A microfluidic approach for high-throughput droplet interface bilayer (DIB) formation

Stanley, Claire E.; Elvira, Katherine S.; Niu, Xize; Gee, Antony D.; Ces, Oscar; Edel, Joshua B.; deMello, Andrew J.

doi:10.1039/b924897h

Cited by 78 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Hence, the attraction becomes stronger and more permanent when compared to the non-permanent droplet adhesion failure mode described below, since the droplets are joined by a true bilayer. This failure mode has been observed previously in microfluidic devices with lipid surfactants 48 and can cause both droplet merging when the DIB is stretched or compressed, and droplet leakage of molecules that are soluble in the bilayer. 48 Droplet merging (Video S5 in the supplementary material, 28 Figures 5(e) and 5(f)): Droplet merging may occur either when droplets are in flow or during storage.…”

Section: B Surfactant Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…48 When the attraction between the surfactant monolayers covering droplet surfaces becomes sufficiently pronounced, it largely excludes oil molecules from the shared interface and forms a DIB. Hence, the attraction becomes stronger and more permanent when compared to the non-permanent droplet adhesion failure mode described below, since the droplets are joined by a true bilayer.…”

Section: B Surfactant Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Droplet confinement and leakage: Causes, underlying effects, and amelioration strategies

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The applicability of droplet-based microfluidic systems to many research fields stems from the fact that droplets are generally considered individual and selfcontained reaction vessels. This study demonstrates that, more often than not, the integrity of droplets is not complete, and depends on a range of factors including surfactant type and concentration, the micro-channel surface, droplet storage conditions, and the flow rates used to form and process droplets. Herein, a model microfluidic device is used for droplet generation and storage to allow the comparative study of forty-four different oil/surfactant conditions. Assessment of droplet stability under these conditions suggests a diversity of different droplet failure modes. These failure modes have been classified into families depending on the underlying effect, with both numerical and qualitative models being used to describe the causative effect and to provide practical solutions for droplet failure amelioration in microfluidic systems. V C 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

show abstract

Section: B Surfactant Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: B Surfactant Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Droplet confinement and leakage: Causes, underlying effects, and amelioration strategies

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…[9][10][11] Microliter droplets-in-oil are large enough for wire electrodes to be inserted. Two droplets can subsequently be contacted by moving their electrodes towards each other, 7,8 or by electrokinetic manipulation on a planar microelectrode array.…”

Section: Interdroplet Bilayer Arraysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When the droplet diameter is approximately equal to the channel cross-sectional area, the droplets will pack as a linear array, 18 and as a 1.5D array when the channel width is larger. 9,11 Droplet positioning in microfluidic devices can be guided by intra-channel structural elements, for example semi-circular droplet traps 10 or pillar arrays, 19 that enable a static droplet position while maintaining the oil flow through the device. The microfluidic droplet networks reported to date were aimed at bilayer permeability assessment or cross-bilayer communication of chemical oscillators, and employed relatively small interdroplet bilayers in linear network topologies.…”

Section: Interdroplet Bilayer Arraysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9,11 Schmidt and co-workers implemented a pair of classical microfluidic T-junction droplet generators which produced plug-shaped (i.e. channel-confined) droplets of ≈5 nL volume, which were packed in an upstream pillar-flanked microfluidic channel, giving interdroplet lipid bilayers with an estimated maximum diameter of 50 μm.…”

Section: Interdroplet Bilayer Arraysmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Interdroplet bilayer arrays in millifluidic droplet traps from 3D-printed moulds

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In droplet microfluidics, aqueous droplets are typically separated by an oil phase to ensure containment of molecules in individual droplets of nano-to-picoliter volume. An interesting variation of this method involves bringing two phospholipid-coated droplets into contact to form a lipid bilayer in-between the droplets. These interdroplet bilayers, created by manual pipetting of microliter droplets, have proved advantageous for the study of membrane transport phenomena, including ion channel electrophysiology.In this study, we adapted the droplet microfluidics methodology to achieve automated formation of interdroplet lipid bilayer arrays. We developed a 'millifluidic' chip for microliter droplet generation and droplet packing, which is cast from a 3D-printed mould. Droplets of 0.7-6.0 μL volume were packed as homogeneous or heterogeneous linear arrays of 2-9 droplets that were stable for at least six hours. The interdroplet bilayers had an area of up to 0.56 mm 2 , or an equivalent diameter of up to 850 μm, as determined from capacitance measurements. We observed osmotic water transfer over the bilayers as well as sequential bilayer lysis by the pore-forming toxin melittin. These millifluidic interdroplet bilayer arrays combine the ease of electrical and optical access of manually pipetted microdroplets with the automation and reproducibility of microfluidic technologies. Moreover, the 3D-printing based fabrication strategy enables the rapid implementation of alternative channel geometries, e.g. branched arrays, with a design-to-device time of just 24-48 hours.

show abstract

Lipid Microfluidic Biomimetic Models for Drug Screening: A Comprehensive Review

Fernandes,

Cardoso,

Lanceros‐Méndez

et al. 2024

Adv Funct Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Developing new drugs is a complex, time‐consuming, and expensive process, essential to identify potential pharmacokinetic issues in the early stages to avoid investment in nonpromising candidates. Nearly half of all drug targets and key drug‐metabolizing enzymes are found in intracellular environments, compartmentalized by semipermeable barriers, the cell membranes. Inspired by their lipidic bilayer structure, lipid‐based biomimetic platforms are being developed to understand the biochemical and biophysical processes at the cellular membrane level. Considering the pharmaceutical industry's demands for efficient in vitro high throughput screening tools, microfluidic technology emerges as a promising solution to address challenges in lipid biomimetic models for screening applications. This involves the transformation of commonly used lipid‐based biomimetic models, like supported lipid bilayers and lipid vesicles, to miniaturized approachs and their evolution into a new generation of bilayer models. These include pore‐suspended and free‐standing lipid bilayers, black lipid membranes, and droplet interface bilayers. This review provides an overview of both generations of lipid biomimetic models used in drug‐membrane screening applications. Moreover, it delves into the intricacies of their production through microfluidic approaches and examines their screening applications in drug‐membrane interaction. The review concludes with a critical analysis of potential future directions in this rapidly evolving field.

show abstract

A microfluidic approach for high-throughput droplet interface bilayer (DIB) formation

Cited by 78 publications

References 19 publications

Droplet confinement and leakage: Causes, underlying effects, and amelioration strategies

Droplet confinement and leakage: Causes, underlying effects, and amelioration strategies

Interdroplet bilayer arrays in millifluidic droplet traps from 3D-printed moulds

Lipid Microfluidic Biomimetic Models for Drug Screening: A Comprehensive Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About