Lab on a Chip最新文献

{"title":"Mechanical actuation on surface (MAOS) microfluidics: compression for preparation in next-generation sequencing.","authors":"Parimala Nagaraja, Rohit Lal, Cheng-Chang Lee, Eduardo Cervantes, Foteini Christodoulou, Mais J Jebrail","doi":"10.1039/d5lc00625b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5lc00625b","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We present mechanical actuation on surface (MAOS), a programmable microfluidic platform that manipulates droplets <i>via</i> localized mechanical compression-eliminating the need for embedded electronics or fixed microchannel geometries. MAOS integrates essential fluidic operations-including droplet transport, magnetic bead-based purification, and thermal cycling-within a benchtop instrument and single-use cartridge. The system accommodates droplet volumes from nL to μL, enabling precise control over sequential biochemical processes. By studying the dynamic behavior of diverse fluids under compression, we identified the key physical variables-surface tension, contact angle, and viscosity-that dictate the onset of droplet motion. We observed sharp transitions in mobility around specific thresholds and validated interfacial encapsulation as a general strategy to overcome resistive pinning. We validated MAOS by first implementing and testing miniaturized next-generation sequencing (NGS) library preparation sub-processes. Magnetic bead-based cleanup showed DNA recovery and fragment size selection comparable to manual methods, and PCR amplification was carried out reliably in low-volume (5 μL) reactions with minimal evaporation. Subsequently, the full NGS library preparation workflow was executed in a plexed format, processing eight libraries in parallel on a single disposable cartridge using as little as 10% of standard reagent volumes. Short- and long-read sequencing outputs from MAOS libraries aligned with manual protocols across key quality metrics. These results establish MAOS as a scalable and user-friendly alternative to conventional microfluidics, suitable for diverse applications in molecular biology, chemistry, and high-throughput workflows.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Salvinia-inspired architectures for enhancing interface stability and mass transfer in microchannels.","authors":"Jinlong Xu, Yongjian Li, Haosheng Chen","doi":"10.1039/d5lc00599j","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5lc00599j","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mass transfer in conventional microchannels primarily relies on wall-mediated diffusion or is compromised by dynamic instability at free interfaces, which limits interphase transport efficiency. Inspired by the hierarchical trichomes of <i>Salvinia molesta</i> leaves, we designed composite architectures featuring spatially selective hydrophilic modification <i>via in situ</i> polydopamine (PDA) grafting, which enhance mass transfer while maintaining interface stability in microchannels. High-speed imaging was used to capture the dynamic evolution of interfacial morphology, revealing failure behaviours consistent with theoretical analysis. Cyclic pressure loading experiments confirmed that the modified architecture exhibited strong interfacial pinning, increasing the stable operating pressure range by over 20% and doubling the tolerable disturbance frequency. By establishing mass transfer models, we demonstrated that this robust stability enabled efficient gas-liquid mass transfer and verified its potential for liquid-liquid extraction applications, especially under dynamic pulsatile flow conditions, where the mass transfer efficiency was improved by more than 15% compared to static conditions. This work presents an interfacial engineering strategy that combines structural design with surface wettability control, with broad potential in biological and chemical separation, gas-liquid reactions, and multiphase microfluidics.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Benchmarking microfluidic and immunomagnetic platforms for isolating circulating tumor cells in pancreatic cancer","authors":"Celine Macaraniag, Ifra Khan, Alexandra Barabanova, Valentina Valle, Jian Zhou, Pier C. Giulianotti, Alain Borgeat, Gina Votta-Velis, Ian Papautsky","doi":"10.1039/d5lc00512d","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5lc00512d","url":null,"abstract":"Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the US., with poor prognosis due to late-stage diagnosis and high recurrence rates following surgery. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are thought to contribute to post-surgical metastasis, while circulating epithelial cells (CECs) have been detected in up to 33% of patients with premalignant pancreatic cysts, offering a potential window for early intervention. Despite their promise as prognostic biomarkers, the clinical utility of CTCs and CECs in pancreatic cancer remains underexplored. Microfluidic technologies offer label-free isolation of rare cells, but few have been benchmarked against clinically validated systems. In this study, we conducted a direct comparison of our inertial microfluidic system with a widely used immunomagnetic negative selection platform (EasySep™). Using matched experimental conditions, we quantified target cell recovery and enrichment to evaluate performance. The inertial microfluidic system demonstrated higher recovery and enrichment, particularly at low cell concentrations, compared to EasySep™, supporting its potential for clinical translation. These findings highlight the advantages of label-free microfluidic isolation and its promise for early detection, prognostic assessment, and therapeutic monitoring in pancreatic cancer.","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":"70 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144919103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Advances in large-scale electrophysiology with high-density microelectrode arrays","authors":"Manuel Schröter, Fernando Cardes, Cat-Vu H. Bui, Lorenzo Davide Dodi, Tobias Gänswein, Julian Bartram, Lorenca Sadiraj, Philipp Hornauer, Sreedhar Kumar, Maria Pascual-Garcia and Andreas Hierlemann","doi":"10.1039/D5LC00058K","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5LC00058K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >A detailed functional characterization of electrogenic cells, such as neurons and cardiomyocytes, by means of high-density microelectrode arrays (HD-MEAs) has emerged as a powerful approach for inferring cellular phenotypes and elucidating fundamental mechanisms underlying cellular function. HD-MEAs have been applied across a range of disciplines, including neurodevelopmental research, stem cell biology, and pharmacology, and more recently in interdisciplinary work at the intersection of biomedical engineering, computer science, and artificial intelligence (AI). Innovations in chip design, fabrication, recording capabilities, and data processing have significantly advanced the functionality of HD-MEAs. Today's chips allow the study of cellular function across scales and at high throughput. They enable the analysis of multi-parametric functional phenotypes over extended time and facilitate monitoring the effects of targeted perturbations on cellular behavior. In this <em>Tutorial Review</em>, we will first survey the advances in HD-MEA design and their readout and stimulation capabilities. We will then abstract studies that used HD-MEAs in combination with other experimental techniques to probe biologically relevant cellular and subcellular features, with an emphasis on <em>in vitro</em> applications of HD-MEAs. Thereafter, we will cover analytical techniques that are essential for analyzing and characterizing HD-MEA data. Finally, we will address current limitations of HD-MEAs and discuss potential future developments.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 19","pages":" 4844-4885"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/lc/d5lc00058k?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144910785","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Modular RCA-CRISPR/Cas12a amplification on a multi-volume SlipChip for ultrafast, single-copy quantification of circRNA and miRNA in ovarian cancer.","authors":"Lingxi Tian, Yan Gao, Yang Lu, Feng Xu, Zirui Feng, Lihan Zi, Zaian Deng, Jun Yang","doi":"10.1039/d5lc00585j","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5lc00585j","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aberrant expression of RNAs in ovarian cancer (OC) progression highlights their potential as clinical biomarkers. However, rapid and accurate quantification of these RNAs in biosamples remains a significant challenge. In this study, we develop a modular isothermal rolling circle amplification (RCA)-activated Cas12a loop-enhanced (MIRACLE) amplification method for circRNA and miRNA quantification without the need of reverse transcription. In this design, isothermal amplification of modular DNA can be initiated by target-specific RCA primers or miRNAs, with the amplification products subsequently recognized by the Cas12a system to generate measurable signals. When integrated with a multi-volume sliding chip (SlipChip) platform, this MIRACLE method enables portable, rapid and ultra-sensitive quantification of these two types of RNA. Under optimized conditions, this platform exhibits detection limits of 0.125 copies per μL for circRNA and 0.326 copies per μL for miRNA, covering a 5-log dynamic range from 10^-1 to 10³ copies per μL within 35 min. The platform was validated using OC cell lines and clinical blood samples. It successfully profiled OC RNA biomarkers (hsa_circ_0049101 and hsa-miR-338-3p) and effectively distinguished between early and advanced stages of OC. These results show a strong correlation with RT-qPCR (<i>R</i>² = 0.953 for circRNA and <i>R</i>² = 0.947 for miRNA). This work establishes a versatile CRISPR-microfluidic platform for cancer diagnosis. Its modular design allows for adaptation to detect other cancer-related RNA biomarkers, thereby addressing critical needs in precision oncology.