Thilini N. Rathnaweera, Dhatchayani Rajkumar and Robbyn K. Anand
Rare cell heterogeneity significantly impacts diagnosis, prognosis, therapeutic options and responses, particularly in diverse diseases like cancer. While single-cell analysis is the most effective route, isolating cells individually with high selectivity, purity, efficiency and throughput remains a major challenge. Thus, we present a unified platform coined “SC-DEPOT” to perform all analytical steps from selective isolation from a mixture of cells to parallel single-cell analysis. The platform integrates three sequential modules – one hydrodynamic and two DEP-based – to independently execute distinct and complementary functions. First, the hydrodynamic module focuses all cells towards the channel centerline. Then by DEP, slanted interdigitated electrodes selectively redirect target cells to the channel walls, where they are finally captured in cell-sized micropockets by insulator-based DEP (iDEP). This final stage builds on our previously reported iDEP device, which isolates cells in nanoliter-scale chambers – which are addressed by “wireless” bipolar electrodes (BPEs) – to facilitate individual analysis. The added two preceding steps enhance sample purity to 96% and enable an eightfold increase in channel width compared to a previous limitation of 100 μm. This result is important because it yields an eight-fold to sixteen-fold enhancement in volumetric throughput for samples comprising a mixture of cell types or only one cell type, respectively. The final iDEP module isolates single cells at 94% efficiency and transfers them into the sealable chambers at 92% efficiency. This combination of high throughput and gentle, extended capture from highly concentrated backgrounds expands the utility of the SC-DEPOT device in clinical workflows.
{"title":"Integrated DEP presorting and wireless electrode array for high-throughput selective single-cell isolation","authors":"Thilini N. Rathnaweera, Dhatchayani Rajkumar and Robbyn K. Anand","doi":"10.1039/D5LC00945F","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5LC00945F","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Rare cell heterogeneity significantly impacts diagnosis, prognosis, therapeutic options and responses, particularly in diverse diseases like cancer. While single-cell analysis is the most effective route, isolating cells individually with high selectivity, purity, efficiency and throughput remains a major challenge. Thus, we present a unified platform coined “SC-DEPOT” to perform all analytical steps from selective isolation from a mixture of cells to parallel single-cell analysis. The platform integrates three sequential modules – one hydrodynamic and two DEP-based – to independently execute distinct and complementary functions. First, the hydrodynamic module focuses all cells towards the channel centerline. Then by DEP, slanted interdigitated electrodes selectively redirect target cells to the channel walls, where they are finally captured in cell-sized micropockets by insulator-based DEP (iDEP). This final stage builds on our previously reported iDEP device, which isolates cells in nanoliter-scale chambers – which are addressed by “wireless” bipolar electrodes (BPEs) – to facilitate individual analysis. The added two preceding steps enhance sample purity to 96% and enable an eightfold increase in channel width compared to a previous limitation of 100 μm. This result is important because it yields an eight-fold to sixteen-fold enhancement in volumetric throughput for samples comprising a mixture of cell types or only one cell type, respectively. The final iDEP module isolates single cells at 94% efficiency and transfers them into the sealable chambers at 92% efficiency. This combination of high throughput and gentle, extended capture from highly concentrated backgrounds expands the utility of the SC-DEPOT device in clinical workflows.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 3","pages":" 681-694"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/lc/d5lc00945f?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145908320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems are essential in order to facilitate grid scale integration of renewable energy. Microfluidic systems can be a powerful tool in this respect to support and accelerate the development processes of diverse electrochemical technologies such as batteries, fuel cells, and electrolyzers. Among different applications, microfluidic systems can be considered as an analytical tool to investigate the electrochemical behaviour of various system components in real-time, gaining insight into the kinetic and mass transport losses of the system. Moreover, microfluidic cells can serve as testing platforms for screening new materials and evaluating test conditions, leading to the discovery of alternative catalyst materials and the identification of optimal design and test conditions. Microfluidic devices can also aid the synthesis of complex structures and nanomaterials that can be used as electrocatalysts in electrochemical systems. Therefore, adopting microfluidic tools for the development and optimization of electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems can accelerate the innovation process, enhance energy conversion efficiencies, and optimize the utilization of materials and resources. Overall, microfluidic cells pave the way for the next generation of electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems by providing a versatile, cost-effective, and rapid platform for fundamental studies and device optimization. This review compiles key advancements in microfluidic technology that offer valuable insights into system design and operation, accelerating development and guiding scale-up for more efficient and sustainable electrochemical devices.
