Three-Dimensional Printing Enabled Droplet Microfluidic Device for Real-Time Monitoring of Single-Cell Viability and Blebbing Activity
Droplet-based microfluidics with the characteristics of high throughput, low sample consumption, increasing reaction speed, and homogeneous volume control have been demonstrated as a useful platform for biomedical research and applications. The traditional fabrication methods of droplet microfluidic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Micromachines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/8/1521 |
| _version_ | 1797583861821997056 |
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| author | Meiai Lin Ting Liu Yeqian Liu Zequan Lin Jiale Chen Jing Song Yiya Qiu Benqing Zhou |
| author_facet | Meiai Lin Ting Liu Yeqian Liu Zequan Lin Jiale Chen Jing Song Yiya Qiu Benqing Zhou |
| author_sort | Meiai Lin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Droplet-based microfluidics with the characteristics of high throughput, low sample consumption, increasing reaction speed, and homogeneous volume control have been demonstrated as a useful platform for biomedical research and applications. The traditional fabrication methods of droplet microfluidics largely rely on expensive instruments, sophisticated operations, and even the requirement of an ultraclean room. In this manuscript, we present a 3D printing-based droplet microfluidic system with a specifically designed microstructure for droplet generation aimed at developing a more accessible and cost-effective method. The performance of droplet generation and the encapsulation capacity of the setup were examined. The device was further applied to measure the variation in cell viability over time and monitor the cell’s blebbing activity to investigate its potential ability and feasibility for single-cell analysis. The result demonstrated that the produced droplets remained stable enough to enable the long-time detection of cell viability. Additionally, cell membrane protrusions featuring the life cycle of bleb initiation, expansion, and retraction can be well-observed. Three-dimensional printing-based droplet microfluidics benefit from the ease of manufacture, which is expected to simplify the fabrication of microfluidics and expand the application of the droplet approach in biomedical fields. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:44:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d54b7ffde5ae437c8bf2d0bbeced963b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:44:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj.art-d54b7ffde5ae437c8bf2d0bbeced963b2023-11-19T02:12:51ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2023-07-01148152110.3390/mi14081521Three-Dimensional Printing Enabled Droplet Microfluidic Device for Real-Time Monitoring of Single-Cell Viability and Blebbing ActivityMeiai Lin0Ting Liu1Yeqian Liu2Zequan Lin3Jiale Chen4Jing Song5Yiya Qiu6Benqing Zhou7Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaDepartment of Biology, College of Science, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaDroplet-based microfluidics with the characteristics of high throughput, low sample consumption, increasing reaction speed, and homogeneous volume control have been demonstrated as a useful platform for biomedical research and applications. The traditional fabrication methods of droplet microfluidics largely rely on expensive instruments, sophisticated operations, and even the requirement of an ultraclean room. In this manuscript, we present a 3D printing-based droplet microfluidic system with a specifically designed microstructure for droplet generation aimed at developing a more accessible and cost-effective method. The performance of droplet generation and the encapsulation capacity of the setup were examined. The device was further applied to measure the variation in cell viability over time and monitor the cell’s blebbing activity to investigate its potential ability and feasibility for single-cell analysis. The result demonstrated that the produced droplets remained stable enough to enable the long-time detection of cell viability. Additionally, cell membrane protrusions featuring the life cycle of bleb initiation, expansion, and retraction can be well-observed. Three-dimensional printing-based droplet microfluidics benefit from the ease of manufacture, which is expected to simplify the fabrication of microfluidics and expand the application of the droplet approach in biomedical fields.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/8/15213D Printingdroplet microfluidicscell viabilitycell blebbing |
| spellingShingle | Meiai Lin Ting Liu Yeqian Liu Zequan Lin Jiale Chen Jing Song Yiya Qiu Benqing Zhou Three-Dimensional Printing Enabled Droplet Microfluidic Device for Real-Time Monitoring of Single-Cell Viability and Blebbing Activity Micromachines 3D Printing droplet microfluidics cell viability cell blebbing |
| title | Three-Dimensional Printing Enabled Droplet Microfluidic Device for Real-Time Monitoring of Single-Cell Viability and Blebbing Activity |
| title_full | Three-Dimensional Printing Enabled Droplet Microfluidic Device for Real-Time Monitoring of Single-Cell Viability and Blebbing Activity |
| title_fullStr | Three-Dimensional Printing Enabled Droplet Microfluidic Device for Real-Time Monitoring of Single-Cell Viability and Blebbing Activity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Three-Dimensional Printing Enabled Droplet Microfluidic Device for Real-Time Monitoring of Single-Cell Viability and Blebbing Activity |
| title_short | Three-Dimensional Printing Enabled Droplet Microfluidic Device for Real-Time Monitoring of Single-Cell Viability and Blebbing Activity |
| title_sort | three dimensional printing enabled droplet microfluidic device for real time monitoring of single cell viability and blebbing activity |
| topic | 3D Printing droplet microfluidics cell viability cell blebbing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/8/1521 |
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