The Development of the Heparin Monitoring System Based on Microfluidics Technology

Heparin monitoring is widely used to measure the anticoagulant effect of unfractionated heparin and adjust the dose to keep within the target treatment range. This technology has applications in many fields and also prospects in the future. Its application has the advantages of rapidity, high throughput and minimum sample consumption. Many point of care devices for heparin monitoring are available. The CoaguChek device only requires a small sample size, which is obtained through a fingerstick. Over the last few years, the point-of-care (POC) testing was used widely for its convenience, efficiency, and faster turnaround times.

New conceptual microfluidics technology:light manipulation of liquid slugs in liquid crystal polymer microactuators

Microsystems that manipulate small amounts of fluids to transport in a pre-defined direction and to perform reactions or analyses are quite important in both laboratory investigations and industry applications[1],due to their close relevance to people’s daily life and commercial run.Natural creatures,after centuries’evolution,have realized the importance of structure and wettability designs in achiev-

Application of microfluidic technology based on surface-enhanced Raman scattering in cancer biomarker detection:A review

With the continuous discovery and research of predictive cancer-related biomarkers,liquid biopsy shows great potential in cancer diagnosis.Surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS)and microfluidic technology have received much attention among the various cancer biomarker detection methods.The former has ultrahigh detection sensitivity and can provide a unique fingerprint.In contrast,the latter has the characteristics of miniaturization and integration,which can realize accurate control of the detection samples and high-throughput detection through design.Both have the potential for point-of-care testing(POCT),and their combination(lab-on-a-chip SERS(LoC-SERS))shows good compatibility.In this paper,the basic situation of circulating proteins,circulating tumor cells,exosomes,circulating tumor DNA(ctDNA),and microRNA(miRNA)in the diagnosis of various cancers is reviewed,and the detection research of these biomarkers by the LoC-SERS platform in recent years is described in detail.At the same time,the challenges and future development of the platform are discussed at the end of the review.Summarizing the current technology is expected to provide a reference for scholars engaged in related work and interested in this field.

Microfluidic-oriented synthesis of enriched iridium nanodots/carbon architecture for robust electrocatalytic nitrogen fixation

Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction(NRR)is considered as a promising candidate to achieve ammonia synthesis because of clean electric energy,moderate reaction condition,safe operating process and harmless by-products.However,the chemical inertness of nitrogen and poor activated capacity on catalyst surface usually produce low ammonia yield and faradic efficiency.Herein,the microfluidic technology is proposed to efficiently fabricate enriched iridium nanodots/carbon architecture.Owing to in-situ co-precipitation reaction and microfluidic manipulation,the iridium nanodots/carbon nanomaterials possess small average size,uniform dispersion,high conductivity and abundant active sites,producing good proton activation and rapid electrons transmission and moderate adsorption/desorption capacity.As a result,the as-prepared iridium nanodots/carbon nanomaterials realize large ammonia yield of 28.73 μg h^(-1) cm^(-2) and faradic efficiency of 9.14%in KOH solution.Moreover,the high ammonia yield of 11.21 μg h^(-1) cm^(-2) and faradic efficiency of 24.30%are also achieved in H_(2)SO_(4) solution.The microfluidic method provides a reference for large-scale fabrication of nano-sized catalyst materials,which may accelerate the progress of electrocatalytic NRR in industrialization field.

Fabrication of chitosan microspheres for efficient adsorption of methyl orange

In this article, morphology, structure and size controllable chitosan microspheres with high mechanical strength were synthesized by microfluidic technology combining chemical crosslinking and used as an adsorbent for methyl orange. The synthesized adsorbents were characterized using scanning electron microscopy(SEM),Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), and an Energy Dispersive Spectrometer(EDS). The effect of pH revealed that the adsorption process depended on pH and the pH variation of methyl orange solution after adsorption indicated that adsorption capacity was affected through the associated role of chitosan nature and pH variation. Experimental results suggested that the as-prepared chitosan microspheres were controlled within a narrow size distribution(coefficients of variation is 1.81%), whose adsorption capacity reached to 207 mg·g^(-1) and mechanical strength was suitable to resist forces. In addition, the adsorption isotherm was well fitted with the Langmuir model, and the adsorption kinetic was best described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.The high performance microfluidic-synthesized chitosan microspheres have promising potentials in the applications of removing dyes from wastewater.

Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease by microcapsule regulates neurotransmitter release via microfluidic technology

Alzheimer’s disease(AD)is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with a complex etiology.The main neu-ropathological feature is the accumulation of amyloid-beta(Aβ),and the dysregulation of the cholinergic system is well associated with its mechanism of occurrence,for which no effective treatment is yet available.Daily oral administration remains the mainstay of treatment with AD,and how to improve the efficacy,prolong adsorp-tion and medication compliance is still the focus of the current solution.We proposed a microcapsule based on microfluidic electrospray to form an intestinal epithelial lining for AD treatment,reducing the frequency of administration.Microfluidic electrospray technology was recruited to overcome the limitations associated with the variability in the microencapsulation production process and to produce functional microcapsules with finely adapted chemical composition,capsule thickness and encapsulant volume ratio.These microcapsules could slowly release drugs after adhering to the intestine,and their effectiveness and safety were further evaluated using cell culture studies and animal model studies.The results from the in vivo and in vitro experiments showed a significant reduction in administration frequency(i.e.,from daily medication to once every five days),superior therapeutic efficacy and sufficient safety of these microcapsules in cell culture and APP/PS1 mice.These features make the microcapsules an excellent drug delivery system and represent great potential for clinical applications in AD.

Role of binders in reactive composites: A case study with spherical B/Pb_(3)O_(4) particles

The strategic selection of appropriate preparation methods and binder strategies is crucial for enhancing the particle and combustion performance of pyrotechnic delay compositions(PDCs).This study,utilizing droplet microfluidics technology(DMT)and micron-scale raw materials,prepared spherical B/Pb_(3)O_(4) composite particles with varying concentrations of fluorine rubber(F_(2604)).The morphology,specific surface area,bulk density,flowability,friction sensitivity,thermal decomposition,and combustion performance of these microspheres were characterized.The results indicate that as the binder content increases,the particle size of the microspheres first decreases and then increases,the specific surface area decreases,and the bulk density increases,correlating with tighter binding of the reactant powders by the binder.Furthermore,tighter powder-to-powder binding results in a progressive decrease in the thermal decomposition peak temperature of the samples(from 404.2℃ to 346.4℃).Additionally,increased binder content reduces the friction sensitivity and combustion rate of the samples,which is attributed to the energy absorption properties of the binder.Compared to the control group,the microsphere samples exhibit significantly enhanced bulk density,flowability,friction safety,and combustion delay precision,potentially improving the reliability of PDCs in ignition sequences.

Cartilage lacuna-biomimetic hydrogel microspheres endowed with integrated biological signal boost endogenous articular cartilage regeneration

Despite numerous studies on chondrogenesis,the repair of cartilage—particularly the reconstruction of cartilage lacunae through an all-in-one advanced drug delivery system remains limited.In this study,we developed a cartilage lacuna-like hydrogel microsphere system endowed with integrated biological signals,enabling sequential immunomodulation and endogenous articular cartilage regeneration.We first integrated the chondrogenic growth factor transforming growth factor-β3(TGF-β3)into mesoporous silica nanoparticles(MSNs).Then,TGF-β3@MSNs and insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF-1)were encapsulated within microspheres made of polydopamine(pDA).In the final step,growth factor-loaded MSN@pDA and a chitosan(CS)hydrogel containing platelet-derived growth factor-BB(PDGF-BB)were blended to produce growth factors loaded composite microspheres(GFs@μS)using microfluidic technology.The presence of pDA reduced the initial acute inflammatory response,and the early,robust release of PDGF-BB aided in attracting endogenous stem cells.Over the subsequent weeks,the continuous release of IGF-1 and TGF-β3 amplified chondrogenesis and matrix formation.μS were incorporated into an acellular cartilage extracellular matrix(ACECM)and combined with a polydopamine-modified polycaprolactone(PCL)structure to produce a tissue-engineered scaffold that mimicked the structure of the cartilage lacunae evenly distributed in the cartilage matrix,resulting in enhanced cartilage repair and patellar cartilage protection.This research provides a strategic pathway for optimizing growth factor delivery and ensuring prolonged microenvironmental remodeling,leading to efficient articular cartilage regeneration.

