Microfluidic research summaries

Elastin-like polypeptide coacervates as reversibly triggerable compartments for synthetic cells

Discover the innovative use of elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) coacervates as reversibly triggerable compartments in synthetic cells. Explore how phase separation, dynamic compartmentalization, and lab-on-a-chip techniques redefine synthetic cell engineering.

BioTrojans: Viscoelastic Microvalve-Based Attacks in Flow-Based Microfluidic Biochips and Their Countermeasures

Discover how BioTrojan attacks target PDMS microvalves in flow-based microfluidic biochips, compromising biomedical devices. Learn about innovative countermeasures, including design improvements and spectral authentication techniques, to safeguard critical diagnostic operations.

The potential of pressure-driven flow control for liquid-phase electron microscopy

Discover the potential of pressure-driven flow control in liquid-phase electron microscopy (LP-EM) for precise sample characterization.

Light-field flow cytometry (LFC): high-throughput, high-resolution volumetric imaging for multiparametric 3D single-cell analysis

Discover how light-field flow cytometry (LFC) enhances imaging flow cytometry by delivering high-throughput, high-resolution, 3D single-cell analysis. Explore its applications in cell biology and translational research.

Structural Flexibility and Disassembly Kinetics of Single Ferritin Molecules Using Optical Nanotweezers

Learn how optical nanotweezers and microfluidics reveal ferritin molecules' dynamics, advancing our understanding of iron metabolism and innovative medical applications.

USING GUT-ON-A-CHIP AND 4D IMAGING TO UNDERSTAND PATHOGEN INVASION

Discover how mechanical cues influence pathogen-host interactions, and the challenges in capturing these in real-time microscopy.

Innovative Particle Separation Using Ultrasonically-Induced Microbubble Streaming: A Study by Dr. Amirabas Bakhtiari and Christian J. Kähler

Explore groundbreaking research by Dr. Amirabas Bakhtiari and Christian J. Kähler on automated, size-selective particle separation.

Controlled microfluidic creation for spatiotemporal pH control and particle synthesis in double emulsions

Exploring Novel Optofluidic Lasers: Smectic vs. Soap Bubble Approaches

Establish the feasibility of utilizing dye-doped soap or smectic liquid crystal bubbles as optical cavities for whispering gallery mode lasing

Continuous counter-current electrophoretic separation of oleosomes and proteins from oilseeds

Learn how to implement a simpler electrophoretic separation system for extracting oleosomes and proteins from oilseeds.

Unravelling two-phase flow and CO2 storage in geological reservoirs

This article investigates the behaviour of immiscible two-phase flow through porous media focusing on how pore-scale processes impact macroscopic fluid front behaviour.

The role of protein adsorption on bubble formation and stabilization

Learn how protein adsorption and its roles in bubble formation and stabilization can be used for industrial-scale food foam production.

Microfluidic system for genotoxicity testing of biomaterials

A new automated microfluidic-based method for the genotoxicity testing of new biomaterials.

The role of lubrication film in droplet characteristics: from non-axisymmetric to axisymmetric shape in a rectangular microfluidic channel

An optical measurement method of the lubrication film around flowing droplets in a rectangular microfluidic channel.

Efficient Tesla valves for microfluidic applications

Highly efficient passive Tesla valves designed using high-precision pressure sensors for microfluidic applications.

The Multi EDGE device – the importance of chip design for high-rate monodisperse droplet formation

Learn the strategies for upscaled microfluidic emulsification and droplet formation, for the industrial production of emulsions.

A multiplexable microfluidic injector for versatile droplet identification

Discover a pressure-controlled injection that achieves deterministic droplet coding for droplet identification and tracking.

Reference electrode design for on-chip biochemical sensing

A novel miniaturized pseudo reference electrode designed for ultra-low volume ultra-low volume on-chip biochemical sensing.

Designing DNA-based cytoskeletons for synthetic cells

Discover how Zhan and colleagues used microfluidics and DNA nanotechnology to build a functional cytoskeleton for synthetic cells.

