Functional Biomaterials Modulate Macrophage in the Tumour Micro-environment

The inflammation response requires the cooperation of macrophages with immune cell function and active factors, such as cytokines and chemokines. Through this response, these factors are involved in the immune response to affect physiological activities. Macrophages can be categorized into two types: ‘M1’ and ‘M2’. M1 macrophages destroy the pathogen through phagocytosis activation, ROS production, and antigen-presenting, among other functions. M2 macrophages release cellular factors for tissue recovery, growth, and angiogenesis. Studies have determined that tumour tissue presents with numerous macrophages, termed tumour-associated macrophages. Tumour cells and peripheral stromal cells stimulate the tumour associated with macrophages (M2) to produce factors that regulate angiogenesis. Modulating the balance of the M1 and M2 function has already gained interest as a potentially valuable immune disease therapy. However, applications of the immunotherapy in clinical treatments are still not clear with regard to the cellular working mechanism. Therefore, we summarized the functions of common biomaterials involved in the modulation of the macrophage

Design and Analysis of Impedance Pumps Utilizing Electromagnetic Actuation

This study designs and analyzes an impedance pump utilizing an electromagnetic actuator. The pump is designed to have three major components, namely a lower glass substrate patterned with a copper micro-coil, a microchannel, and an upper glass cover plate attached a magnetic PDMS diaphragm. When a current is passed through the micro-coil, an electromagnetic force is established between the coil and the magnetic diaphragm. The resulting deflection of the PDMS diaphragm creates an acoustic impedance mismatch within the microchannel, which results in a net flow. In performing the analysis, simulated models of the magnetic field, the diaphragm displacement and the flow rate are developed using Ansoft/Maxwell3D, ANSYS FEA and FLUENT 6.3 CFD software, respectively. Overall, the simulated results reveal that a net flow rate of 52.8 μL/min can be obtained using a diaphragm displacement of 31.5 μm induced by a micro-coil input current of 0.5 A. The impedance pump proposed in this study provides a valuable contribution to the ongoing development of Lab-on-Chips (LoCs) systems