Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are recognized as promising biomarkers for several diseases. However, their conventional isolation methods have several drawbacks, such as poor yields, low purity, and time-consuming operations. Therefore, a simple, low-cost, and rapid microfluidic platform has been extensively developed to meet the requirement in biomedical applications. Herein, a modular microfluidic platform is demonstrated to isolate and enrich EVs directly from plasma, in a combination of continuous capture and purification of EVs. The EVs were selectively captured by target-specific antibody-coated beads in a horseshoe-shaped orifice micromixer (HOMM) chip within 2 min. A fish-trap-shaped microfilter unit was subsequently used to elute and purify the affinity-induced captured EVs from the microbeads. The ability of the modular chip to capture, enrich, and release EVs was demonstrated in 5 min (100 μL sample) at high throughput (100 μL min). The two chips can be modularized or individually operated, depending on the clinical applications such as diagnostics and therapeutics. For the diagnostic applications, the EVs on microbeads can be directly subjected to the molecular analysis whereas the pure EVs should be released from the microbeads for the therapeutic treatments. This study reveals that the fabricated modular chip can be appropriately employed as a platform for EV-related research tools.
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Adv Healthc Mater
December 2024
ETH Zürich, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, 8093, Zürich, Switzerland.
Coating synthetic nanoparticles (NPs) with lipid membranes is a promising approach to enhance the performance of nanomaterials in various biological applications, including therapeutic delivery to target organs. Current methods for achieving this coating often rely on bulk approaches which can result in low efficiency and poor reproducibility. Continuous processes coupled with quality control represent an attractive strategy to manufacture products with consistent attributes and high yields.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrosyst Nanoeng
December 2024
ECE Department, University of Alberta, 9211-116 St. NW, Edmonton, T6G 1H9, AB, Canada.
Optomechanical sensors provide a platform for probing acoustic/vibrational properties at the micro-scale. Here, we used cavity optomechanical sensors to interrogate the acoustic environment of adjacent air bubbles in water. We report experimental observations of the volume acoustic modes of these bubbles, including both the fundamental Minnaert breathing mode and a family of higher-order modes extending into the megahertz frequency range.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiosens Bioelectron
December 2024
Laboratory of Advanced Biotechnologies for Health Assessments (Lab-HA), Lassonde School of Engineering, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3 Canada; Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), Lassonde School of Engineering, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada. Electronic address:
Rapid, point-of-care tests are critical for early diagnosis of disease and detection of biological threats. Lateral flow immunoassays (LFIAs) are well-suited for point-of-care testing due to their ease of use and straightforward readout. However, limitations in sensitivity, quantification, and integration into sample-to-result systems indicate the need for further advancements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiosens Bioelectron
December 2024
Department of Biotechnology, National Formosa University, No. 64, Wunhua Rd, Huwei Township, Yunlin County, 63201, Taiwan. Electronic address:
The EZ DEVICE is an integrated fluorescence microflow cytometer designed for automated cell phenotyping and enumeration using artificial intelligence (AI). The platform consists of a laser diode, optical filter, objective lens, CMOS image sensor, and microfluidic chip, enabling automated sample pretreatment, labeling, and detection within a single compact unit. AI algorithms segment and identify objects in images captured by the CMOS sensor at 532 and 586 nm emission wavelengths.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdv Sci (Weinh)
December 2024
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, China.
The current understanding of the human auditory system has been primarily based on studies using animal and cellular models. Organoids have been used to simulate cochlear structures and replicate cochlear functions. However, the physical and chemical cues required to control the development of cochlear organoids accurately remain poorly understood, limiting research advances on cochlea-on-a-chip systems.
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