A new technique for microfluidic droplets characterisation

An integrated MZI method that reliably labels and enables droplets characterisation using microfluidics in real-time.

Microswimmers chemotaxis behavior in a stop flow gradient

Microfluidics gradient generation combined with a pressure feedback loop can enable the study of the chemotaxis of microswimmers.

Multivesicular microfluidic vesicles for drug delivery and artificial cells

Short review on the preparation of multivesicular vesicles using microfluidics for drug delivery and artificial cells

Mitigating clogging in a microfluidic array

The authors developed, tested and validated a method that applies a pressure-driven flow controller to fabricate biocompatible micron-scale silk fibers by microfluidic wet spinning.

Measuring solutions using hard X-ray absorption spectroscopy

This short review article was based on the paper entitled "Fabrication and characterisation of a silicon-borosilicate glass microfluidic device for synchrotron-based hard X-ray spectroscopy studies"

Biocompatible Micron-Scale Silk Fibers Fabricated by Microfluidic Wet Spinning

The authors developed, tested and validated a method that applies a pressure-driven flow controller to fabricate biocompatible micron-scale silk fibers by microfluidic wet spinning.

Complex droplet networks using pressure-driven microfluidics

Complex droplet networks using pressure-driven microfluidics

Mechanical cell compression – a short review

Design, fabrication and application of microfluidics-based flexible microdevices to apply mechanical cell compression and stimulation

Optical tweezers microassembly

The short review article is based on the original article entitled “ASSEMBLY OF MULTICOMPONENT STRUCTURES FROM HUNDREDS OF MICRON-SCALE BUILDING BLOCKS USING OPTICAL TWEEZERS” by Jeffrey E. Melzer and EUAN MCLEOD published in Microsystems & Nanoengineering Journal (June 2021).

Water friction in nanofluidic devices

This note describes the relationship between water–surface friction & properties of confining atomically flat materials in nanofluidic devices.

On-chip particle manipulation

This short review presents the fabrication and testing of a 3D microfluidic micromixing device to perform on-chip particle manipulation.

Performance of Polymeric Skin Adhesives during Perspiration

Performance of Polymeric Skin Adhesives during Perspiration

Optimizing deep bone ablation using an automated system

The study explores the process of calibrating the irrigation system using a pneumatic pressure controller for deep bone ablation.

Electrokinetic sandwich assay and DNA mediated charge amplification

Electrokinetic sandwich assay and DNA mediated charge amplification

On chip bacteria separation and concentration

This short review presents on-chip automatic efficient bacteria separation and preconcentration method with the use of pressure-driven flow controlled microfluidics.

A method to dynamically screen and print single cells

The study explores a method to dynamically screen and print single cells using microfluidics with pneumatic microvalves.

Development of a human bladder on chip model

This review article explores the functioning of a human bladder on chip model to study the key features of bladder physiology that are important to early UPEC infection.

A synthetic biology study of bicistronic designs

The study explores if BCDs (Bicistronic designs) would be able to operate as effectively in vitro as they do in vivo to produce a predictable level of protein.

Particle migration and trapping in microbubble streaming flows

This short review explores the particle migration and trapping of finite-sized microparticles using acoustically-driven microfluidics. The pressure controller's precision played a crucial role in carrying out this study successfully.

Microfluidic assay for cytotoxicity evaluation of natural killer cells

This short review explores a droplet-based microfluidic approach to create an efficient system of measuring and evaluating cytotoxic ability of NK-92 cells towards target cells.

Fabrication of a leak resistant microfluidic chip

This short review explores the fabrication of a leak resistant microfluidic chip. Most importantly, the 4 channel PDMS-based microfluidic chip is also tested under pressurized fluid injection for multiple liquid leak resistance checks.

Generation of core-gap-shell microcapsules

This short review explores a microfluidic approach to synthesize stimuli-responsive microcapsules with temperature-responsive core-gap-shell structures for versatile design. The pressure-driven flow controller enabled the authors to achieve precise control over the generation of core gap-shell microcapsules for this study.

