Themed collection Lab on a Chip Review Articles 2024

The concept of miniaturized biopharmaceutical downstream processing with AI-controlled continuous flow platforms is described to overcome limitations of conventional processes, potentially accelerating the development of novel biotherapeutics.

We explore the development of multifunctional nanophotonic neural probes, integrating microelectrodes, optical emitters, and microfluidic channels for multimodal brain mapping.

In this perspective article, we present the state of the microfluidic field regarding current limitations and propose future directions and new approaches for the field to advance lab-on-a-chip technologies closer to translation and clinical use.

For MPS technology to be effective not only innovation but standardization will be vital. This will require the consensus of all interested parties including academics, developers, regulatory agencies, metrology institutions, and stakeholders.

A great progress has been made in the development and use of lab-on-a-chip devices to model and study the blood–brain barrier (BBB) in the last decade.

Droplet microarrays underpin novel experimentation across the biological and chemical sciences. This perspective explores operations and analysis with droplet microarrays, placing focus on a comparison to traditional multiwell plates.

A molecular robot, which is a system comprised of one or more molecular machines and computers, can execute sophisticated tasks in many fields that span from nanomedicine to green nanotechnology.

We explore how microfluidic-based high-throughput single-cell RNA sequencing facilitates neutralizing monoclonal antibody development against SARS-CoV-2, and the potential improvement of therapeutic antibody discovery strategies.

This Tutorial Review highlights strategies for leveraging the micron-to-submicron-scale additive manufacturing technique, “direct laser writing”, to enable 3D microfluidic technologies.

This review explores emerging microfluidic-based technologies incorporating innovative assay strategies for infectious disease diagnostics. Our classification scheme is based on the human body systems or pathogen transmission modes.

Heart-on-chip systems are one of the tools at the forefront in the race to develop alternative in vitro preclinical testing for disease modeling, drug toxicity and efficacy assessment. Further innovation and standardization will accelerate their use.

Although developed independently at the beginning, AI, micro/nanorobots and microfluidics have become more intertwined in the past few years which has greatly propelled the cutting-edge development in fields of biomedical sciences.

New point-of-care tests (POCTs), which are especially useful in low-resource settings, are needed to expand screening capacity for diseases that cause significant mortality: tuberculosis, multiple cancers, and emerging infectious diseases.

Integration of an immune component moves the field closer to a physiologically relevant human-on-a-chip.

This review covers recent advances in sample preparation and detection methods for point-of-care testing, aiming to accelerate progress towards at-home health monitoring for personalized healthcare in the future.

Biological barriers play key roles in homeostasis, disease physiology and drug delivery, highlighting a need for representative in vitro tools. We discuss advances and challenges in modeling and measuring barrier integrity in organ-on-chip systems.

Current approaches for mechanical measurements of single cells compromise between fidelity and throughput. Development of non-contact technologies and optimized theoretical modelling will advance mechanical characterisation of large cell populations.

Synthetic biology and microfluidics merge to propel the design of various biological systems like bacteria, yeast, fungi, mammalian cells, or cell-free systems for targeted functions. This synergy accelerates synthetic biology applications across these diverse hosts, showcased in this review.

This review paper provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art actuation mechanisms for flexible and stretchable microdevices.

Wearable devices are increasingly popular in health monitoring, diagnosis, and drug delivery. Advances allow real-time analysis of biofluids like sweat, tears, saliva, wound fluid, and urine.

Organotropism is an important concept to explain the process of cancer metastasis. In this paper, we introduce microphysiological systems with simultaneous physiological relevance and high throughput to recapitulate the series of cancer progression.

Here we explore the use of microfluidic systems in microbial ecology, describing applications ranging from the investigation of single-cell behaviors to the imaging of complex three-dimensional biofilms.

Islet-on-a-chip devices have the power to measure pancreatic islet metabolism from donor and engineered islets. These measurements could be used to determine healthy islets for the treatment of type 1 diabetes.

MPS technology holds great potential for studying complex metastasis organotropism. It effectively simulates the dynamic interactions between distinct organ environments and the tumor cells, capturing both their inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity.

This review delves into microphysiological systems, miniature physiological environments used to evaluate biological products, reducing the need for animal experimentation. We consider their benefits as well as persistent challenges in material selection/fabrication and reproducibility.

Further development of lab-on-chip platforms is required to create an environment capable of hosting more complex microbiota and immune cells.

Microfluidic-enabled smart microcapsules as delivery systems from droplet fabrication to tailored delivery and controlled release.

This review outlines the current advances of high-throughput microfluidic systems accelerated by AI. Furthermore, the challenges and opportunities in this field are critically discussed as well.

This review focuses on microfluidic techniques for sampling, sensing, and managing of sweat and interstitial fluid (ISF).

This review outlines Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell manufacturing, highlights challenges, and explores successful microfluidic approaches and related technologies to address them.

This review introduces the development of droplet microfluidics by explaining the physical mechanisms of droplet generation, discussing various approaches in manipulating droplets, and summarizing key applications in material science and biological analyses.

Current radiotracer production approaches restrict clinicians' access to a wide range of targeted probes. In this review, we assess the current state of microfluidic synthesis platforms with a view towards future dose-on-demand production.

This review summarizes innovative chip and electrode designs that use transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurements to assess biological barrier properties (figure created with Adobe Firefly).

Essential in treating numerous diseases, novel therapeutic antibody candidates are needed. This critical review examines recent advances in microdevices and the challenges associated with candidate discovery and characterization.

This review highlights the latest advancements in microfluidic devices in environmental monitoring during the last 5 years. We also emphasize the current limitations in the devices and propose effective strategies to improve environmental monitoring.

The current landscape of microfluidic technologies for lipid nanoparticle production, size control, scaling, and nanomedicine post-processing is described in a review of this evolving field.