Low-Cost, Accessible Fabrication Methods for Microfluidics Research in Low-Resource Settings

Nguyen, Hoang-Tuan; Thach, Ha; Roy, Emmanuel; Huynh, Khon; Perrault, Cécile M.

doi:10.3390/mi9090461

Cited by 49 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Many researchers extensively utilized a variety of polymers and thermoplastic materials for 3D-bioprinting applications. Solidifiable fluids such as photopolymer resins, temperature-sensitive polymers, and ion cross-linkable hydrogels are the most commonly used materials for 3D-bioprinting in recent years 25,[34][35][36] . Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), for instance, is one of the most commonly used materials to manufacture microfluidic devices because of its excellent transparency and biocompatibility 29,37 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

3D-bioprinted all-inclusive bioanalytical platforms for cell studies

Mazrouei

Velasco

Esfandyarpour

2020

Sci Rep

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Innovative drug screening platforms should improve the discovery of novel and personalized cancer treatment. Common models such as animals and 2D cell cultures lack the proper recapitulation of organ structure and environment. Thus, a new generation of platforms must consist of cell models that accurately mimic the cells' microenvironment, along with flexibly prototyped cell handling structures that represent the human environment. Here, we adapted the 3D-bioprinting technology to develop multiple all-inclusive high throughputs and customized organ-on-a-chip-like platforms along with printed 3D-cell structures. Such platforms are potentially capable of performing 3D cell model analysis and cell-therapeutic response studies. We illustrated spherical and rectangular geometries of bio-printed 3D human colon cancer cell constructs. We also demonstrated the utility of directly 3D-bioprinting and rapidly prototyping of PDMS-based microfluidic cell handling arrays in different geometries. Besides, we successfully monitored the post-viability of the 3D-cell constructs for seven days. Furthermore, to mimic the human environment more closely, we integrated a 3D-bioprinted perfused drug screening microfluidics platform. Platform's channels subject cell constructs to physiological fluid flow, while its concave well array hold and perfused 3D-cell constructs. The bioapplicability of PDMS-based arrays was also demonstrated by performing cancer cell-therapeutic response studies. Traditionally, biomedical research has relied on animal models or two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures. Animal models, though one of the most commonly used systematic models, provide a limited understanding of humanspecific biology of different tissues. This is due to several reasons, such as fundamental differences between humans and animals 1 , low throughput studies, in addition to the ethical concerns 2. Animal testing is not costeffective, considering the cost to provide care, food, and shelter for the animals. Moreover, it is still possible that animal models can show promising results for drug treatments that can be harmful when tested on human subjects 3. On the other hand, despite the broad applications of 2D-cell cultures, these models only interact with their microenvironment in two dimensions, which in most cases cannot properly represent physiological conditions 4. Several studies have shown that 2D-cell constructs possessed altered cell polarity, mechanical cues, biochemical signals, and cell-cell interactions 5. Recently, there has been an emergence of three-dimensional (3D) cell models that better capture the complex cellular microenvironment than the conventional 2D models. 3D-models have shown improvement and relevance in vivo cell structure and function, where features such as the cell type, cell morphology, cell propagation, as well as, differentiation are more precisely represented 6-13. Furthermore, one should note that each year, billions of dollars are wasted because of preclinical 2D cell culture failure in predicting drug safety ...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

3D-bioprinted all-inclusive bioanalytical platforms for cell studies

Mazrouei

Velasco

Esfandyarpour

2020

Sci Rep

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“…Such material examples are OSTE, Flexdym [ 63 ], Styrene Ethylene Butylene Styrene (SEBS) [ 26 ], and polyurethane [ 64 ]. SEBS-based and polyurethane materials can be especially useful due to their flexible nature, which can be used in active element fabrication such as valves [ 64 , 65 ]. We have focused on OSTE material particularly due to its bonding properties.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lung on a Chip Development from Off-Stoichiometry Thiol–Ene Polymer

et al. 2021

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Current in vitro models have significant limitations for new respiratory disease research and rapid drug repurposing. Lung on a chip (LOAC) technology offers a potential solution to these problems. However, these devices typically are fabricated from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which has small hydrophobic molecule absorption, which hinders the application of this technology in drug repurposing for respiratory diseases. Off-stoichiometry thiol–ene (OSTE) is a promising alternative material class to PDMS. Therefore, this study aimed to test OSTE as an alternative material for LOAC prototype development and compare it to PDMS. We tested OSTE material for light transmission, small molecule absorption, inhibition of enzymatic reactions, membrane particle, and fluorescent dye absorption. Next, we microfabricated LOAC devices from PDMS and OSTE, functionalized with human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) and A549 cell lines, and analyzed them with immunofluorescence. We demonstrated that compared to PDMS, OSTE has similar absorption of membrane particles and effect on enzymatic reactions, significantly lower small molecule absorption, and lower light transmission. Consequently, the immunofluorescence of OSTE LOAC was significantly impaired by OSTE optical properties. In conclusion, OSTE is a promising material for LOAC, but optical issues should be addressed in future LOAC prototypes to benefit from the material properties.