{"title":"Microfluidic tools for electrochemical energy storage and conversion: advances, applications, and research opportunities.","authors":"Caio Vinicios Juvencio da Silva,Erik Kjeang","doi":"10.1039/d5lc00445d","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5lc00445d","url":null,"abstract":"Electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems are essential in order to facilitate grid scale integration of renewable energy. Microfluidic systems can be a powerful tool in this respect to support and accelerate the development processes of diverse electrochemical technologies such as batteries, fuel cells, and electrolyzers. Among different applications, microfluidic systems can be considered as an analytical tool to investigate the electrochemical behaviour of various system components in real-time, gaining insight into the kinetic and mass transport losses of the system. Moreover, microfluidic cells can serve as testing platforms for screening new materials and evaluating test conditions, leading to the discovery of alternative catalyst materials and the identification of optimal design and test conditions. Microfluidic devices can also aid the synthesis of complex structures and nanomaterials that can be used as electrocatalysts in electrochemical systems. Therefore, adopting microfluidic tools for the development and optimization of electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems can accelerate the innovation process, enhance energy conversion efficiencies, and optimize the utilization of materials and resources. Overall, microfluidic cells pave the way for the next generation of electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems by providing a versatile, cost-effective, and rapid platform for fundamental studies and device optimization. This review compiles key advancements in microfluidic technology that offer valuable insights into system design and operation, accelerating development and guiding scale-up for more efficient and sustainable electrochemical devices.","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145907778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Callum D. Hay, Suchaya M. Mahutanattan, Colin P. Pilkington, Miguel Paez-Perez, Kimberly A. Kelly, Yuval Elani, Marina K. Kuimova, Nicholas J. Brooks, Michela Noseda, James W. Hindley and Oscar Ces
Lipid nanocarriers utilise the self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules to generate particle formulations capable of drug encapsulation and dynamic interactions with user-defined cell types, enabling applications within targeted therapeutic delivery. This offers increased bioavailability, stability, and reduced off-target effects, with the promise of application to numerous cell types and consequently, diseases. Here, we have developed a highly accessible, cleanroom-free method for the fabrication of poly(methyl methacrylate) millifluidic vertical flow focusing (VFF) devices via laser cutting, multilayered solvent and heat-assisted bonding. We demonstrate that these can be used for one-step production of targeted lipid nanocarriers via the production of cardiomyocyte-targeting vesicle nanoparticles loaded with the hydrophobic drug menadione. We characterise vesicle size using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), whilst also probing the membrane viscosity of vesicles produced via flow-focusing for the first time using molecular rotors. Finally, we apply cardiomyocyte-targeting, menadione-loaded vesicles to H9C2 tissue culture demonstrating significant inhibition of cell viability via targeted delivery, showcasing the potential of our device to produce formulations for therapeutic delivery. As a flow-based method, VFF can facilitate rapid formulation investigation and produce large sample volumes for cell-based validation studies, whilst avoiding inter-batch sample variation. Furthermore, the accessible nature of this VFF approach will help to democratise millifluidics, facilitating the wider adoption of flow-based production methods to develop nanomedical formulations.