Rheological microfluidic study of jammed suspensions

This study outlines microfluidic flows of jammed suspensions of soft microgels that behave as yield-stress fluids. Wall-slip friction, i.e. the slip velocity V is plotted against the tangential stress at the wall.

Emulsion stability

This review article explores the emulsion stability of pea-protein-stabilised droplets, when made at a range of different protein concentrations, adsorption times, and degree of protein oxidation.

Glaucoma drainage devices – a microfluidic analysis

This short review is based on a study that aims to analyse and identify the in-vitro performance of actively employed Glaucoma drainage devices on the glaucoma treatment. A precise microfluidic setup is assembled that can rigorously test these GDD’s for various real-time situations.

Nucleation and crystal growth

A novel procedure for the study of nucleation and growth of CaCO3 crystals has been developed and tested extensively. The original research demonstrated that precise flow control plays an integral role in this process, and how it can be achieved.

Fabrication of synthetic organelles using bottom-up biology

This short review article explores three types of Giant unilamelar vesicles (GUVs) based Synthetic Organelles assembly enabled by droplet-based microfluidic equipment and concepts.

Virtual Sensors for Microfluidic Systems Control – A short review

In this work, the authors present a methodology for building an accurate virtual sensor, based on Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) simulations.

DNA protection from mechanical stress in cells using microfluidics

IN A 2020 CELL PAPER, Michele M. Nava and Yekaterina A. Miroshnikova, from SARA A. WICKSTRÖM’S GROUP IN HELSINKI, along with co-authors, demonstrate the ability of nucleus, cells and tissues to rapidly adapt to mechanical stress and avoid DNA damage.

Dynamic single cell screening

The authors describe the use of a dynamic dual micro-valve system, which can be used to screen cells based on their size and print single-cells into separate cell culture chambers.

Microfluidic Fabrication of NanoHydrogels for drug-delivery

The authors describe the use of microfluidics for the fabrication of nanohydrogels made from hyaluronic acid derivatives, for drug-delivery.

Microfluidic control over Nematic Liquid Crystal flows

Orientational order of nematic liquid crystals (NLCs), unlike isotropic liquids, enhances the influence of their rheological properties, and thus requires precise tuning of the flow parameters to control the orientational patterns.

Impedance-based viscoelastic flow cytometry

Flow cytometry microfluidics employs the elastic property of viscoelastic fluids to induce lateral lift force to migrate the particles into a single streamline.

Microgel generation and Encapsulation in Microdroplets

PEGDA (poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate) microgels were generated and encapsulated within pico-droplets by combining droplet-based microfluidics and microscope projection photolithography. A continuous-flow photolithography was set up within a cross junction to generate and simultaneously to in-situ encapsulate fiber-like structures in pico-droplets.

Multicomponent laser printing

Thus far, 3D laser-micro and nanoprinting offered a widespread alternative to prepare complex but single constituent 3D microfluidic structure. This work proposes a system based on a microfluidic chamber integrated into a state-of-the-art laser lithography apparatus that allows the use of several materials to 3D print complex structures in the most effective manner.

Microfluidics investigation of foam hysteresis

Foam stability often describes the foam left to evolve with time in static conditions. Nevertheless, in everyday life, foams are subjected to a number of deformations. A feature of foam stability is represented by the foam’s ability to resist to the deformation and to recover its initial properties after deformation.

Liquid foam templating

In an article published by sébastien andrieux, wiebke drenckhan, cosima stubenrauch in the journal "polymer", the authors show that microfluidics liquid foam templating can be used to produce biobased highly monodisperse chitosan foams. the demonstrated system employs a fine and smooth control of the two-phase flow rates to accurately tune the bubble size generation, with diameters ranging from 200 to 800 µm. solid chitosan foams can be obtained by freeze-drying the resulting highly ordered chitosan liquid foams.