{"title":"A new biofunctionalized and micropatterned PDMS is able to promote stretching induced human myotube maturation†","authors":"Théo Regagnon, Fabrice Raynaud, Gilles Subra, Gilles Carnac, Gerald Hugon, Aurélien Flatres, Vincent Humblot, Laurine Raymond, Julie Martin, Elodie Carretero, Margaux Clavié, Nathalie Saint, Sylvie Calas, Cécile Echalier, Pascal Etienne and Stefan Matecki","doi":"10.1039/D4LC00911H","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4LC00911H","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Inter-individual variability in muscle responses to mechanical stress during exercise is poorly understood. Therefore, new cell culture scaffolds are needed to gain deeper insights into the cellular mechanisms underlying the influence of mechanical stress on human myogenic progenitor cells behavior. To this end, we propose the first <em>in vitro</em> model involving uniaxial mechanical stress applied to aligned human primary muscle-derived cells, employing a biocompatible organic–inorganic photostructurable hybrid material (OIPHM) covalently attached to a stretchable PDMS support. Using a laser printing technique with an additive photolithographic process, we optimally micropatterned the PDMS support to create longitudinal microgrooves, achieving well-aligned muscle fibers without significantly affecting their diameter. This support was biofunctionalized with peptide sequences from the ECM, which interact with cellular adhesion receptors and prevent myotube detachment induced by stretching. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of biofunctionalized PDMS with RGD-derived peptide deposition revealed a significant increase in nitrogen compared to silicon, associated with the presence of a 380 nm thick layer measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Upon cell culture, we observed that functionalization with an RGD peptide had a beneficial impact on cell fusion rate and myotube area compared to bare PDMS. At the initiation of the stretching protocol, we observed a three-fold rapid and transient increase in RNA expression for the mechanosensitive ion channel protein piezo and a decrease in the ratio of nuclei expressing myogenin relative to the total nuclei count (43 ± 16% <em>vs.</em> 6 ± 6%, <em>p</em> < 0.01). Compared to day 0 of differentiation, stretching the myotubes induced MHC and Titin colocalization (0.66 ± 0.13 <em>vs.</em> 0.93 ± 0.05, <em>p</em> < 0.01), favoring sarcomere organization and maturation. In this study, we propose and validate an optimized protocol for culturing human primary muscle-derived cells, allowing standardized uniaxial mechanical stress with a biocompatible OIPHM covalently linked to PDMS biofunctionalized with an ECM-derived peptide, to better characterize the behavior of myogenic progenitor cells under mechanical stress in future studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 6","pages":" 1586-1599"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/lc/d4lc00911h?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143404945","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}
Lab on a ChipPub Date : 2025-02-03DOI: 10.1039/D4LC00765D
Ryuichiro Abe, Jyong-Huei Lee, Siew Mei Chin, Nikhil Ram-Mohan, Kristel C. Tjandra, April M. Bobenchik, Kathleen E. Mach, Joseph C. Liao, Pak Kin Wong and Samuel Yang
{"title":"Precision single cell analysis to characterize host dependent antimicrobial response heterogeneity in physiological medium†","authors":"Ryuichiro Abe, Jyong-Huei Lee, Siew Mei Chin, Nikhil Ram-Mohan, Kristel C. Tjandra, April M. Bobenchik, Kathleen E. Mach, Joseph C. Liao, Pak Kin Wong and Samuel Yang","doi":"10.1039/D4LC00765D","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4LC00765D","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Antimicrobial stewardship plays an essential role in combating the global health threat posed by multidrug-resistant pathogens. Phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) is the gold standard for analyzing bacterial responses to antimicrobials. However, current AST techniques, which rely on end-point bulk measurements of bacterial growth under antimicrobial treatment in a broth solution, have limitations in resembling the physiological working environment and resolving heterogeneity in response kinetics within the population. In this study, we investigate the responses of uropathogenic bacteria under antimicrobial treatment in individual urine. Our results demonstrate substantial heterogeneity in time–kill kinetics in response to antimicrobials in a host-dependent manner. We also establish a microfluidic gel encapsulation platform for single cell imaging to rapidly resolve heterogeneous subpopulations in response to antimicrobials. The platform captures both bacterial growth and killing within the gel and enables medium exchange to assess the ability of surviving cells to resume growth after antimicrobial removal. Our study lays the foundation for a new generation of precision single cell analysis for personalizing antimicrobial treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 4","pages":" 714-728"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/lc/d4lc00765d?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143078023","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}