{"title":"Affordable, cleanroom-free millifluidic production of targeted lipid nanocarriers via additive manufacturing","authors":"Callum D. Hay, Suchaya M. Mahutanattan, Colin P. Pilkington, Miguel Paez-Perez, Kimberly A. Kelly, Yuval Elani, Marina K. Kuimova, Nicholas J. Brooks, Michela Noseda, James W. Hindley and Oscar Ces","doi":"10.1039/D3LC00995E","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D3LC00995E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Lipid nanocarriers utilise the self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules to generate particle formulations capable of drug encapsulation and dynamic interactions with user-defined cell types, enabling applications within targeted therapeutic delivery. This offers increased bioavailability, stability, and reduced off-target effects, with the promise of application to numerous cell types and consequently, diseases. Here, we have developed a highly accessible, cleanroom-free method for the fabrication of poly(methyl methacrylate) millifluidic vertical flow focusing (VFF) devices <em>via</em> laser cutting, multilayered solvent and heat-assisted bonding. We demonstrate that these can be used for one-step production of targeted lipid nanocarriers <em>via</em> the production of cardiomyocyte-targeting vesicle nanoparticles loaded with the hydrophobic drug menadione. We characterise vesicle size using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), whilst also probing the membrane viscosity of vesicles produced <em>via</em> flow-focusing for the first time using molecular rotors. Finally, we apply cardiomyocyte-targeting, menadione-loaded vesicles to H9C2 tissue culture demonstrating significant inhibition of cell viability <em>via</em> targeted delivery, showcasing the potential of our device to produce formulations for therapeutic delivery. As a flow-based method, VFF can facilitate rapid formulation investigation and produce large sample volumes for cell-based validation studies, whilst avoiding inter-batch sample variation. Furthermore, the accessible nature of this VFF approach will help to democratise millifluidics, facilitating the wider adoption of flow-based production methods to develop nanomedical formulations.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 3","pages":" 635-649"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/lc/d3lc00995e?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145920068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Seung-Cheol Shin,Yale Hahm,Yeju Jeong,Yup Kim,Junsik Park,Ji Hun Yang,Jin-A Kim,Jihee Won,Seok Chung,Jung-Yun Lee
The endometrium is the uterine lining that supports implantation and pregnancy. Existing in vitro systems only partly capture epithelial structure and function. We built a microfluidic model of the human endometrial epithelium using patient-derived organoids and defined a parameterized device and ECM conditions that yield a stable, polarized monolayer on chip. We specify the geometry, surface treatments, and collagen-based hydrogel or coating conditions, and we link these parameters to epithelial morphology and barrier integrity readouts. The epithelial layer maintains histologic features and endometrium-relevant markers and shows hormone-responsive transcript profiles. We quantify donor-to-donor variability across two donors and use it as a design constraint for reproducible culture. Because stromal and immune components shape the reproductive microenvironment, we will extend this platform to modular multicellular co-cultures that incorporate these elements.
{"title":"Formation of an endometrial epithelial monolayer in a microfluidic device with human tissue-derived endometrial organoids.","authors":"Seung-Cheol Shin,Yale Hahm,Yeju Jeong,Yup Kim,Junsik Park,Ji Hun Yang,Jin-A Kim,Jihee Won,Seok Chung,Jung-Yun Lee","doi":"10.1039/d5lc00278h","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5lc00278h","url":null,"abstract":"The endometrium is the uterine lining that supports implantation and pregnancy. Existing in vitro systems only partly capture epithelial structure and function. We built a microfluidic model of the human endometrial epithelium using patient-derived organoids and defined a parameterized device and ECM conditions that yield a stable, polarized monolayer on chip. We specify the geometry, surface treatments, and collagen-based hydrogel or coating conditions, and we link these parameters to epithelial morphology and barrier integrity readouts. The epithelial layer maintains histologic features and endometrium-relevant markers and shows hormone-responsive transcript profiles. We quantify donor-to-donor variability across two donors and use it as a design constraint for reproducible culture. Because stromal and immune components shape the reproductive microenvironment, we will extend this platform to modular multicellular co-cultures that incorporate these elements.","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":"85 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145907502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tyler Gerhardson,Nerses J Haroutunian,Ryan Dubay,Joseph N Urban,Anthony Quinnert,Brett C Isenberg,Samuel H Kann,Halee Kim,Robert Gaibler,Hesham Azizgolshani,Elizabeth L Wiellette,Corin Williams
Microphysiological systems (MPS) are promising technologies that can enhance the drug development pipeline and fill gaps in identifying medical countermeasures for a variety of public health contexts. The integration of immune cells with MPS is increasingly recognized as a critical element for accurately modeling inflammatory responses in disease, injury, and infection. Specifically, the recruitment of circulating leukocytes to the vascular endothelium is an important first step in the inflammatory cascade. However, developing an MPS that supports physiologically relevant immune cell circulation poses significant biological and engineering challenges due to the delicate, short-lived nature of immune cells and the physical stresses imparted by many pumping systems. Here we present advancements to a previously established high-throughput MPS platform, PREDICT96, to enable recirculation of neutrophil-rich flow within microfluidics-based vascular tissue models. To maintain cells in suspension during recirculation, density adjustments to the culture media were made. Hardware and software controls were integrated to develop a pumping strategy that reduced the peak velocity and acceleration on the recirculating cells, maintaining high viability (90%) and minimal activation of neutrophils for up to 24 hours of continuous recirculation through vascular tissue models. Additionally, an analytical model was developed that mapped pump configuration changes to altered flow characteristics through the system. These technical advancements will enable more accurate modeling of immune cell interactions with tissues in a high-throughput testing platform, which will enhance the understanding of and ability to respond to a range of human health threats.
