Microfluidic Chips and Microdevices for Biomedical Engineering

A special issue of Micromachines (ISSN 2072-666X). This special issue belongs to the section "B:Biology and Biomedicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2024) | Viewed by 5805

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518005, China
Interests: microfluidics; cell sorting; single cell analysis; paper microfluidics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip devices have gained particular attention in biomedical applications. As a significant frontier of current analytical science, microfluidic technology plays critical roles in many fields such as disease detection, analytical chemistry, drug screening, cell biology, material synthesis, etc. Due to their advantages, such as miniaturization, versatility, ease of use, cost-effectiveness and unique abilities in fluid control, microfluidics can realize functions that are difficult using conventional methods. The birth and sustainable development of microfluidic technology have created unlimited possibilities for research at the micro- and nanoscale. To this end, many microfluidic technologies and components have been developed to provide alternative solutions to problems that cannot usually be solved using traditional technologies.

This Special Issue aims to establish a platform to showcase the design, characterization, modeling and manufacture of any microfluidic components for various applications. Both research articles and review papers focusing on novel microfluidic, nanofluidic and lab-on-a-chip devices for biomedical applications are welcome.

Dr. Huaying Chen
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • micro- and nanofluidics
  • lab-on-a-chip
  • drug delivery systems
  • microdevices for biomedical engineering
  • biosensing
  • nanoparticles

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 6633 KiB  
Article
Squeezing Droplet Formation in a Flow-Focusing Micro Cross-Junction
by Filippo Azzini, Beatrice Pulvirenti, Massimiliano Rossi and Gian Luca Morini
Micromachines 2024, 15(3), 339; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15030339 - 28 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1378
Abstract
Motivated by the increasing need of optimised micro-devices for droplet production in medical and biological applications, this paper introduces an integrated approach for the study of the liquid–liquid droplet creation in flow-focusing micro cross-junctions. The micro-junction considered is characterised by a restriction of [...] Read more.
Motivated by the increasing need of optimised micro-devices for droplet production in medical and biological applications, this paper introduces an integrated approach for the study of the liquid–liquid droplet creation in flow-focusing micro cross-junctions. The micro-junction considered is characterised by a restriction of the channels cross-sections in the junction, which has the function of focusing the flow in the region of the droplet formation. The problem is studied numerically in the OpenFOAM environment and validated by a comparison with experimental results obtained by high-speed camera images and micro-PIV measurements. The analysis of the forces acting on the dispersed phase during the droplet formation and the diameter of the droplets obtained numerically are considered for the development of a model of the droplet breakup under the squeezing regime. On the basis of energy balancing during the breakup, a relation between interfacial tension, the size of the cross-sections in the junction, and the time interval needed for droplet creation is obtained, which yields a novel correlation between the dimensionless length of the droplet and the dimensionless flow rate. This research expands our knowledge of the phenomenon of drop creation in micro-junctions with restrictions providing new aid for the optimal design of micro-drop generators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Chips and Microdevices for Biomedical Engineering)
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11 pages, 4292 KiB  
Article
Deformability-Based Isolation of Circulating Tumor Cells in Spiral Microchannels
by Roya Mohammadali and Morteza Bayareh
Micromachines 2023, 14(11), 2111; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14112111 - 17 Nov 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1313
Abstract
The isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and their analysis are crucial for the preliminary identification of invasive cancer. One of the effective properties that can be utilized to isolate CTCs is their deformability. In this paper, inertial-based spiral microchannels with various numbers [...] Read more.
The isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and their analysis are crucial for the preliminary identification of invasive cancer. One of the effective properties that can be utilized to isolate CTCs is their deformability. In this paper, inertial-based spiral microchannels with various numbers of loops are employed to sort deformable CTCs using the finite element method (FEM) and an arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) approach. The influences of cell deformability, cell size, number of loops, and channel depth on the hydrodynamic behavior of CTCs are discussed. The results demonstrate that the trajectory of cells is affected by the above factors when passing through the spiral channel. This approach can be utilized for sorting and isolating label-free deformable biological cells at large scales in clinical systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Chips and Microdevices for Biomedical Engineering)
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Review

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31 pages, 6524 KiB  
Review
Particle Counting Methods Based on Microfluidic Devices
by Zenglin Dang, Yuning Jiang, Xin Su, Zhihao Wang, Yucheng Wang, Zhe Sun, Zheng Zhao, Chi Zhang, Yuming Hong and Zhijian Liu
Micromachines 2023, 14(9), 1722; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi14091722 - 1 Sep 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2693
Abstract
Particle counting serves as a pivotal constituent in diverse analytical domains, encompassing a broad spectrum of entities, ranging from blood cells and bacteria to viruses, droplets, bubbles, wear debris, and magnetic beads. Recent epochs have witnessed remarkable progressions in microfluidic chip technology, culminating [...] Read more.
Particle counting serves as a pivotal constituent in diverse analytical domains, encompassing a broad spectrum of entities, ranging from blood cells and bacteria to viruses, droplets, bubbles, wear debris, and magnetic beads. Recent epochs have witnessed remarkable progressions in microfluidic chip technology, culminating in the proliferation and maturation of microfluidic chip-based particle counting methodologies. This paper undertakes a taxonomical elucidation of microfluidic chip-based particle counters based on the physical parameters they detect. These particle counters are classified into three categories: optical-based counters, electrical-based particle counters, and other counters. Within each category, subcategories are established to consider structural differences. Each type of counter is described not only in terms of its working principle but also the methods employed to enhance sensitivity and throughput. Additionally, an analysis of future trends related to each counter type is provided. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Chips and Microdevices for Biomedical Engineering)
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