Micromechanics of soft materials using microfluidics

Xu, Yufan; Zhu, Huibiao; Shen, Yi; Guttenplan, Alexander P. M.; Saar, Kadi L.; Lu, Yuqian; Vigolo, Daniele; Itzhaki, Laura S.; Knowles, Tuomas P. J.

doi:10.1557/s43577-022-00279-5

Cited by 9 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…It is feasible to achieve 100% trapping efficiency in practice. [87] The analysis of the stress-strain relationships of the PDMS-based approach is similar to that of the glass-capillary approach. [86,87] Notably, the interfacial tension between the microgels and the aqueous continuous phase can be ignored, [87] and the situation would be different using an oil continuous phase.…”

Section: Microgel Generation With Capillary Microfluidic Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In another study, the abovementioned PDMS-based device has been used to permanently buckle core-shell microgels (Figure 3b,d). [8,87] For this application, the continuous phase is oil. [8] The trapped core-shell microgels underwent several cycles of increase and decrease of the pressure of the oil continuous phase; water is squeezed out from the cores and then migrated to the space between the oil and the shell.…”

Section: Microgel Generation With Capillary Microfluidic Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mechanical performance of relatively "big" microgels (for example, diameter > 20 µm) can be explored using microfluidic channels (Figure 3a-d). [8,86,87] The mechanical property of "big" microgels may be different from "small" microgels because of size effect. For "small" microgels (for example, diameter ≈ 300 nm) that do not easily match the size of microfluidic channels, AFM with fine tips can be a promising tool to probe their mechanics in liquid environment.…”

Section: Microgel Generation With Capillary Microfluidic Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reproduced under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY license. [ 87 ] Copyright 2022, The Authors, published by Springer Nature. d) A core–shell microgel trapped in one of the channels (b) buckles with fluctuating flow rate of the continuous oil phase.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recent Advances in Microgels: From Biomolecules to Functionality

Zhu

Denduluri

et al. 2022

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The emerging applications of hydrogel materials at different length scales, in areas ranging from sustainability to health, have driven the progress in the design and manufacturing of microgels. Microgels can provide miniaturized, monodisperse, and regulatable compartments, which can be spatially separated or interconnected. These microscopic materials provide novel opportunities for generating biomimetic cell culture environments and are thus key to the advances of modern biomedical research. The evolution of the physical and chemical properties has, furthermore, highlighted the potentials of microgels in the context of materials science and bioengineering. This review describes the recent research progress in the fabrication, characterization, and applications of microgels generated from biomolecular building blocks. A key enabling technology allowing the tailoring of the properties of microgels is their synthesis through microfluidic technologies, and this paper highlights recent advances in these areas and their impact on expanding the physicochemical parameter space accessible using microgels. This review finally discusses the emerging roles that microgels play in liquid–liquid phase separation, micromechanics, biosensors, and regenerative medicine.

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Section: Microgel Generation With Capillary Microfluidic Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Microgel Generation With Capillary Microfluidic Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Microgel Generation With Capillary Microfluidic Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recent Advances in Microgels: From Biomolecules to Functionality

Zhu

Denduluri

et al. 2022

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Core–Shell Spheroid‐Laden Microgels Crosslinked under Biocompatible Conditions for Probing Cancer‐Stromal Communication

Zhu

Roode

Parry

et al. 2022

Advanced NanoBiomed Research

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Multicellular cancer spheroids (MCSs) have emerged as a promising in vitro model that recaptures many features of solid tumours in vivo. To generate cancer spheroids, cells are encapsulated in microgels with high throughput. While the biophysical properties of the cancer spheroid and biomaterial influence the function and behavior of the cells, characterization of these properties remains largely unexplored. In addition, many existing techniques lack control over cell positioning, resulting in the formation of spheroids with large variability. Herein, a versatile, microfluidic platform for generating biocompatible core–shell microgels with uniform cancer spheroids is reported. In addition, an in situ micromechanics measuring device to determine the stiffness of individual artificial cancer niches is used. The power of the microfluidics‐based method by making MCS‐laden microgels to model the interactions of stromal cancer cells is demonstrated. Together with in vivo data, it is shown that tumor cell proliferation is promoted by cocultured fibroblasts.

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Flow dynamics through discontinuous clogs of rigid particles in tapered microchannels

Majekodunmi

Hashmi

2022

Sci Rep

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Suspended particles flowing through complex porous spaces exhibit clogging mechanisms determined by factors including their size, deformability, and the geometry of the confinement. This study describes the clogging of rigid particles in a microfluidic device made up of parallel microchannels that taper from the inlet to the outlet, where the constriction width is approximately equal to the particle size. This converging geometry summarizes the dynamics of clogging in flow channels with constrictions that narrow over multiple length scales. Our novel approach allows the investigation of suspension flow dynamics in confined systems where clogs are formed both by sieving and bridging mechanisms simultaneously. Here, flow tests are conducted at constant driving pressures for different particle volume fractions, and a power-law decay which appears to be peculiar to the channels’ tapered geometry is observed in all cases. Compared to non-tapered channels, the power-law behavior shows flowrate decay is significantly weaker in tapered channels. This weaker flowrate decay is explained by the formation of discontinuous clogs within each channel. Micrographs of the clogged channels reveal clogs do not grow continuously from their initial positions around the channels’ outlet. Rather, new clogs spanning the width of the channel at their points of inception are successively formed as the cake grows toward the inlet area in each microchannel. The results show changes in particle volume fraction at constant driving pressure affect the clogging rate without impacting the underlying dynamics. Unexpectedly, analyses of the particles packing behavior in the microchannels, and post-clogging permeability of the microfluidic devices, reveal the presence of two distinct regimes of driving pressure, though only a small portion of the total device volume and channels surface area are occupied by clogs, regardless of the particle volume fraction. This novel investigation of discontinuous clogging over multiple particle diameters provides unique insights into additional mechanisms to control flow losses in filtration and other confined systems.

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Micromechanics of soft materials using microfluidics

Cited by 9 publications

References 45 publications

Recent Advances in Microgels: From Biomolecules to Functionality

Recent Advances in Microgels: From Biomolecules to Functionality

Core–Shell Spheroid‐Laden Microgels Crosslinked under Biocompatible Conditions for Probing Cancer‐Stromal Communication

Flow dynamics through discontinuous clogs of rigid particles in tapered microchannels

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