{"title":"Enabling the recirculation of leukocytes in a high-throughput microphysiological system (MPS) to study immune cell-vascular tissue interactions.","authors":"Tyler Gerhardson,Nerses J Haroutunian,Ryan Dubay,Joseph N Urban,Anthony Quinnert,Brett C Isenberg,Samuel H Kann,Halee Kim,Robert Gaibler,Hesham Azizgolshani,Elizabeth L Wiellette,Corin Williams","doi":"10.1039/d5lc01001b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5lc01001b","url":null,"abstract":"Microphysiological systems (MPS) are promising technologies that can enhance the drug development pipeline and fill gaps in identifying medical countermeasures for a variety of public health contexts. The integration of immune cells with MPS is increasingly recognized as a critical element for accurately modeling inflammatory responses in disease, injury, and infection. Specifically, the recruitment of circulating leukocytes to the vascular endothelium is an important first step in the inflammatory cascade. However, developing an MPS that supports physiologically relevant immune cell circulation poses significant biological and engineering challenges due to the delicate, short-lived nature of immune cells and the physical stresses imparted by many pumping systems. Here we present advancements to a previously established high-throughput MPS platform, PREDICT96, to enable recirculation of neutrophil-rich flow within microfluidics-based vascular tissue models. To maintain cells in suspension during recirculation, density adjustments to the culture media were made. Hardware and software controls were integrated to develop a pumping strategy that reduced the peak velocity and acceleration on the recirculating cells, maintaining high viability (90%) and minimal activation of neutrophils for up to 24 hours of continuous recirculation through vascular tissue models. Additionally, an analytical model was developed that mapped pump configuration changes to altered flow characteristics through the system. These technical advancements will enable more accurate modeling of immune cell interactions with tissues in a high-throughput testing platform, which will enhance the understanding of and ability to respond to a range of human health threats.","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145907541","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yahui Du, Wenjiao Wu, Yuexiu Chen, Lihang Zhu, Shuhao Ma, Fengjiang Zhang and Xuejin Li
During their 120-day circulatory lifespan, red blood cells (RBCs) undergo repeated mechanical deformation as they traverse microcapillaries and splenic inter-endothelial slits (IES). This cyclic mechanical loading gradually impairs RBC deformability, ultimately leading to their clearance by the spleen. However, current platforms for investigating RBC fatigue often couple mechanical loading with real-time observation, which obscures the cumulative impact of cyclic strain. To address this limitation, we developed an integrated microfluidic chip equipped with a dedicated “S”-shaped fatigue zone–each RBC experiences hundreds of extrusion events during a single continuous pass through this zone–followed by a physically decoupled observation zone. This design enables clear separation of fatigue induction from biomechanical evaluation. Our findings show that cyclic extrusion drives a progressive morphological transition in the RBC population from discocytes to echinocytes and spherocytes, along with reduced cell volume and surface area, increased membrane shear modulus, and elevated sphericity. Combined experiments and simulations reveal that the passage of spherocytes depends not only on their deformability but also critically on the relative size of the cells versus the channel dimensions. Furthermore, simulations of splenic filtration identify the sphericity index–not membrane stiffness–as the primary geometric factor governing RBC retention in IES. This work presents a high-throughput, label-free platform that disentangles RBC fatigue induction from post-fatigue analysis. It provides mechanistic insights into how repetitive mechanical stress regulates RBC aging and clearance, offering a valuable tool for advancing our understanding of RBC physiology in health and disease.
