinical and in vivo investigation of EVs using microfluidics are outlined.
ACCOUNTS OF MATERIALS RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chao Liu, Fei Tian, Jinqi Deng, Jiashu Sun
Summary: Thermomicrofluidic biosensing has become an important research area, enabling rapid, sensitive, and in situ detection of biomolecules and micro/nanoparticles in complex biological systems. Different strategies of thermomicrofluidic biosensing have made significant progress and show promising applications in biomedical detection.
ACTA CHIMICA SINICA
(2022)