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"3D holographic flow cytometry measurements of microalgae: strategies for angle recovery in complex rotation patterns.","authors":"Francesca Borrelli, Giusy Giugliano, Emilie Houliez, Jaromir Behal, Daniele Pirone, Leonilde Roselli, Angela Sardo, Valerio Zupo, Maria Costantini, Lisa Miccio, Pasquale Memmolo, Vittorio Bianco, Pietro Ferraro","doi":"10.1039/d5lc00559k","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5lc00559k","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Marine ecosystems are in the spotlight, because environmental changes are threatening biodiversity and ecological functions. In this context, microalgae play key ecological roles both in planktonic and benthic ecosystems. Consequently, they are considered indispensable targets for global monitoring programs. However, due to their high spatial and temporal variability and to difficulties of species identification (still relying on microscopy observations), the assessment of roles played by these components of marine ecosystems is demanding. In addition, technologies for a 3D assessment of their complex morphology are scarcely available. Here, we present a comprehensive workflow for retrieving 3D information on microalgae with diverse geometries through holographic microscopy operating in flow-cytometry mode onboard a lab on a chip device. Depending on the rotation patterns of samples, a tailored approach is used to retrieve their rolling angles. We demonstrate the feasibility of measuring 3D data of various microalgae, contingent on the intrinsic optical properties of cells. Specifically, we show that for quasi-transparent and low-scattering microorganisms, the retrieved angles permit quantitative 3D tomographic refractive index (RI) mapping to be achieved, providing full characterization of the alga in terms of its inner structure and outer shape. Moreover, even in the most challenging scenarios, where microalgae exhibit high light absorption or strong scattering, quantitative 3D shape reconstructions of diatoms and dinoflagellates can be at least achieved. Finally, we compare our direct 3D measurements with 2D inferences of 3D properties, obtained using a commercially available microscopy system. The ability to non-invasively obtain 3D information on microalgae marks a fundamental advancement in the field, unlocking a wealth of novel biological insights for characterizing aquatic ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Trapping nanoscale particles <i>via</i> quasi-Scholte mode in acoustofluidics.","authors":"Jiaqi Liu, Yuan Yu, Rujun Zhang, Yanru Chen, Yanlong Guo, Yi Zhang, Ran Tao, Jingting Luo, Hairong Zheng, Pingfa Feng, Yongqing Fu, Jianjian Wang, Feiyan Cai","doi":"10.1039/d5lc00490j","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5lc00490j","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Non-contact and label-free acoustic manipulation of particles is crucial for various applications ranging from cell separation and tissue engineering to micromachining and nanofabrication. Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) have been widely used for microscale particle manipulation; their leaky nature in liquid often generates significant bulk acoustic streaming that undermines stable trapping of nanoscale particles. To address this challenge, we introduce an acoustofluidic device comprising a zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film deposited on aluminum foil with one-sided water loading. This design excites quasi-Scholte waves, a specialized nonleaky mode confined to the fluid-solid interface, which effectively suppresses bulk streaming and enables stable nanoparticle trapping. Both theoretical modeling and experiments confirm that the resulting strongly evanescent field operated at 5.11 MHz generates negative vertical forces and strong lateral (in-plane) trapping forces, successfully trapping 250 nm-radius particles on the foil surface. As the particle radius decreases to 150 nm, streaming-induced drag becomes the dominant manipulation mechanism. Operable at low frequencies with a simple and scalable design, our platform offers a versatile route for precise nanoscale particle trapping, with significant potential for bioengineering and nanofabrication applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"On-chip near-infrared gas sensing based on slow light mode multiplexing in photonic crystal waveguide","authors":"Zihang Peng, Yuting Min, Mingquan Pi, Kaiyuan Zheng, Fang Song, Lei Liang, Yi-Ding Wang, Yu Zhang, Xue Bai, Chuan-Tao Zheng","doi":"10.1039/d5lc00403a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5lc00403a","url":null,"abstract":"Photonic crystal slow light waveguides present a breakthrough in the manipulation of optical signals and enhancing the interaction between light and matter. Especially, two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal waveguides (PCWs) on silicon photonic chips holds promise in improving the sensitivity of on-chip gas sensors. However, the development of the gas sensors based on 2D PCWs suffers from a high propagation loss and a narrow slow light bandwidth. In this study, our focus was on designing a one-dimensional (1D) PCW with lower propagation loss and tailored group indices across dual distinct frequency bands. To achieve this, a mode converter was employed to effectively stimulate both odd and even modes of the 1D PCW with odd modes ranging from 