{"title":"High-throughput biomimetic cycling of red blood cells: elucidating the morpho-mechanical determinants of fatigue and clearance","authors":"Yahui Du, Wenjiao Wu, Yuexiu Chen, Lihang Zhu, Shuhao Ma, Fengjiang Zhang and Xuejin Li","doi":"10.1039/D5LC01022E","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5LC01022E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >During their 120-day circulatory lifespan, red blood cells (RBCs) undergo repeated mechanical deformation as they traverse microcapillaries and splenic inter-endothelial slits (IES). This cyclic mechanical loading gradually impairs RBC deformability, ultimately leading to their clearance by the spleen. However, current platforms for investigating RBC fatigue often couple mechanical loading with real-time observation, which obscures the cumulative impact of cyclic strain. To address this limitation, we developed an integrated microfluidic chip equipped with a dedicated “S”-shaped fatigue zone–each RBC experiences hundreds of extrusion events during a single continuous pass through this zone–followed by a physically decoupled observation zone. This design enables clear separation of fatigue induction from biomechanical evaluation. Our findings show that cyclic extrusion drives a progressive morphological transition in the RBC population from discocytes to echinocytes and spherocytes, along with reduced cell volume and surface area, increased membrane shear modulus, and elevated sphericity. Combined experiments and simulations reveal that the passage of spherocytes depends not only on their deformability but also critically on the relative size of the cells <em>versus</em> the channel dimensions. Furthermore, simulations of splenic filtration identify the sphericity index–not membrane stiffness–as the primary geometric factor governing RBC retention in IES. This work presents a high-throughput, label-free platform that disentangles RBC fatigue induction from post-fatigue analysis. It provides mechanistic insights into how repetitive mechanical stress regulates RBC aging and clearance, offering a valuable tool for advancing our understanding of RBC physiology in health and disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 3","pages":" 551-563"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145907979","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hao Wen, Kailong Dong, Feiyang Huang, Zhiqing Gao, Zijian An, Rujing Sun, Xin Li, Qing Ye and Qingjun Liu
The human sweating rate reflects body hydration status and holds intrinsic significance for monitoring physiological health. This work presents a fully printed sweat rate sensor architecture, where the internal sensing layer is fabricated via aerosol jet printing at micrometer resolution to detect nanoliter-scale sweat volume changes in microfluidic channels. The sensor transduces internal microstructural variations into radiofrequency (RF) signals through energy coupling, enabling wireless transmission to external terminals. Leveraging the RF sensor's wireless compatibility, a pulse wave sensor for monitoring physiological changes is integrated into the system. This allows simultaneous operation with the sweat rate sensor without wired connections, ultimately forming a wireless and battery-free wearable patch suitable for detecting the skin sweating rate and heart rate during human activities. By analyzing the patch's wireless signals and extracting parameters including resonant frequency and amplitude, we develop a dual-mode sensing patch. The system evaluates the effects of daily activities like resting, walking, exercising and environmental factors like temperature on skin perspiration and heart rate. In addition, the fully printed technology adopted in this work provides ideas for the lightweight and low-cost development of wearable sweat sensing systems.
{"title":"Fully printed and flexible patch for real-time wireless monitoring of the sweating rate with physiological detection","authors":"Hao Wen, Kailong Dong, Feiyang Huang, Zhiqing Gao, Zijian An, Rujing Sun, Xin Li, Qing Ye and Qingjun Liu","doi":"10.1039/D5LC00755K","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5LC00755K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The human sweating rate reflects body hydration status and holds intrinsic significance for monitoring physiological health. This work presents a fully printed sweat rate sensor architecture, where the internal sensing layer is fabricated <em>via</em> aerosol jet printing at micrometer resolution to detect nanoliter-scale sweat volume changes in microfluidic channels. The sensor transduces internal microstructural variations into radiofrequency (RF) signals through energy coupling, enabling wireless transmission to external terminals. Leveraging the RF sensor's wireless compatibility, a pulse wave sensor for monitoring physiological changes is integrated into the system. This allows simultaneous operation with the sweat rate sensor without wired connections, ultimately forming a wireless and battery-free wearable patch suitable for detecting the skin sweating rate and heart rate during human activities. By analyzing the patch's wireless signals and extracting parameters including resonant frequency and amplitude, we develop a dual-mode sensing patch. The system evaluates the effects of daily activities like resting, walking, exercising and environmental factors like temperature on skin perspiration and heart rate. In addition, the fully printed technology adopted in this work provides ideas for the lightweight and low-cost development of wearable sweat sensing systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 3","pages":" 618-626"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145907811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christina Stelzl, Ada Lerma-Clavero, Selina Camenisch, Benoit Simon, Olle Eriksson, Oliver Degerstedt, Hans Lennernäs, Femke Heindryckx, Johan Kreuger and Paul O'Callaghan
The reduced effectiveness of chemotherapy in many patients undergoing treatment highlights the need for novel drug combinations that target drug resistance mechanisms contributing to tumor survival. Dynamic conditions within the tumor microenvironment influence the response to anti-cancer drugs. Accordingly, identifying effective drug concentrations and interactions (additive, synergistic, or antagonistic) in relevant tumor tissue models will inform new treatment combinations. To address this need for combinatorial chemotherapeutic (CTx) screening assays, we have developed a new assay called CombiCTx, which uses a device with three reservoirs containing gels loaded with anti-cancer drugs. The drug-loaded device is inverted and placed in a standard culture dish above cancer cells, and both are then enclosed in gel. Drugs diffuse from the reservoirs and expose cancer cells to overlapping dynamic drug gradients. We imaged diffusion of the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin in the assay using time-lapse microscopy, and established an imaging protocol for quantifying MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell survival responses along drug gradients. Finally, evaluating combination effects of navitoclax and gemcitabine with CombiCTx revealed localized effects of navitoclax, attributed to limited diffusion, while gemcitabine seemed to diffuse readily throughout the assay and revealed a mild synergy in navitoclax affected regions. These data demonstrate the capacity of CombiCTx to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of anti-cancer drug combinations while accounting for drug diffusion differences, which is relevant in the context of the 3D tumor environment and may thereby help inform clinical treatment strategies.