Lab on a ChipPub Date : 2025-01-31DOI: 10.1039/D4LC00872C
Ivana Kundacina, Ognjen Kundacina, Dragisa Miskovic and Vasa Radonic
{"title":"Advancing microfluidic design with machine learning: a Bayesian optimization approach†","authors":"Ivana Kundacina, Ognjen Kundacina, Dragisa Miskovic and Vasa Radonic","doi":"10.1039/D4LC00872C","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4LC00872C","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Microfluidic technology, which involves the manipulation of fluids in microchannels, faces challenges in channel design and performance optimization due to its complex, multi-parameter nature. Traditional design and optimization approaches usually rely on time-consuming numerical simulations, or on trial-and-error methods, which entail high costs associated with experimental evaluations. Additionally, commonly used optimization methods require many numerical simulations, and to avoid excessive computation time, they approximate simulation results with faster surrogate models. Alternatively, machine learning (ML) is becoming increasingly significant in microfluidics and technology in general, enabling advancements in data analysis, automation, and system optimization. Among ML methods, Bayesian optimization (BO) stands out by systematically exploring the design space, usually using Gaussian processes (GP) to model the objective function and guide the search for optimal designs. In this paper, we demonstrate the application of BO in the design optimization of the microfluidic systems, by enhancing the mixing performance of a micromixer with parallelogram barriers and a Tesla micromixer modified with parallelogram barriers. Micromixer models were made using Comsol Multiphysics software® and their geometric parameters were optimized using BO. The presented approach minimizes the number of required simulations to reach the optimal design, thus eliminating the need for developing a separate surrogate model for approximation of the simulation results. The results showed the effectiveness of using BO for design optimization, both in terms of the execution speed and reaching the optimum of the objective function. The optimal geometries for efficient mixing were achieved at least an order of magnitude faster compared to state-of-the-art optimization methods for microfluidic design. In addition, the presented approach can be widely applied to other microfluidic devices, such as droplet generators, particle separators, <em>etc.</em></p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 4","pages":" 657-672"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/lc/d4lc00872c?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143062150","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}
Lab on a ChipPub Date : 2025-01-31DOI: 10.1039/D4LC00940A
Siddharth Raghu Srimathi, Maxinne A. Ignacio, Maria Rife, Sheldon Tai, Donald K. Milton, Margaret A. Scull and Don L. DeVoe
{"title":"Microfluidic digital focus assays for the quantification of infectious influenza virus†","authors":"Siddharth Raghu Srimathi, Maxinne A. Ignacio, Maria Rife, Sheldon Tai, Donald K. Milton, Margaret A. Scull and Don L. DeVoe","doi":"10.1039/D4LC00940A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4LC00940A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Quantifying infectious virus is essential for vaccine development, clinical diagnostics, and infectious disease research, but current assays are constrained by long turnaround times, high costs, and laborious procedures. To address these limitations, we present a digital focus assay employing an array of independent nanoliter cell cultures. The microfluidic platform allows cells in each nanowell to be inoculated with virus, followed by oil discretization to prevent cross-contamination. After incubation, infected cells are visualized through immunofluorescence staining, and a binary map of wells positive for viral antigen is generated by automated image analysis, allowing infectious viral titer to be calculated by statistical analysis. The platform requires significantly smaller sample and reagent volumes than conventional focus assays while enhancing assay automation and endpoint time flexibility. The technology is applied to the quantification of infectious influenza A using both model virus and clinical specimens, demonstrating the digital platform as an accurate, rapid, cost-effective, and convenient tool for viral load quantification with broad utility in clinical, pharmaceutical, and research applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 8","pages":" 2004-2016"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11796355/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143187797","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}
