Droplet-based microfluidics in biomedical applications

Leyla Amirifar; Mohsen Besanjideh; Rohollah Nasiri; Amir Shamloo; Fatemeh Nasrollahi; Natan Roberto de Barros; Elham Davoodi; Ahmet Erdem; Mahboobeh Mahmoodi; Vahid Hosseini; Hossein Montazerian; Jamileh Jahangiry; Mohammad Ali Darabi; Reihaneh Haghniaz; Mehmet R Dokmeci; Nasim Annabi; Samad Ahadian; Ali Khademhosseini

doi:10.1088/1758-5090/ac39a9

Droplet-based microfluidics in biomedical applications

Biofabrication. 2022 Jan 24;14(2). doi: 10.1088/1758-5090/ac39a9.

Authors

Leyla Amirifar¹, Mohsen Besanjideh¹, Rohollah Nasiri^{1

2

3

4}, Amir Shamloo^{1

5}, Fatemeh Nasrollahi^{2

3

4}, Natan Roberto de Barros^{2

3

4}, Elham Davoodi^{2

3

6}, Ahmet Erdem^{2

3

7}, Mahboobeh Mahmoodi^{2

3

8}, Vahid Hosseini^{2

3

4}, Hossein Montazerian^{2

3}, Jamileh Jahangiry^{2

3}, Mohammad Ali Darabi^{2

3

4}, Reihaneh Haghniaz^{2

3

4}, Mehmet R Dokmeci^{2

3

4}, Nasim Annabi⁹, Samad Ahadian^{2

3

4}, Ali Khademhosseini^{2

3

4

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Nano-Bioengineering Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, 11365-11155, Iran.
² Center for Minimally Invasive Therapeutics (C-MIT), University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America.
³ Department of Bioengineering, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States of America.
⁴ Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI), Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States of America.
⁵ Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran 11365-11155, Iran.
⁶ Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing Lab, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering Department, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.
⁷ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Kocaeli University, Kocaeli, 41001, Turkey.
⁸ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yazd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Yazd, 8915813135, Iran.
⁹ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States of America.
¹⁰ Department of Radiological Sciences, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States of America.

PMID: 34781274
DOI: 10.1088/1758-5090/ac39a9

Abstract

Droplet-based microfluidic systems have been employed to manipulate discrete fluid volumes with immiscible phases. Creating the fluid droplets at microscale has led to a paradigm shift in mixing, sorting, encapsulation, sensing, and designing high throughput devices for biomedical applications. Droplet microfluidics has opened many opportunities in microparticle synthesis, molecular detection, diagnostics, drug delivery, and cell biology. In the present review, we first introduce standard methods for droplet generation (i.e. passive and active methods) and discuss the latest examples of emulsification and particle synthesis approaches enabled by microfluidic platforms. Then, the applications of droplet-based microfluidics in different biomedical applications are detailed. Finally, a general overview of the latest trends along with the perspectives and future potentials in the field are provided.

Keywords: cell; detection; diagnostics; droplet; drug delivery; microfluidics; particle synthesis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Microfluidic Analytical Techniques*
Microfluidics*