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“…Microfluidics is the science of fluid mechanics and the manipulation of fluids in the microscale. It enables highthroughput biological experiments that are cost-effective [107], by modeling the behavior and environment of macroscopic systems [108], [109]. Understanding how diseases, such as cancer, behave through extensive and repeated modeling in these microscale environments, as enabled by microfluidic technology, could lead to the discovery of novel drug delivery methods with much greater efficacy.…”

Section: G Biomedical Engineering Solutions To Curb Deaths Due To Ncdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Need for the Establishment of Biomedical Engineering (BME) as an Academic and Professional Discipline in the Philippines — A Quantitative Argument

Fermin¹,

Tan²

2020

Preprint

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This article quantitatively presents the relationship that exists between research endeavors in BME, which was measured in terms of the volume of publications produced in the field of BME from 1990 to 2019 in the 10 member states of the ASEAN, and 12 indicators of the overall and physical health of populations (†) — GDP per capita, HDI value, HAQ index, life expectancy at birth, healthy life expectancy at birth, maternal mortality ratio, neonatal mortality rate, probability of dying from noncommunicable diseases, and incidences of death due to stroke, diabetes mellitus, congenital birth defects, and leukemia. The objective was to show that ASEAN states that recognize BME as an academic and professional discipline have been successful in producing research in the field, and thus, have advanced the provision of high-quality healthcare for their people. The Pearson correlation coefficients (PCCs) between BME publication volume and the 12 healthcare indicators were calculated and were reported in the order previously listed (see †) to be +0.7555, +0.7398, +0.7297, +0.7563, +0.7879, -0.6286, -0.6810, -0.7245, -0.6683, -0.6893, -0.7645, and -0.6827. The PCCs between BME publication volume and the natural logarithm of the same indicators in the same order were calculated and were reported to be +0.7338, +0.7051, +0.7184, +0.7452, +0.7754, -0.7985, -0.7286, -0.7905, -0.7872, -0.9208, -0.9149, and -0.7038. It was also discovered that data from Brunei Darussalam behaved anomalously, as they did not conform with the observed trends. Hence, it was decided that data from Brunei would be removed to check for any improvements in PCC. Indeed, PCCs for all indicators improved. PCCs between BME publication volume and the 12 indicators excluding data from Brunei were reported in the same order as follows: +0.9279, +0.9072, +0.8659, +0.8598, +0.8800, -0.7313, -0.7783, -0.7919, -0.7726, -0.7073, -0.8133, and -0.6907. PCCs between BME publication volume and the natural logarithms of the 12 indicators excluding data from Brunei were reported in the same order as follows: +0.9042, +0.8707, +0.9599, +0.8519, +0.8726, -0.8822, -0.9318, -0.8430, 0.8510, -0.9234, -0.9390, and -0.7069, respectively. These PCCs, many of them with magnitudes above 0.9000, signify especially strong relationships between BME research yield and healthcare quality in a country.Moreover, to best visualize the relationships quantified above, BME publication volume was plotted against GDP per capita, while the remaining 11 indicators were each plotted against BME publication volume. Linear (Lin), logarithmic (Log), and exponential (Exp) regression curves were then overlaid on the datapoints. Coefficients of determination (R2) were calculated to measure the aptness of the fits. R2 values were reported in the same order as above to be: 0.5161 (Log), 0.5708 (Lin), 0.5473 (Lin), 0.5720 (Lin), 0.6207 (Lin), 0.7457 (Log), 0.7517 (Exp), 0.6249 (Exp), 0.6197 (Exp), 0.8469 (Exp), 0.8095 (Log), and 0.4660 (Lin) [incl. Brunei]; 0.9214 (Log), 0.8612 (Lin), 0.8230 (Lin), 0.7393 (Lin), 0.7745 (Lin), 0.9433 (Log), 0.8682 (Exp), 0.7106 (Exp), 0.7242 (Exp), 0.8527 (Exp), 0.8960 (Log), and 0.4771 (Lin) [excl. Brunei].For this reason, we believe that it is certainly time for the Philippines to adopt BME as an academic and professional discipline in its own right, so that it may one day enjoy the benefits brought about by advancements in the provision of healthcare that are experienced by its ASEAN neighbors that have already gone ahead with movements to cultivate the highly essential discipline.

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Low-Cost, Accessible Fabrication Methods for Microfluidics Research in Low-Resource Settings

Cited by 49 publications

References 30 publications

3D-bioprinted all-inclusive bioanalytical platforms for cell studies

3D-bioprinted all-inclusive bioanalytical platforms for cell studies

Lung on a Chip Development from Off-Stoichiometry Thiol–Ene Polymer

The Need for the Establishment of Biomedical Engineering (BME) as an Academic and Professional Discipline in the Philippines — A Quantitative Argument

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