{"title":"CombiCTx: screening diffusion gradients of anti-cancer drug combinations","authors":"Christina Stelzl, Ada Lerma-Clavero, Selina Camenisch, Benoit Simon, Olle Eriksson, Oliver Degerstedt, Hans Lennernäs, Femke Heindryckx, Johan Kreuger and Paul O'Callaghan","doi":"10.1039/D5LC00686D","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5LC00686D","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The reduced effectiveness of chemotherapy in many patients undergoing treatment highlights the need for novel drug combinations that target drug resistance mechanisms contributing to tumor survival. Dynamic conditions within the tumor microenvironment influence the response to anti-cancer drugs. Accordingly, identifying effective drug concentrations and interactions (additive, synergistic, or antagonistic) in relevant tumor tissue models will inform new treatment combinations. To address this need for combinatorial chemotherapeutic (CTx) screening assays, we have developed a new assay called CombiCTx, which uses a device with three reservoirs containing gels loaded with anti-cancer drugs. The drug-loaded device is inverted and placed in a standard culture dish above cancer cells, and both are then enclosed in gel. Drugs diffuse from the reservoirs and expose cancer cells to overlapping dynamic drug gradients. We imaged diffusion of the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin in the assay using time-lapse microscopy, and established an imaging protocol for quantifying MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell survival responses along drug gradients. Finally, evaluating combination effects of navitoclax and gemcitabine with CombiCTx revealed localized effects of navitoclax, attributed to limited diffusion, while gemcitabine seemed to diffuse readily throughout the assay and revealed a mild synergy in navitoclax affected regions. These data demonstrate the capacity of CombiCTx to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of anti-cancer drug combinations while accounting for drug diffusion differences, which is relevant in the context of the 3D tumor environment and may thereby help inform clinical treatment strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 3","pages":" 695-710"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/lc/d5lc00686d?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145895372","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Small-scale fires in confined spaces represent critical precursors to catastrophic disasters, making their early suppression essential for safeguarding lives and property. However, at present, fire extinguishing systems used in confined space still suffer from several limitations, such as large physical scale, the absence of real-time temperature monitoring, delayed release of the extinguishing agent and early efficient fire extinguishing ability. These shortcomings seriously hinder the timely prevention of early fire and restrict the choice of appropriate post-fire management strategies. To overcome these challenges, we have developed an integrated fire extinguishing system based on high-performance composite microcapsules. This miniaturized system integrates real-time wireless monitoring, early warning, rapid fire extinguishing and cooling capacity at the initial stage of fire. The system consists of three core components: a mounting assembly supporting flexible installation, a fire suppression module composed of two-dimensional microcapsule patches, and a temperature-sensing unit for continuous environmental monitoring. The microcapsule patches, thermally triggered to release fire-extinguishing agents, exhibit high extinguishing efficiency and rapid cooling, thereby enabling proactive fire containment in confined spaces. The sensing module provides real-time thermal surveillance with wireless data transmission to remote terminals. Importantly, the temperature monitoring and early-warning system operates independently of the extinguishing agent release to ensure there is no delay in suppression. Experimental validation confirms the system's efficacy in rapid fire suppression, ambient cooling, and intelligent early warning, offering an innovative solution for confined space fire risk mitigation.