1520 to 1555 nm and even modes spanning 1615–1665 nm. Remarkably, we pioneered the application of slow light mode multiplexing to demonstrate the potential of the 1D PCW as an on-chip multi-gas sensor, specifically targeting acetylene (C2H2) and methane (CH4). At 1533 nm, the odd mode exhibited an impressive interaction factor of 0.836, while at 1654 nm, the even mode achieved an even higher interaction factor of 1.308, and both remain relatively low propagation losses. This research not only introduces innovative strategies for expanding slow light bandwidth but also presents a promising avenue for on-chip multi-gas detection.","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144906324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A high-sensitivity and clogging-free microfluidic impedance flow cytometer based on three-dimensional hydrodynamic focusing.","authors":"Xiao Chen, Tingxuan Fang, Yimin Li, Jie Zhang, Xiaoye Huo, Junbo Wang, Xuzhen Qin, Yueying Li, Yi Zhang, Jian Chen","doi":"10.1039/d5lc00571j","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5lc00571j","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microfluidic impedance flow cytometry has functioned as an enabling instrument in single-cell analysis, which, however, suffers from the limiting tradeoff between high sensitivity and clogging-free operation. In order to address this issue, this study presented a microfluidic impedance flow cytometer based on three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic focusing, in which the crossflow of conductive sample fluids and insulating sheath fluids was leveraged to centralize and restrict electric field lines to the sample fluid, thereby achieving high impedance sensitivity of single cells without the concern of channel blockage. Different from conventional impedance flow cytometry, in this study, impedance amplitude dips (rather than pulse singles) generated by single microparticles traveling through the 3D hydrodynamic focusing region were experimentally validated using microbeads. Based on the home-developed microfluidic impedance flow cytometer, high-sensitivity and clogging-free impedance profiles of three leukemia cell lines (K562, Jurkat, and HL-60) and four types of purified leukocytes (neutrophil, eosinophil, monocyte, and lymphocyte) were quantified as -8.01 ± 2.96%, -4.53 ± 1.09%, -6.36 ± 1.54%; -8.11 ± 0.84%, -7.23 ± 1.06%, -9.05 ± 2.00% and -5.68 ± 1.24%, respectively. When a recurrent neural network was adopted for cell-type classification, high classification accuracies of 93.9% for three leukemia cell lines and 87.8% for four types of purified leukocytes were achieved. This study presented a promising impedance flow cytometer that combines high sensitivity with sustainable working capabilities, potentially overcoming the limitations of conventional microfluidic impedance flow cytometry and significantly advancing its commercial development.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144936524","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microchannel-confined droplet-based electricity generator for biomechanical energy conversion and sensing","authors":"Jianwu Wang, Yonghui Zhang, Xiaokai Li, Zhengyu Li, Yuheng Li, Jiahao Zhang, Xin Liu, Jing Sun and Huanxi Zheng","doi":"10.1039/D5LC00662G","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5LC00662G","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are positioned as a critical sustainable power solution for harvesting low-frequency mechanical energy or sensing. Although solid–solid contact-based TENGs can provide sustainable power to diminish external battery reliance and enhance portability and operational longevity, suboptimal energy output at low-frequency excitation, irreversible material damage under long-term operation and inadequate energy supply remain a challenge. Solid–liquid contact-based TENGs present an alternative approach, but rigid and bulky configurations hinder their integration toward wearable devices and the development of real applications. To address these challenges, we propose a flexible microchannel-confined droplet-based electricity generator (MC-DEG). By enclosing droplet chains in a flexible microfluidic channel and employing a dual-drain electrode structure (inspired by transistor design), the device achieves dual-peak electrical output that efficiently releases electrostatic induction charge accumulation during liquid reciprocation. This design enhances charge collection efficiency by &gt;75% compared to single-electrode systems. The MC-DEG's output is tunable <em>via</em> structural parameters (<em>e.g.</em>, source electrode dimensions) and external excitation. Its miniaturized closed system enables wearable integration, eliminating external droplet dependency while simultaneously enabling biomechanical energy conversion (<em>e.g.</em>, human motion) and monitoring physiological signals, which provides a potential strategy for the development of emerging wearable application devices.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 19","pages":" 4934-4942"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144906325","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}