Both passive and active microfluidic chips are used in many biomedical and chemical applications to support fluid mixing, particle manipulations, and signal detection. Passive microfluidic devices are geometry-dependent, and their uses are rather limited. Active microfluidic devices include sensors or detectors that transduce chemical, biological, and physical changes into electrical or optical signals. Also, they are transduction devices that detect biological and chemical changes in biomedical applications, and they are highly versatile microfluidic tools for disease diagnosis and organ modeling. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the significant advances that have been made in the development of microfluidics devices. We will discuss the function of microfluidic devices as micromixers or as sorters of cells and substances (e.g., microfiltration, flow or displacement, and trapping). Microfluidic devices are fabricated using a range of techniques, including molding, etching, three-dimensional printing, and nanofabrication. Their broad utility lies in the detection of diagnostic biomarkers and organ-on-chip approaches that permit disease modeling in cancer, as well as uses in neurological, cardiovascular, hepatic, and pulmonary diseases. Biosensor applications allow for point-of-care testing, using assays based on enzymes, nanozymes, antibodies, or nucleic acids (DNA or RNA). An anticipated development in the field includes the optimization of techniques for the fabrication of microfluidic devices using biocompatible materials. These developments will increase biomedical versatility, reduce diagnostic costs, and accelerate diagnosis time of microfluidics technology.
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and its incidence is steadily increasing. Although years of research have been conducted on cancer treatment, clinical treatment options for cancers are still limited. Animal cancer models have been widely used for studies of cancer therapeutics, but these models have been associated with many concerns, including inaccuracy in the representation of human cancers, high cost and ethical issues. Therefore, in vitro human cancer models are being developed quickly to fulfill the increasing demand for more relevant models in order to get a better knowledge of human cancers and to find novel treatments. This review summarizes the development of in vitro human cancer models for biomedical applications. We first review the latest development in the field by detailing various types of in vitro human cancer models, including transwell-based models, tumor spheroids, microfluidic tumor-microvascular systems and scaffold-based models. The advantages and limitations of each model, as well as their biomedical applications, are summarized, including therapeutic development, assessment of tumor cell migration, metastasis and invasion and discovery of key cancer markers. Finally, the existing challenges and future perspectives are briefly discussed.
Multiple myeloma is a hematological cancer type. For its treatment, Bortezomib has been widely used. However, drug resistance to this effective chemotherapeutic has been developed for various reasons. 2D cell cultures and animal models have failed to understand the MM disease and Bortezomib resistance. It is therefore essential to utilize new technologies to reveal a complete molecular profile of the disease. In this review, we in-depth examined the possible molecular mechanisms that cause Bortezomib resistance and specifically addressed MM and Bortezomib resistance. Moreover, we also included the use of nanoparticles, 3D culture methods, microfluidics, and organ-on-chip devices in multiple myeloma. We also discussed whether the emerging technology offers the necessary tools to understand and prevent Bortezomib resistance in multiple myeloma. Despite the ongoing research activities on MM, the related studies cannot provide a complete summary of MM. Nanoparticle and 3D culturing have been frequently used to understand MM disease and Bortezomib resistance. However, the number of microfluidic devices for this application is insufficient. By combining siRNA/miRNA technologies with microfluidic devices, a complete molecular genetic profile of MM disease could be revealed. Microfluidic chips should be used clinically in personal therapy and point-of-care applications. At least with Bortezomib microneedles, it could be ensured that MM patients can go through the treatment process more painlessly. This way, MM can be switched to the curable cancer type list, and Bortezomib can be targeted for its treatment with fewer side effects.
BackgroundMultiple myeloma (MM), a malignancy of plasma cells, is the second most prevalent hematological cancer. Bortezomib is the most effective chemotherapeutic drug used in treatment. However, drug-resistance prevents success of chemotherapy. One of the factors causing drug-resistance is dysfunction of apoptotic-pathways. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between expression levels of Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3 and p-53 genes involved in apoptosis and the development of bortezomib-resistance in MM cell lines.Materials and methodsMultiple myeloma KMS20 (bortezomib-resistant) and KMS28 (bortezomib-sensitive) cell lines were used. 3-[4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl] 1-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was performed to determine IC50 values of bortezomib. RNAs were isolated from bortezomib-treated cell lines, followed by cDNA synthesis. Expression levels of the genes were analyzed by using q-Realtime-PCR.ResultsAs a result, Bcl-2/Bax ratio was higher in KMS20 (resistant) cells than in KMS28 (sensitive) cells. Expression of caspase-3 decreased in KMS20-cells, whereas increased in KMS28-cells. The results indicate that apoptosis was suppressed in resistant cells.ConclusionThese findings will enable us to understand the molecular mechanisms leading to drug-resistance in MM cells and to develop new methods to prevent the resistance. Consequently, preventing the development of bortezomib resistance by eliminating the factors which suppress apoptosis may be a new hope for MM treatment.
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