The past few decades has witnessed an intensive drive in the development of microfluidic technologies and devices that have tremendous applications in diverse sectors from defence to healthcare. Entire analytical protocols, including sample pretreatment, sample/reagent manipulation, separation, reaction, and detection can be performed significantly quicker on these miniaturised and compact devices. A broad range of existing and new materials from silicon, glass, polymers, and paper have been demonstrated as viable compatible materials for creating advanced and low-cost microfluidic devices, with embedded micrometre-sized elements, to provide unique and often combined functionalities for microfluidic processing. Based on the category of materials, fabrication techniques and examples of applications will be discussed in this chapter. Factors influencing the choice of material, cost of processing, and suitability of specific applications are included. The integration of microfluidic devices and detection technologies suggests a solid understanding of fabrication procedures and their limitations is essential to the development of commercial microfluidic devices.
Background: Rotator cuff (RC) tendinopathy is one of the most common causes of shoulder pain. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been frequently used in clinical scenarios, but its efficacy remains inconsistent. Purpose: To investigate the different responses of human tenocytes from torn RCs to leukocyte-rich PRP (LR-PRP) and leukocyte-poor PRP (LP-PRP) in a 2-chamber coculture device. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: PRP was prepared using different platelet and leukocyte concentrations according to 5 groups: (1) LR-PRP with 5000 platelets/µL, (2) LR-PRP with 10,000 platelets/µL, (3) LP-PRP with 5000 platelets/µL, (4) LP-PRP with 10,000 platelets/µL, and (5) control with only culture medium supplementation and without PRP stimulation. Platelet-derived growth factor–AB (PDGF-AB) and transforming growth factor–β1 (TGF-β1) were measured in LR-PRP and LP-PRP via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Microscopy, water-soluble tetrazolium salt assay, and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were used to investigate the morphology, proliferation, and gene expression of RC tenocytes exposed to different PRP formulations. Data were collected from at least 3 independent measurements. The results were analyzed via 1-way analysis of variance, followed by the post hoc Bonferroni test. Results: The ratio of leukocytes to 5000 platelets/µL was 29.5 times higher in LR-PRP than in LP-PRP ( P < .05). In the 5000 platelets/µL groups, the levels of TGF-β1 and PDGF-AB were both significantly higher in LR-PRP versus LP-PRP (TGF-β1: 367.0 ± 16.5 vs 308.6 ± 30.3 pg/mL, respectively [ P = .043]; PDGF-AB: 172.1 ± 1.8 vs 94.1 ± 4.2 pg/mL, respectively [ P < .001]). Compared with the control group, RC tenocyte proliferation was 1.42 ± 0.01 and 1.41 ± 0.03 times higher in the LR-PRP groups with 5000 platelets/µL and 10,000 platelets/µL, respectively ( P < .05). The expression of tenocyte-related genes was higher in tenocytes cultured in LR-PRP. Conclusion: Both the LR-PRP groups with 5000 platelets/µL and 10,000 platelets/µL induced more growth factor release and increased RC tenocyte proliferation than did the LP-PRP groups. Clinical Relevance: In RC repair, LR-PRP may be better than LP-PRP for increasing the proliferation of tenocytes.
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