Microfluidic-based technologies for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of COVID-19: recent advances and future directions

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges to existing healthcare systems around the world. The urgent need for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for COVID-19 has boomed the demand for new technologies that can improve current healthcare approaches, moving towards more advanced, digitalized, personalized, and patient-oriented systems. Microfluidic-based technologies involve the miniaturization of large-scale devices and laboratory-based procedures, enabling complex chemical and biological operations that are conventionally performed at the macro-scale to be carried out on the microscale or less. The advantages microfluidic systems offer such as rapid, low-cost, accurate, and on-site solutions make these tools extremely useful and effective in the fight against COVID-19. In particular, microfluidic-assisted systems are of great interest in different COVID-19-related domains, varying from direct and indirect detection of COVID-19 infections to drug and vaccine discovery and their targeted delivery. Here, we review recent advances in the use of microfluidic platforms to diagnose, treat or prevent COVID-19. We start by summarizing recent microfluidic-based diagnostic solutions applicable to COVID-19. We then highlight the key roles microfluidics play in developing COVID-19 vaccines and testing how vaccine candidates perform, with a focus on RNA-delivery technologies and nano-carriers. Next, microfluidic-based efforts devoted to assessing the efficacy of potential COVID-19 drugs, either repurposed or new, and their targeted delivery to infected sites are summarized. We conclude by providing future perspectives and research directions that are critical to effectively prevent or respond to future pandemics.

Fundamentals and Applications of Surface Wetting

“…3−5 Meanwhile, lab-ona-chip diagnostics revolutionize healthcare by providing fast, precise, low-cost, and portable disease detection and monitoring tools. 6,7 Collectively, these innovations represent a sustainable future where we conserve resources, improve healthcare access, and power our world responsibly, embracing a greener and healthier tomorrow. Surface wettability serves as a linchpin in these technologies, enabling the manipulation of fluids by varying the way fluids interact with a surface.…”

“…Energy harvesting and storage technologies are vital to meet the ever-increasing global energy demand while reducing our carbon footprint, enabling us to harness renewable sources, store energy for later use, and power our lives sustainably. , Managing water, our planet’s precious resource, is equally crucial. Sustainable water management safeguards our ecosystems and ensures a clean and reliable water supply for a growing population. − Meanwhile, lab-on-a-chip diagnostics revolutionize healthcare by providing fast, precise, low-cost, and portable disease detection and monitoring tools. , Collectively, these innovations represent a sustainable future where we conserve resources, improve healthcare access, and power our world responsibly, embracing a greener and healthier tomorrow. Surface wettability serves as a linchpin in these technologies, enabling the manipulation of fluids by varying the way fluids interact with a surface.…”

Trends of respiratory virus detection in point-of-care testing: A review

“…Recent applications of representative sensing techniques for respiratory viruses in solution, microfluidics, and paper platforms have been summarized and reviewed. According to point-of-view of recent papers, there is no doubt for that microfluidics as represent lab-on-a-chip and paper-based analytical devices are the most promising two platforms in all POCT area [ 25 , 26 ]. In the same point-of-view, we have focused on these two platforms and shown current trends clearly about paper in immunodiagnostics and microfluidics in molecular diagnostics as promising approaches.…”

Advances and perspectives in the development of vaccines against highly pathogenic bunyaviruses

“…Other logistical considerations include the scale of vaccination (such as endemic and other at-risk populations) and access to the highest biocontainment, such as BSL-4 laboratories, to test these vaccine candidates. Besides traditional vaccines, such as inactivated and subunit vaccines, new emerging technologies have facilitated the innovation of novel vaccines, such as microfluidic-based mRNA vaccines ( Tarim et al., 2023 ), and silico-based antigen design ( Hederman and Ackerman, 2023 ; Kuri and Goswami, 2023 ), which have enriched the variety of potential vaccine candidates. Here, we summarize research advances on prophylactic options currently in development for three highly pathogenic bunyaviruses: CCHFV, RVFV and HTNV, and discuss future directions towards the clinical development of these vaccine candidates.…”