{"title":"Integrated high-performance microcapsule fire extinguishing system for confined spaces with real-time monitoring and early warning capabilities","authors":"Qiaosheng Pan, Jiachao Zhang, Jijie Fu, Ning Sang, Dang Ding, Peng Zhang, Chen Li, Tianpei Zhou, Ting Si, Fangsheng Huang and Zhiqiang Zhu","doi":"10.1039/D5LC01053E","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5LC01053E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Small-scale fires in confined spaces represent critical precursors to catastrophic disasters, making their early suppression essential for safeguarding lives and property. However, at present, fire extinguishing systems used in confined space still suffer from several limitations, such as large physical scale, the absence of real-time temperature monitoring, delayed release of the extinguishing agent and early efficient fire extinguishing ability. These shortcomings seriously hinder the timely prevention of early fire and restrict the choice of appropriate post-fire management strategies. To overcome these challenges, we have developed an integrated fire extinguishing system based on high-performance composite microcapsules. This miniaturized system integrates real-time wireless monitoring, early warning, rapid fire extinguishing and cooling capacity at the initial stage of fire. The system consists of three core components: a mounting assembly supporting flexible installation, a fire suppression module composed of two-dimensional microcapsule patches, and a temperature-sensing unit for continuous environmental monitoring. The microcapsule patches, thermally triggered to release fire-extinguishing agents, exhibit high extinguishing efficiency and rapid cooling, thereby enabling proactive fire containment in confined spaces. The sensing module provides real-time thermal surveillance with wireless data transmission to remote terminals. Importantly, the temperature monitoring and early-warning system operates independently of the extinguishing agent release to ensure there is no delay in suppression. Experimental validation confirms the system's efficacy in rapid fire suppression, ambient cooling, and intelligent early warning, offering an innovative solution for confined space fire risk mitigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 3","pages":" 576-590"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145895373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Juyue Dong, Zerui Song, Kunlun Guo, Hang Xu, Zhibei Qu, Zhen Gu and Huifeng Wang
Digital microfluidic devices enable parallel, quantitative and flexible handling of discrete droplets via electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) force. However, droplet splitting behavior in conventional digital microfluidic devices is limited by the geometry of actuating electrodes. In this study, we proposed a gravity-induced size-tuning splitting (GITS) method, which has no requirements for specialized electrodes or complicated chip configurations. Both experimental and simulation results demonstrated that gravity facilitates the droplet generation by directionally enhancing the EWOD force in a vertical digital microfluidic chip. Further observation revealed that the size tunability was affected by the droplet volume, voltage amplitude, and especially contact line ratios between droplet and electrodes. Moreover, to achieve reliable on-chip operations, the critical size of the droplet for passive dropping was investigated, which exhibited a functional relationship with the gap height. Then GITS was implemented by integrating an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven feedback control of the contact line and the gravity induced droplet dropping. As a result, it achieved wide splitting ratios from 1 to 7.33, with the coefficient of variation below 3%. Finally, GITS was applied to manage reagents of various sizes for on-chip cell viability assays, demonstrating its potential for flexible reagent configuration in future biomedical applications.
{"title":"Gravity-induced tunable asymmetric droplet splitting for flexible and precise reagent formulation on vertical digital microfluidic devices","authors":"Juyue Dong, Zerui Song, Kunlun Guo, Hang Xu, Zhibei Qu, Zhen Gu and Huifeng Wang","doi":"10.1039/D5LC00868A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5LC00868A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Digital microfluidic devices enable parallel, quantitative and flexible handling of discrete droplets <em>via</em> electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) force. However, droplet splitting behavior in conventional digital microfluidic devices is limited by the geometry of actuating electrodes. In this study, we proposed a gravity-induced size-tuning splitting (GITS) method, which has no requirements for specialized electrodes or complicated chip configurations. Both experimental and simulation results demonstrated that gravity facilitates the droplet generation by directionally enhancing the EWOD force in a vertical digital microfluidic chip. Further observation revealed that the size tunability was affected by the droplet volume, voltage amplitude, and especially contact line ratios between droplet and electrodes. Moreover, to achieve reliable on-chip operations, the critical size of the droplet for passive dropping was investigated, which exhibited a functional relationship with the gap height. Then GITS was implemented by integrating an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven feedback control of the contact line and the gravity induced droplet dropping. As a result, it achieved wide splitting ratios from 1 to 7.33, with the coefficient of variation below 3%. Finally, GITS was applied to manage reagents of various sizes for on-chip cell viability assays, demonstrating its potential for flexible reagent configuration in future biomedical applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":85,"journal":{"name":"Lab on a Chip","volume":" 3","pages":" 725-734"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145847383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}