AMPK is required for recovery from metabolic stress induced by ultrasound microbubble treatment.

Ultrasound-stimulated microbubble (USMB) treatment is a promising strategy for cancer therapy. USMB promotes drug delivery by sonoporation and enhanced endocytosis, and also impairs cell viability. However, USMB elicits heterogeneous effects on cell viability, with apparently minimal effects on a subset of cells.

Synergistic enhancement of cell death by triple combination therapy of docetaxel, ultrasound and microbubbles, and radiotherapy on PC3 a prostate cancer cell line.

The application of ultrasound and microbubbles (USMB) has been shown to enhance both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This study investigated the potential of triple combination therapy comprised of USMB, docetaxel (Taxotere: TXT) chemotherapy and XRT to enhance treatment efficacy. Prostate cancer (PC3) cells in suspension were treated with various combinations of USMB, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Biomedical nanobubbles and opportunities for microfluidics.

The use of bulk nanobubbles in biomedicine is increasing in recent years, which is attributable to the array of therapeutic and diagnostic tools promised by developing bulk nanobubble technologies. From cancer drug delivery and ultrasound contrast enhancement to malaria detection and the diagnosis of acute donor tissue rejection, the potential applications of bulk nanobubbles are broad and diverse. Developing these technologies to the point of clinical use may significantly impact the quality of patient care.

Field validation of the performance of paper-based tests for the detection of the Zika and chikungunya viruses in serum samples.

In low-resource settings, resilience to infectious disease outbreaks can be hindered by limited access to diagnostic tests. Here we report the results of double-blinded studies of the performance of paper-based diagnostic tests for the Zika and chikungunya viruses in a field setting in Latin America. The tests involved a cell-free expression system relying on isothermal amplification and toehold-switch reactions, a purpose-built portable reader and onboard software for computer vision-enabled image analysis.

Multiscale interactome analysis coupled with off-target drug predictions reveals drug repurposing candidates for human coronavirus disease.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for the identification of new antiviral drug therapies for a variety of diseases. COVID-19 is caused by infection with the human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, while other related human coronaviruses cause diseases ranging from severe respiratory infections to the common cold. We developed a computational approach to identify new antiviral drug targets and repurpose clinically-relevant drug compounds for the treatment of a range of human coronavirus diseases.

An image-based flow cytometric approach to the assessment of the nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio.

The nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio (N:C) can be used as one metric in histology for grading certain types of tumor malignancy. Current N:C assessment techniques are time-consuming and low throughput. Thus, in high-throughput clinical contexts, there is a need for a technique that can assess cell malignancy rapidly.

Anti-HER2 PLGA-PEG polymer nanoparticle containing gold nanorods and paclitaxel for laser-activated breast cancer detection and therapy.

Phase-transition nanoparticles have been identified as effective theragnostic, anti-cancer agents. However, non-selective delivery of these agents results in inaccurate diagnosis and insufficient treatment. In this study, we report on the development of targeted phase-transition polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) for the imaging and treatment of breast cancer cell lines over-expressing human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2).

Multifunctional nanoparticles as theranostic agents for therapy and imaging of breast cancer.

Over the last decade, there has been significant developments in nanotechnology, in particular for combined imaging and therapeutic applications (theranostics). The core or shell of nanoemulsions (NEs) can be loaded with various therapeutic agents, including drugs with low solubility for effective treatment, or various imaging agents for specific imaging modalities (e.g.

Microfluidic Generation of Monodisperse Nanobubbles by Selective Gas Dissolution.

Nanotechnology currently enables the fabrication of uniform solid nanoparticles and liquid nano-emulsions, but not uniform gaseous nanobubbles (NBs). In this article, for the first time, a method based on microfluidics that directly produces monodisperse NBs is reported. Specifically, a two-component gas mixture of water-soluble nitrogen and water-insoluble octafluoropropane as the gas phase are used in a microfluidic bubble generator.

