Chenchen Zhou^1,2, Shuaishuai Liang³, Bin Qi³, Chenxu Liu², Nam-Joon Cho^1,*

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.30, No.3, pp. 1-2, 2024, DOI:10.32604/icces.2024.012380

Abstract Micro tools/parts are attracting increasing attention due to the miniaturization evolutionary tendency in many fields, whose functionalities are critically determined by their materials and shapes [1- 5]. Sharp-edged ceramic microparticles have great prospects to be used as micromachining tools and micro components. However, it remains a huge challenge to fabricate nontransparent ceramic sharp-edged microparticles in a high-throughput way while taking their shape complexity, precision, and strength into account [6-8]. Herein, we present an online mixing and in-situ polymerization strategy: “one-pot microfluidic fabrication” along with two novel microfluidic device fabrication methods: “groove & tongue” and sliding More >

Zhanwu Hou¹, Linfeng Xu^2,*

The International Conference on Computational & Experimental Engineering and Sciences, Vol.30, No.1, pp. 1-0, 2024, DOI:10.32604/icces.2024.012892

Abstract The cell-cell interaction between immune cells and tumor cells in the tumor microenvironment plays an important role in the genesis and development of tumors. However, due to the lack of methods to systematically identify the interaction between the two, the specific molecular mechanisms involved are not well understood. The microfluidic platform provides a high-throughput and precise method for studying cell interactions in microreactive systems. However, the traditional platform for studying cell interactions is the closed droplet system, which is easy to cause the consumption of nutrients and the accumulation of wastes, thus interfering with cell… More >

JONG HWAN SUNG^*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.8, pp. 1145-1153, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2024.050365 - 02 August 2024

Abstract The gut is a digestive organ that absorbs nutrients but also plays a vital role in immune response and defense against external compounds. The complex interaction between the gut microbiota and other organs including the immune system of the host has been known in various contexts, yielding the notion of ‘axes’ between the gut and other organs. While the presence of various gut-organ axes has been reported, the lack of adequate in vitro model systems for studying this interaction has restricted a deeper insight into these phenomena. Recently developed microphysiological systems (MPS), also known as organ-on-a-chip, More >

ZEHRA GÜL MORÇIMEN¹, ŞEYMA TAŞDEMIR², AYLIN ŞENDEMIR^3,4,*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.1, pp. 79-96, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.045361 - 30 January 2024

Abstract Neurodegeneration is a catastrophic process that develops progressive damage leading to functional and structural loss of the cells of the nervous system and is among the biggest unavoidable problems of our age. Animal models do not reflect the pathophysiology observed in humans due to distinct differences between the neural pathways, gene expression patterns, neuronal plasticity, and other disease-related mechanisms in animals and humans. Classical in vitro cell culture models are also not sufficient for pre-clinical drug testing in reflecting the complex pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. Today, modern, engineered techniques are applied to develop multicellular, intricate in vitro More >

Mohammed Bourega^*, Ibrahim Kromba, Khadidja Fellah Arbi, Sofiane Soulimane

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.19, No.10, pp. 2471-2480, 2023, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2023.028661 - 25 June 2023

Abstract This study uses a T-junction to examine the effects of different parameters (velocity ratio, viscosity, contact angle, and channel size ratio) on the generation of microdroplets, related rate, and size. More specifically, numerical simulations are exploited to investigate situations with a velocity varying from 0.004 to 1.6 m/s for the continuous phase and from 0.004 to 0.8 m/s for the dispersed phase, viscosity ratios (0.668, 1, 6.689, 10, 66.899), contact angle 80° < θ < 270° and four different canal size ratios (1, 1.5, 2 and 4). The results show that canal size influences droplet More > Graphic Abstract

JIAHAO ZHANG^1,2,3, JIE REN⁴, ZIRUI LI^1,2,3,*, YIXING GOU^1,2,3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.7, pp. 1439-1447, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028628 - 21 June 2023

Abstract Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are essential biomarkers for liquid biopsies, which are important in the early screening, prognosis, and real-time monitoring of cancer. However, CTCs are less abundant in the peripheral blood of patients, therefore, their isolation is necessary. Recently, the use of microfluidics for CTC sorting has become a research hotspot owing to its low cost, ease of integration, low sample consumption, and unique advantages in the manipulation of micron-sized particles. Herein, we review the latest research on microfluidics-based CTC sorting. Specifically, we consider active sorting using external fields (electric, magnetic, acoustic, and optical More >

ADEM OZCELIK^1,*, OZGE CEVIK²

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.5, pp. 959-964, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028371 - 10 April 2023

Abstract Exosomes are important biomarkers for clinical diagnosis. It is critical to isolate secreted exosomes from bodily fluids such as blood, saliva, breast milk, and urine for liquid biopsy applications. The field of microfluidics provides numerous benefits for biosample processing, diagnostics, and prognostics. Several microfluidics-based methods have been employed for the isolation and purification of exosomes in the last ten years. These microfluidic methods can be grouped into two categories based on passive and active isolation mechanisms. In the first group, inertial and hydrodynamic forces are employed to separate exosomes based on their size differences. In More >

ZHUO YANG^#, WEN QIN^#, DI CHEN, JUNSHENG HUO, JINGBO WANG, LIYUAN WANG, QIN ZHUO, JIYONG YIN^*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.1, pp. 125-131, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.022937 - 26 September 2022

Abstract Emodin is an effective component of rhubarb with positive pharmacological effects on human health. However, it is also toxic to different cells or tissues to varying degrees. The effects of emodin on glomerular endothelial cells (GECs) remain to be tested, and the documented works were always performed in vitro and hardly reflect the real physiological situation. To study the effects of emodin on GECs in a biomimetic environment, we utilized a microfluidic chip to assess the physiological reaction of human renal glomerular endothelial cells to various concentrations of emodin in this work. The results showed that More >

HAORAN SU¹, KEXIN LI¹, XIAO LIU^1,*, JING DU¹, LI WANG⁴, XIAOYAN DENG^3,*, YUBO FAN^1,2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.45, No.4, pp. 797-811, 2021, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.014900 - 22 April 2021

Abstract Endothelial cells arranged on the vessel lumen are constantly stimulated by blood flow, blood pressure and pressureinduced cyclic stretch. These stimuli are sensed through mechanical sensory structures and converted into a series of functional responses through mechanotransduction pathways. The process will eventually affect vascular health. Therefore, there has been an urgent need to establish in vitro endothelial biomechanics and mechanobiology of models, which reproduce three-dimensional structure vascular system. In recent years, the rapid development in microfluidic technology makes it possible to replicate the key structural and functionally biomechanical characteristics of vessels. Here, we summarized the progress More >

Yunduo Charles Zhao^1,2,#, Parham Vatankhah^1,#, Tiffany Goh^1,2,3, Jiaqiu Wang⁴, Xuanyi Valeria Chen¹, Moein Navvab Kashani^5,6, Keke Zheng⁷, Zhiyong Li⁴, Lining Arnold Ju^1,2,3,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.18, No.1, pp. 1-10, 2021, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2021.012598 - 26 January 2021

Abstract Platelet aggregation plays a central role in pathological thrombosis, preventing healthy physiological blood flow within the circulatory system. For decades, it was believed that platelet aggregation was primarily driven by soluble agonists such as thrombin, adenosine diphosphate and thromboxane A2. However, recent experimental findings have unveiled an intriguing but complementary biomechanical mechanism—the shear rate gradients generated from flow disturbance occurring at sites of blood vessel narrowing, otherwise known as stenosis, may rapidly trigger platelet recruitment and subsequent aggregation. In our Nature Materials 2019 paper [1], we employed microfluidic devices which incorporated micro-scale stenoses to elucidate the… More >