Controllable preparation of particles with microfluidics

This paper reviews recent development and achievements in controllable preparation of nanoparticles, micron spherical and non-spherical particles, using microfluidics. A variety of synthesis strategies are presented and compared, including single-phase and multiphase microflows. The main structures of microfluidic devices and the fundamental principles of microflows for particle preparation are summarized and identified. The controllability of particle size, size distribution, crystal structure, morphology, physical and chemical properties, is examined in terms of the special features of microfluidic reactors. An outlook on opinions and predictions concerning the future development of powder technology with microfluidics is specially provided.

Adipose-derived stem cell/FGF19-loaded microfluidic hydrogel microspheres for synergistic restoration of critical ischemic limb

The efficacy of stem cell therapy is substantially compromised due to low cell survival rate and poor local retention post-delivery. These issues drastically limit the application of stem cells for ischemic limb therapy, which requires effective blood perfusion and skeletal muscle regeneration. Herein, based on microfluidic technology, an integrated stem cell and cytokine co-delivery system designed for functional ischemic limb salvage was constructed by first incorporating the myogenic cytokine, fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19), into microspheres composed of methacrylate gelatin (GelMA). Then adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) were highly absorbed into the porous structure of the microspheres, overcoming the insufficient loading efficiency and activities by conventional encapsulation strategy. The fabricated ADSCs/FGF19@μsphere system demonstrated a uniform size of about 180 μm and a highly porous structure with pore sizes between 20 and 40 μm. The resultant system allowed high doses of ADSCs to be precisely engrafted in the lesion and to survive, and achieved sustained FGF19 release in the ischemic region to facilitate myoblast recruitment and differentiation and myofibrils growth. Furthermore, the combination of ADSCs and FGF19 exhibited a positive synergistic effect which substantially improved the therapeutic benefit of angiogenesis and myogenesis, both in vitro and in vivo. In summary, a stem cell and cytokine co-delivery system with the properties of easy preparation and minimal invasiveness was designed to ensure highly efficient cell delivery, sustained cytokine release, and ultimately realizes effective treatment of ischemic limb regeneration.

Microfluidic synthesis of thiourea modified chitosan microsphere of high specific surface area for heavy metal wastewater treatment

An improved biosorbent of thiourea modified chitosan microsphere（TMCM） with high specific surface,favorable mechanical strength and excellent adsorption performance had been synthesized via microfluidic technology. Polyethylene glycol was used as a significant component added in aqueous solution of chitosan to produce such microspheres through droplets forming, chemical crosslinking and pores creating. For the improvement of adsorption capacity, thiourea was considered as an excellent choice in increasing amino functional group by graft modification. The SEM, FTIR and EDS were employed to detect distinct features of TMCM. Copper（Ⅱ） was used to test the adsorption performance of TMCM. The experimental results indicated that TMCM exhibited higher adsorption capacity（q_e= 60.6 mg g_（-1）） and faster adsorption rate than that non-modified chitosan microsphere（NMCM）.The adsorption kinetic was described well by the pseudo-second order kinetic model, which suggested that chemical adsorption along with electrons transferring was dominant in adsorption process.