Lab on a ChipPub Date : 2025-01-30DOI: 10.1039/D4LC00871E
Hardik Makkar and Gopu Sriram
{"title":"Advances in modeling periodontal host–microbe interactions: insights from organotypic and organ-on-chip systems","authors":"Hardik Makkar and Gopu Sriram","doi":"10.1039/D4LC00871E","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4LC00871E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Periodontal disease, a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the supporting structures of teeth, is driven by an imbalanced interaction between the periodontal microbiota and the host inflammatory response. Beyond its local impact, periodontal disease is associated with systemic conditions such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and inflammatory bowel disease, emphasizing the importance of understanding its mechanisms. Traditional pre-clinical models, such as monolayer cultures and animal studies, have provided foundational insights but are limited by their physiological relevance and ethical concerns. Recent advancements in tissue engineering and microfluidic technologies have led to the development of three-dimensional (3D) organotypic culture models and organ-on-chip systems that more closely mimic native tissue microenvironments. This review provides an overview of the evolution of methods to study periodontal host–microbe interactions, from simple 2D monolayer cultures to complex 3D organotypic and microfluidic organ-on-chip (OoC) models. We discuss various fabrication strategies, host–microbe co-culture techniques, and methods for evaluating outcomes in these advanced models. Additionally, we highlight insights gained from gut-on-chip platforms and their potential applications in periodontal research and understanding oral-systemic links of periodontal disease. Through a comprehensive overview of current advancements and future directions, this review provides insights on the transformative potential of OoC technology in periodontal research, offering new avenues for studying disease mechanisms and developing therapeutic strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 5","pages":" 1342-1371"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11833442/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143439426","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}
Lab on a ChipPub Date : 2025-01-30DOI: 10.1039/D4LC00900B
Canfeng Yang, Chunhua He, Huasheng Zhuo, Jianxin Wang, Tuying Yong, Lu Gan, Xiangliang Yang, Lei Nie, Shuang Xi, Zhiyong Liu, Guanglan Liao and Tielin Shi
{"title":"Cost-effective microfluidic flow cytometry for precise and gentle cell sorting†","authors":"Canfeng Yang, Chunhua He, Huasheng Zhuo, Jianxin Wang, Tuying Yong, Lu Gan, Xiangliang Yang, Lei Nie, Shuang Xi, Zhiyong Liu, Guanglan Liao and Tielin Shi","doi":"10.1039/D4LC00900B","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4LC00900B","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Microfluidic flow cytometry (MFCM) is considered to be an effective substitute for traditional flow cytometry, because of its advantages in terms of higher integration, smaller device size, lower cost, and higher cell sorting activity. However, MFCM still faces challenges in balancing parameters such as sorting throughput, viability, sorting efficiency, and cost. Here, we demonstrate a cost-effective and high-performance microfluidic cytometry cell sorting system, along with a customized microfluidic chip that integrates hydrodynamic focusing, droplet encapsulation, and sorting for precise cell manipulation. An innovative photon incremental counting-based fluorescence detection method is proposed, which requires only one-fiftieth of the data compared to traditional methods. This significantly simplifies the structure of the system and substantially reduces costs. The system exhibits detection recoveries exceeding 95% across sample solution flow rates ranging from 10 to 80 μL min<small><sup>−1</sup></small>. Moreover, it accurately achieves individual droplet deflections at a droplet generation frequency of 1600 Hz. Ultimately, our cell sorting system offers an impressive sorting efficiency of 90.7% and a high cell viability of 94.3% when operating at a droplet generation frequency of 1316 Hz, highlighting its accuracy and gentleness throughout the entire process. Our work will enhance advances in the life sciences, thereby creating a boom in great applications in single-cell cloning, single-cell analysis, drug screening, <em>etc.</em></p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 4","pages":" 698-713"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143078020","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}
