Microfluidic Monodispersed Microbubble Generation for Production of Cavitation Nuclei.

Microbubbles, acting as cavitation nuclei, undergo cycles of expansion, contraction, and collapse. This collapse generates shockwaves, alters local shear forces, and increases local temperature. Cavitation causes severe changes in pressure and temperature, resulting in surface erosion.

Three-dimensional lab-on-a-foil device for dielectrophoretic separation of cancer cells.

A simple, low-cost, three-dimensional (3D) lab-on-a-foil microfluidic device for dielectrophoretic separation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is designed and constructed. Disposable thin films are cut by xurography and microelectrode array are made with rapid inkjet printing. The multilayer device design allows the studying of spatial movements of CTCs and red blood cells (RBCs) under dielectrophoresis (DEP).

Hierarchical data visualization of experimental erythrocyte aggregation employing cross correlation and optical flow applications.

Appraisal of microvascular erythrocyte velocity as well as aggregation are critical features of hemorheological assessment. Examination of erythrocyte velocity-aggregate characteristics is critical in assessing disorders associated with coagulopathy. Microvascular erythrocyte velocity can be assessed using various methodologic approaches; however, the shared assessment of erythrocyte velocity and aggregation has not been well described.

Acoustic bubble for spheroid trapping, rotation, and culture: a tumor-on-a-chip platform (ABSTRACT platform).

Cancer is the leading cause of death globally, with 90% of deaths being caused by cancer metastasis. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) play an important role in early diagnosis of cancer metastasis and in monitoring of therapeutic response. Therefore, reliable methods to isolate, collect and culture CTCs are required to obtain information on metastasis status and therapeutic treatment.

Study of ultrasound thrombolysis using acoustic bubbles in a microfluidic device.

Thrombosis is a common medical entity associated with many forms of cardiovascular disease including myocardial infarction and stroke. Recently, ultrasound thrombolysis has emerged as a promising technique for thrombosis treatment by delivering acoustic waves onto blood clots. In this study, an ultrasound thrombolysis method is presented using an acoustic bubble-based microfluidic device.

Trapping and control of bubbles in various microfluidic applications.

As a simple, clean and effective tool, micro bubbles have enabled advances in various lab on a chip (LOC) applications recently. In bubble-based microfluidic applications, techniques for capturing and controlling the bubbles play an important role. Here we review active and passive techniques for bubble trapping and control in microfluidic applications.

Acoustic Microfluidic Separation Techniques and Bioapplications: A Review.

Microfluidic separation technology has garnered significant attention over the past decade where particles are being separated at a micro/nanoscale in a rapid, low-cost, and simple manner. Amongst a myriad of separation technologies that have emerged thus far, acoustic microfluidic separation techniques are extremely apt to applications involving biological samples attributed to various advantages, including high controllability, biocompatibility, and non-invasive, label-free features. With that being said, downsides such as low throughput and dependence on external equipment still impede successful commercialization from laboratory-based prototypes.

Acoustofluidic stick-and-play micropump built on foil for single-cell trapping.

The majority of microfluidic devices nowadays are built on rigid or bulky substrates such as glass slides and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) slabs, and heavily rely on external equipment such as syringe pumps. Although a variety of micropumps have been developed in the past, few of them are suitable for flexible microfluidics or lab-on-a-foil systems. In this paper, stick-and-play acoustic micropump is built on thin and flexible plastic film by printing microstructures termed defended oscillating membrane equipped structures (DOMES) using two-photon polymerization.