Laser activatable perfluorocarbon bubbles for imaging and therapy through enhanced absorption from coupled silica coated gold nanoparticles.

Nanoparticles have extensively been used for cancer therapy and imaging (, theranostics) using various imaging modalities. Due to their physical and chemical properties (, absorption, fluorescence, and magnetic properties) they have been used for image guided therapy for cancer treatment monitoring. There are various limitations that make many theranostic agents unable to be used for the extended periods of time required for enhancing theranostic capabilities.

On the threshold of 1/2 order subharmonic emissions in the oscillations of ultrasonically excited bubbles.

The pressure threshold for 1/2 order subharmonic (SH) emissions and period doubling during the oscillations of ultrasonically excited bubbles is thought to be minimum when the bubble is sonicated with twice its resonance frequency (f). This estimate is based on studies that simplified or neglected the effects of thermal damping. In this work, the nonlinear dynamics of ultrasonically excited bubbles is investigated accounting for the thermal dissipation.

Nonlinear dynamics and bifurcation structure of ultrasonically excited lipid coated microbubbles.

In many applications, microbubbles (MBs) are encapsulated by a lipid coating to increase their stability. However, the complex behavior of the lipid coating including buckling and rupture sophisticates the dynamics of the MBs and as a result the dynamics of the lipid coated MBs (LCMBs) are not well understood. Here, we investigate the nonlinear behavior of the LCMBs by analyzing their bifurcation structure as a function of acoustic pressure.

Emerging use of machine learning and advanced technologies to assess red cell quality.

Improving blood product quality and patient outcomes is an accepted goal in transfusion medicine research. Thus, there is an urgent need to understand the potential adverse effects on red blood cells (RBCs) during pre-transfusion storage. Current assessment techniques of these degradation events, termed "storage lesions", are subjective, labor-intensive, and complex.

Evaporation-Driven Water-in-Water Droplet Formation.

We present new observations of aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) thermodynamic and interfacial phenomena that occur inside sessile droplets due to water evaporation. Sessile droplets that contain polymeric solutions, which are initially in equilibrium in a single phase, are observed at their three-phase liquid-solid-air contact line. As evaporation of a sessile droplet proceeds, we find that submicron secondary water-in-water (W/W) droplets emerge spontaneously at the edges of the mother sessile droplet due to the resulting phase separation from water evaporation.

Rapid fabrication of sieved microwells and cross-flow microparticle trapping.

The use of microwells is popular for a wide range of applications due to its' simplicity. However, the seeding of conventional microwells, which are closed at the bottom, is restricted to gravitational sedimentation for cell or particle deposition and therefore require lengthy settling times to maximize well occupancy. The addition of microfluidics to the capture process has accelerated cell or particle dispersion and improved capture ability but is mostly limited to gravitationally-driven settling for capture into the wells.

Photoacoustic imaging of kidney fibrosis for assessing pretransplant organ quality.

Roughly 10% of the world's population has chronic kidney disease (CKD). In its advanced stages, CKD greatly increases the risk of hospitalization and death. Although kidney transplantation has revolutionized the care of advanced CKD, clinicians have limited ways of assessing donor kidney quality.

Nonlinear power loss in the oscillations of coated and uncoated bubbles: Role of thermal, radiation and encapsulating shell damping at various excitation pressures.

This study presents the fundamental equations governing the pressure dependent disipation mechanisms in the oscillations of coated bubbles. A simple generalized model (GM) for coated bubbles accounting for the effect of compressibility of the liquid is presented. The GM was then coupled with nonlinear ODEs that account for the thermal effects.

Microfluidic Generation of All-Aqueous Double and Triple Emulsions.

Higher order emulsions are used in a variety of different applications in biomedicine, biological studies, cosmetics, and the food industry. Conventional droplet generation platforms for making higher order emulsions use organic solvents as the continuous phase, which is not biocompatible and as a result, further washing steps are required to remove the toxic continuous phase. Recently, droplet generation based on aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) has emerged in the field of droplet microfluidics due to their intrinsic biocompatibility.

