A microfluidic assembly method based on a microfluidic chip and capillary device was developed to create multicompartmental particles. The microfluidic chip design endows the particles with regulable internal structure. By adjusting the microstructure of the chip, the diameter of the capillary, the gap length between the two microfluidic components, and the flow rates, the size of the particles and the number or the ratio of different regions within the particle could be widely varied. As a proof of concept, we have produced some complicated particles that even contain 20 compartments. Furthermore, the potential applications of the anisotropic particles are explored by encapsulating magnetic beads, fluorescent nanoparticles, and the cells into different compartments of the microparticles. We believe that this method will open new avenues for the design and application of multicompartmental particles.
Three-dimensional (3D) hydrogel microspheres have aroused increasing attention as an in vitro cell culture model. Yet the preservation of cells' original biological properties has been overlooked during model construction.Here we present an integrated microfluidic device to accomplish the overall process including cell-laden microsphere generation, online extraction, and dynamic-culture. The method extends the noninvasive and nonsuppression capabilities of the droplet preparation system and provides a constant microenvironment, which reduces intracellular oxidative stress damage and the accumulation of mitochondria. Compared to the conventional preparation method, the coculture model of tumor-endothelial construction on an integrated platform displays high-level angiogenic protein expression. We believe that this versatile and biocompatible platform will provide a more reliable analysis tool for tissue engineering and cancer therapy.
Live‐imaging of signaling molecules released from living cells is a fundamental challenge in life sciences. Herein, we synthesized liquid crystal elastomer microspheres functionalized with horse‐radish peroxidase (LCEM‐HRP), which can be immobilized directly on the cell membrane to monitor real‐time release of H2O2 at the single‐cell level. LCEM‐HRP could report H2O2 through a concentric‐to‐radial (C‐R) transfiguration, which is due to the deprotonation of LCEM‐HRP and the break of inter or intra‐chain hydrogen bonding in LCEM‐HRP caused by HRP‐catalyzed reduction of H2O2. The level of transfiguration of LCEM‐HRP revealed the different amounts of H2O2 released from cells. The estimated detection sensitivity was ≈2.2×10−7 μm for 10 min of detection time. The cell lines and cell–cell heterogeneity was explored from different configurations. LCEM‐HRP presents a new approach for in situ real‐time imaging of H2O2 release from living cells and can be the basis for seeking more advanced chemical probes for imaging of various signaling molecules in the cellular microenvironment.
This work focused on the chemisorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on particulate matter of less than 2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ). The detection results illustrated that VOCs on PM 2.5 containing hydroxyl, carbonyl, and ester groups and C x H y on PM 2.5 were sequentially decreased as 70.02, 21.35, 6.42, and 2.21%, respectively. The chemisorption mechanism showed that the stronger the electronegativity of oxygen-containing functional groups of VOCs, the easier it is to adsorb them on the silicate PM 2.5 due to hydrogen bond formation. Strong electronegative oxygen-containing functional groups readily interacted through hydrogen bonds with silanol groups, which was the main component of PM 2.5 , resulting in VOC adsorption on PM 2.5 . Negative air ions (NAIs) can weaken the offset ability of the lone pair of electrons in oxygen-containing functional groups in VOCs, which could significantly weaken the possibility of forming hydrogen bonds with silanol groups. Therefore, NAIs can effectively inhibit the adsorption between VOCs and PM 2.5 , leading to a significant reduction in VOCs on the surface of PM 2.5 .
Fabrication and application of novel anisotropic microparticles are of wide interest. Herein, a new method for producing novel crater−terrain hydrogel microparticles is presented using a concept of droplet−aerosol impact and regional polymerization. The surface pattern of microparticles is similar to the widespread "crater" texture on the lunar surface and can be regulated by the impact morphology of aerosols on the droplet surface. Methodological applicability was demonstrated by producing ionic-cross-linked (alginate) and photo-cross-linked (poly-(ethylene glycol) diacrylate, PEGDA) microparticles. Additionally, the crater−terrain microparticles (CTMs) can induce nonspecific protein absorption on their surface to acquire cell affinity, and they were exploited as cell carriers to load living cells. Cells could adhere and proliferate, and a special cellular adhesion fingerprint was observed on the novel cell carrier. Therefore, the scalable manufacturing method and biological potential make the engineered microparticles promising to open a new avenue for exploring cell−biomaterial crosstalk.
Functional materials from the microfluidic-based droplet community are emerging as enabling tools for various applications in tissue engineering and cell biology. The innovative micro- and nano-scale materials with diverse size,...
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