Lab on a ChipPub Date : 2025-01-27DOI: 10.1039/D3LC00604B
Shruti Soni and Bhushan J. Toley
{"title":"Integrated bacterial cell lysis and DNA extraction using paper-based isotachophoresis†","authors":"Shruti Soni and Bhushan J. Toley","doi":"10.1039/D3LC00604B","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D3LC00604B","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Bacterial infections remain a global threat, particularly in low-resource settings, where access to accurate and timely diagnosis is limited. Point-of-care nucleic acid amplification tests have shown great promise in addressing this challenge. However, their dependence on complex traditional sample preparation methods remains a major challenge. To address this limitation, we present a paper-based sample preparation device that integrates bacterial cell lysis, DNA purification, and concentration using an electrokinetic technique called isotachophoresis (ITP). This is the first device that (i) integrates electrochemical bacterial lysis with ITP and (ii) demonstrates the focusing of whole bacterial genomic DNA (gDNA) in paper. Characterization with buffers showed that the paper-based ITP sample preparation module (p-ITPrep) concentrated bacterial gDNA with an average concentration factor of 12×, and DNA could be extracted from a sample containing as few as 10<small><sup>2</sup></small> CFU mL<small><sup>−1</sup></small><em>Mycobacterium smegmatis</em> (<em>Msm</em>). From complex biological matrices – human saliva, human blood serum, and artificial urine – p-ITPrep extracted DNA from samples containing 10<small><sup>2</sup></small> CFU <em>Msm</em> per mL saliva or artificial urine and 10<small><sup>3</sup></small> CFU <em>Msm</em> per mL serum within 20 min. The extraction procedure involved only 3 user steps, in contrast to conventional solid phase extraction kits that require more than 10 user steps. p-ITPrep may provide a simple, inexpensive, and versatile alternative to conventional multi-step nucleic acid extraction protocols for point-of-care diagnostics.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 4","pages":" 686-697"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143078022","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}
Lab on a ChipPub Date : 2025-01-27DOI: 10.1039/D4LC01056F
Michael Mellody, Yuta Nakagawa, Richard James and Dino Di Carlo
{"title":"Multi-reactive hydrogel nanovials for temporal control of secretion capture from antibody-secreting cells†","authors":"Michael Mellody, Yuta Nakagawa, Richard James and Dino Di Carlo","doi":"10.1039/D4LC01056F","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4LC01056F","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Antibody discovery can benefit from techniques to screen antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) at scale for the binding and functionality of a diverse set of secreted antibodies. Previously, we demonstrated the use of cavity-containing hydrogel microparticles (nanovials) coated with a single affinity agent, biotin, to capture and identify ASCs secreting antibodies against a recombinant antigen bound to the nanovial through biotin–streptavidin linkages. However, rapidly secreted antibodies from unbound cells or cells in adjacent nanovials can cause crosstalk leading to background signal. Earlier efforts address this by localizing capture sites to the nanovial cavity, emulsifying nanovials, or short secretion times to limit secreted antibodies from binding to neighboring nanovials. Here, we demonstrate a method to functionalize nanovials with moieties that impart orthogonal reactivity, enabling conjugation of cell capture antibodies and antigens at different times. We show that by using a strained alkyne moiety to attach cell-capture antibodies <em>via</em> click chemistry to nanovials, we can capture cells and subsequently quantify secretions <em>via</em> biotin–streptavidin linkages. By delaying the loading of antigens onto the nanovials until after cell capture, we were able to ensure high purity (>95%) isolation of hybridoma secreting an antigen-specific antibody in a background of other hybridoma. This approach allows tight temporal control of the secretion measurement, which is independent of the cell loading time and requires less convective transfer steps. Click chemistry-based coupling further improved cell loading into nanovials by 58% compared to biotin–streptavidin–biotin coupling and caused no reduction in cell viability. We demonstrate an implementation of this system to improve antigen-specific hybridoma screening, yielding an 8-fold improvement in hybridoma enrichment while maintaining similar workflow complexity. Hybridomas on nanovials sorted into well plates regrew into colonies following sorting using standard fluorescence-activated cell sorting and maintained secretion of antigen-specific antibodies with high purity (∼90%), as validated <em>via</em> standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. This lab-on-a-particle approach can be applied more generally to decouple cell loading, treatment, or activation, from secretion measurements for single-cell functional assays.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 6","pages":" 1565-1574"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143187798","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}