Targeted enhancement of flotillin-dependent endocytosis augments cellular uptake and impact of cytotoxic drugs.

Cellular uptake is limiting for the efficacy of many cytotoxic drugs used to treat cancer. Identifying endocytic mechanisms that can be modulated with targeted, clinically-relevant interventions is important to enhance the efficacy of various cancer drugs. We identify that flotillin-dependent endocytosis can be targeted and upregulated by ultrasound and microbubble (USMB) treatments to enhance uptake and efficacy of cancer drugs such as cisplatin.

Microneedle-assisted microfluidic flow focusing for versatile and high throughput water-in-water droplet generation.

Microdroplets have been utilized for a wide range of applications in biomedicine and biological studies. Despite the importance of such droplets, their fabrication is associated with difficulties in practice that emerge from the incompatible nature of chemicals, such as surfactants and organic solvents, with biological environments. Therefore, microfluidic methods have recently emerged that create biocompatible water-in-water droplets based on aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS), most commonly composed of water and incompatible polymers, dextran (DEX) and polyethylene glycol (PEG).

Analysis of the cytotoxic effects of combined ultrasound, microbubble and nucleoside analog combinations on pancreatic cells in vitro.

Ultrasonically-stimulated microbubbles enhance the therapeutic effects of various chemotherapy drugs. However, the application of ultrasound and microbubbles (USMB) for enhancing the therapeutic effect of nucleoside analogs, which are used as front-line treatments in a range of cancers, and its underlying mechanism is not well understood. This study investigated the effect of gemcitabine, a nucleoside analog drug, in combination with USMB in increasing cell cytotoxicity relative to either treatment alone in BxPC3 pancreatic cancer cells.

Microfluidic Generation of Particle-Stabilized Water-in-Water Emulsions.

Herein, we present a microfluidic platform that generates particle-stabilized water-in-water emulsions. The water-in-water system that we use is based on an aqueous two-phase system of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and dextran (DEX). DEX droplets are formed passively, in the continuous phase of PEG and carboxylated particle suspension at a flow-focusing junction inside a microfluidic device.

Fabrication of Highly Porous Nonspherical Particles Using Stop-Flow Lithography and the Study of Their Optical Properties.

A microfluidic flow lithography approach was investigated to synthesize highly porous nonspherical particles and Janus particles in a one-step and high-throughput fashion. In this study, using common solvents as porogens, we were able to synthesize highly porous particles with different shapes using ultraviolet (UV) polymerization-induced phase separation in a microfluidic channel. We also studied the pore-forming process using operating parameters such as porogen type, porogen concentration, and UV intensity to tune the pore size and increase the pore size to submicron levels.

Biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles containing gold nanoparticles and Paclitaxel for cancer imaging and drug delivery using photoacoustic methods.

In this study, optical-triggered multifunctional theranostic agents for photoacoustic/fluorescent imaging and cancer therapy have been developed. This system consists of a perfluorohexane liquid and gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in the core, stabilized by a Poly (lactide-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) polymer shell. When cancer cells containing PLGA-GNPs were exposed to laser pulses, cell viability decreased due to the vaporization of the particles in and around the cells.

Simultaneous assessment of red blood cell aggregation and oxygen saturation under pulsatile flow using high-frequency photoacoustics.

We investigate the feasibility of photoacoustic (PA) imaging for assessing the correlation between red blood cell (RBC) aggregation and the oxygen saturation (sO2) in a simulated pulsatile blood flow system. For the 750 and 850 nm illuminations, the PA amplitude (PAA) increased and decreased as the mean blood flow velocity decreased and increased, respectively, at all beat rates (60, 120 and 180 bpm). The sO2 also cyclically varied, in phase with the PAA for all beat rates.