Dataset Information

Microfluidics with fluid walls.

ABSTRACT: Microfluidics has great potential, but the complexity of fabricating and operating devices has limited its use. Here we describe a method - Freestyle Fluidics - that overcomes many key limitations. In this method, liquids are confined by fluid (not solid) walls. Aqueous circuits with any 2D shape are printed in seconds on plastic or glass Petri dishes; then, interfacial forces pin liquids to substrates, and overlaying an immiscible liquid prevents evaporation. Confining fluid walls are pliant and resilient; they self-heal when liquids are pipetted through them. We drive flow through a wide range of circuits passively by manipulating surface tension and hydrostatic pressure, and actively using external pumps. Finally, we validate the technology with two challenging applications - triggering an inflammatory response in human cells and chemotaxis in bacterial biofilms. This approach provides a powerful and versatile alternative to traditional microfluidics.The complexity of fabricating and operating microfluidic devices limits their use. Walsh et al. describe a method in which circuits are printed as quickly and simply as writing with a pen, and liquids in them are confined by fluid instead of solid walls.

SUBMITTER: Walsh EJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5635017 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Microfluidics with fluid walls.

Walsh Edmond J EJ Feuerborn Alexander A Wheeler James H R JHR Tan Ann Na AN Durham William M WM Foster Kevin R KR Cook Peter R PR

Nature communications 20171010 1

Microfluidics has great potential, but the complexity of fabricating and operating devices has limited its use. Here we describe a method - Freestyle Fluidics - that overcomes many key limitations. In this method, liquids are confined by fluid (not solid) walls. Aqueous circuits with any 2D shape are printed in seconds on plastic or glass Petri dishes; then, interfacial forces pin liquids to substrates, and overlaying an immiscible liquid prevents evaporation. Confining fluid walls are pliant an ...[more]

PMID: 29018186

Similar Datasets

Project description:Simple Summary Prostate cancer (PCa) is notoriously difficult to diagnose owing to the lack of reliable biomarkers and the invasiveness of obtaining a tissue biopsy from the prostate. As an alternative, we developed a liquid biopsy technique, based on isolating tumor cells from semen samples via a microfluidic device. To optimize the device, we first attempted to recover PCa cells from semen samples spiked with PCa cell lines, achieving an average efficiency of >87% cell recovery at the chosen flow rate. We then transitioned to a clinical setting using semen samples from PCa patients. The yield of isolated clinical PCa cells varied between 67 and 307 cells per mL of semen (in 15 cancer patients). These cells were stained and compared to the standard prognostic parameters such as Gleason score and PSA serum level. This study presents a potential liquid biopsy technique to augment the existing diagnosis and prognosis of PCa. Abstract Prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis is primarily based on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and prostate tissue biopsies. However, PSA testing has relatively low specificity, while tissue biopsies are highly invasive and have relatively low sensitivity at early stages of PCa. As an alternative, we developed a technique of liquid biopsy, based on isolation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from seminal fluid (SF). The recovery of PCa cells from SF was demonstrated using PCa cell lines, achieving an efficiency and throughput as high as 89% (±3.8%) and 1.7 mL min−1, respectively, while 99% (±0.7%) of sperm cells were disposed of. The introduced approach was further tested in a clinical setting by collecting and processing SF samples of PCa patients. The yield of isolated CTCs measured as high as 613 cells per SF sample in comparison with that of 6 cells from SF of healthy donors, holding significant promise for PCa diagnosis. The correlation analysis of the isolated CTC numbers with the standard prognostic parameters such as Gleason score and PSA serum level showed correlation coefficient values at 0.40 and 0.73, respectively. Taken together, our results show promise in the developed liquid biopsy technique to augment the existing diagnosis and prognosis of PCa.

Dataset Information

Microfluidics with fluid walls.

Publications

Microfluidics with fluid walls.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets