2,255 research outputs found
3D-Bioprinted Aptamer-Functionalized Bio-inks for Spatiotemporally Controlled Growth Factor Delivery
Micro/nanofluidic and lab-on-a-chip devices for biomedical applications
Micro/Nanofluidic and lab-on-a-chip devices have been increasingly used in biomedical
research [1]. Because of their adaptability, feasibility, and cost-efficiency, these devices
can revolutionize the future of preclinical technologies. Furthermore, they allow insights
into the performance and toxic effects of responsive drug delivery nanocarriers to be
obtained, which consequently allow the shortcomings of two/three-dimensional static
cultures and animal testing to be overcome and help to reduce drug development costs and
time [2–4]. With the constant advancements in biomedical technology, the development of
enhanced microfluidic devices has accelerated, and numerous models have been reported.
Given the multidisciplinary of this Special Issue (SI), papers on different subjects
were published making a total of 14 contributions, 10 original research papers, and
4 review papers. The review paper of Ko et al. [1] provides a comprehensive overview
of the significant advancements in engineered organ-on-a-chip research in a general way
while in the review presented by Kanabekova and colleagues [2], a thorough analysis
of microphysiological platforms used for modeling liver diseases can be found. To get
a summary of the numerical models of microfluidic organ-on-a-chip devices developed in
recent years, the review presented by Carvalho et al. [5] can be read. On the other hand,
Maia et al. [6] report a systematic review of the diagnosis methods developed for COVID-19,
providing an overview of the advancements made since the start of the pandemic.
In the following, a brief summary of the research papers published in this SI will be presented,
with organs-on-a-chip, microfluidic devices for detection, and device optimization
having been identified as the main topics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
New devices to monitor oxidative stress biomarkers in point-of-care: a new tool for cancer prevention
According to the most recent World Health Organization (WHO) data, cancer is the second
leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 9.6 million deaths in 2018. In particular,
cancer diseases have caused 26% of the total deaths in Portugal in 2016. Among the complex
mechanisms associated to cancer development, Oxidative Stress (OS) seems to play an
important role at the origin of the disease. Thus, early diagnosis of multiple OS biomarkers may
be a fundamental tool in cancer prevention and in more efficient therapeutic strategies.
Despite the development and the research efforts that are being made, accurate and early
detection methods for cancer are still lacking. The demand for specific OS biomarker assays
carried out in wide screening programs in point-of-care (POC) is undoubtedly a difficult but
potentially useful challenge for biomedical research and health. So far, current methods for
cancer diagnosis based upon pathological examination alone are insufficient for detecting early
tumour progression.
Thus, to overcome this need, the present project aims the development of quick, simple and
accurate detection of selected OS biomarkers, collected using minimally invasive methods, in
order to allow rapid and reliable diagnosis at early stages of the disease. Under this scope, the
design of sensitive biosensing materials integrated with novel conductive substrates for POC
screening of OS biomarkers will be presented. In order to achieve a specific and highly selective
bio-chemical recognition process, molecular imprinting strategy was used to create the artificial
recognition sites. During the fabrication of electrochemical transduction platforms, paper was
introduced as a novel alternative to the conventional support materials usually incorporated in
electrode systems.
Overall, it is expected that the outcome of this plan will contribute, in the future, to the
development and application of a multi-analyte platform for simultaneous fast screening of
cancer biomarkers in POC context
Lab-on-a-Chip Fabrication and Application
The necessity of on-site, fast, sensitive, and cheap complex laboratory analysis, associated with the advances in the microfabrication technologies and the microfluidics, made it possible for the creation of the innovative device lab-on-a-chip (LOC), by which we would be able to scale a single or multiple laboratory processes down to a chip format. The present book is dedicated to the LOC devices from two points of view: LOC fabrication and LOC application
Polymer Micro- and Nanofluidic Systems for In Vitro Diagnostics: Analyzing Single Cells and Molecules
Polymer micro- and nanofluidic systems, with their critical dimensions, offer a potential to outperform conventional analysis techniques and diagnostic methods by enhancing speed, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. In this work, applications of microfluidics have been demonstrated to address the existing challenges in stroke diagnosis, by mRNA expression profiling from whole blood within \u3c20 min. A brief overview of various biomarkers for stroke diagnosis is given in chapter 1 followed by design and testing of individual microfluidic modules (chapter 2 and 3) required for the development of POC diagnostic strategy for stroke. We have designed and evaluated the performance of polymer microfluidic devices for the isolation of leukocyte subsets, known for their differential gene expression in the event of stroke. Target cells (T-cells and neutrophils) were selected from with greater purities, from 50 µl whole human blood by using affinity based capture in COC devices within a 6.6 min processing time. In addition, we have also demonstrated the ability to isolate and purify total RNA by using UV activated polycarbonate solid phase extraction platform. Polymer-based nanofluidic devices were used to study the effects of surface charge on the electrodynamic transport dynamics of target molecules. In this work, we report the fabrication of mixed-scale micro- and nanofluidic networks in poly(methylmethacrylate), PMMA, using thermal nanoimprint lithography using a resin stamp and surface modification of polymer nanoslits and nanochannels for the assessment of the associated electrokinetic parameters – surface charge density, zeta potential and electroosmotic flow. This study provided information on possible routes that can be adopted to engineer proper wall chemistry of polymer nanochannels for the enhancement or reduction of solute/wall interactions in a variety of relevant single-molecule studies
Biomarkers Used for the Diagnosis of Diseases
The detection and quantification of with high precision nucleic acid biomarkers and protein biomarkers in resource-limited settings is key to the early diagnosis of diseases and for monitoring the effects of treatments. As there is an enormous demand for high-quality biomarker detection platforms that are robust and highly applicable in resource-limited settings, this book is devoted to exploring methods for detection and quantification of biomarkers, focusing on the recent advances in this field
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