Lab on a ChipPub Date : 2025-01-23DOI: 10.1039/D4LC00699B
Maria-Nefeli Tsaloglou, Dionysios C. Christodouleas, Jonathan Milette, Kendall Milkey, Isabelle C. Romine, Judy Im, Shefali Lathwal, Duraipandian Thava Selvam, Hadley D. Sikes and George M. Whitesides
{"title":"Point-of-need diagnostics in a post-Covid world: an opportunity for paper-based microfluidics to serve during syndemics†","authors":"Maria-Nefeli Tsaloglou, Dionysios C. Christodouleas, Jonathan Milette, Kendall Milkey, Isabelle C. Romine, Judy Im, Shefali Lathwal, Duraipandian Thava Selvam, Hadley D. Sikes and George M. Whitesides","doi":"10.1039/D4LC00699B","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4LC00699B","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Zoonotic outbreaks present with unpredictable threats to human health, food production, biodiversity, national security and disrupt the global economy. The COVID-19 pandemic—caused by zoonotic coronavirus, SARS-CoV2— is the most recent upsurge of an increasing trend in outbreaks for the past 100 years. This year, emergence of avian influenza (H5N1) is a stark reminder of the need for national and international pandemic preparedness. Tools for threat reduction include consistent practices in reporting pandemics, and widespread availability of accurate detection technologies. Wars and extreme climate events redouble the need for fast, adaptable and affordable diagnostics at the point of need. During the recent pandemic, rapid home tests for SARS-CoV-2 proved to be a viable functional model that leverages simplicity. In this perspective, we introduce the concept of syndemnicity in the context of infectious diseases and point-of-need healthcare diagnostics. We also provide a brief state-of-the-art for paper-based microfluidics. We illustrate our arguments with a case study for detecting brucellosis in cows. Finally, we conclude with lessons learned, challenges and opportunities for paper-based microfluidics to serve point-of-need healthcare diagnostics during syndemics.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 5","pages":" 741-751"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/lc/d4lc00699b?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143021294","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":"Synergistic binding ability of electrostatic tweezers and femtosecond laser-structured slippery surfaces enabling unusual droplet manipulation applications†","authors":"Xinlei Li, Chaowei Wang, Zhenrui Chen, Cunyuan Chen, Suwan Zhu, Dong Wu and Jiale Yong","doi":"10.1039/D4LC01084A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4LC01084A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >We propose a novel contactless droplet manipulation strategy that combines electrostatic tweezers (ESTs) with lubricated slippery surfaces. Electrostatic induction causes the droplet to experience an electrostatic force, allowing it to move with the horizontal shift of the EST. Because both the EST and the slippery operating platform prepared by a femtosecond laser exhibit a strong binding effect on droplets, the EST droplet manipulation features significant flexibility, high precision, and can work under various operating conditions. The EST can manipulate droplets with a wide volume range (500 nL–1 mL), droplets hanging on tilted or even inverted surfaces, multiple droplets in parallel, corrosive droplets, low-surface-tension organic droplets (<em>e.g.</em>, ethanol), and even droplets in a sealed space from the outside. The EST operation method is suitable for various slippery substrates prepared by femtosecond laser processing and can also be used to manipulate small solid spheres other than liquids. Additionally, a self-powered EST system is also designed without the need for high-voltage static electricity, allowing even fingers to serve as EST sources for droplet manipulation. The flexible and precise manipulation performance allows this technology to be applied in a variety of applications. For example, a new digital microfluidic (DMF) technology based on an EST array has been successfully validated and is expected to replace traditional electrowetting-on-dielectric technology in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 4","pages":" 644-656"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143062029","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}