Acoustofluidics – changing paradigm in tissue engineering, therapeutics development, and biosensing

Abstract

Acoustofluidic applications in biosciences; acoustic biosensing; acoustic trigger as a functional mechanical stimulus; cell separation and sorting; therapeutics development and delivery; cell patterning and assembly for tissue engineering.

Acoustic Cell Patterning for Structured Cell‐Laden Hydrogel Fibers/Tubules

“…Among these various external fields, the acoustic methods show the advantages of good compatibility, fast response, contact‐free, and widescale tunability, thus innovating the strategies of cell patterning. [ 32 , 33 ] The acoustofluidic configurations can be easily integrated with a microfluid environment, and avoid the effort for magnetic or electrical labeling. [ 34 , 35 ] For example, Bouyer et al.…”

Acoustic platforms meet MXenes – a new paradigm shift in the palette of biomedical applications

“…Acoustic waves can manipulate the fluid flow in the micro and nanoscale, which can be used to develop miniaturized technologies and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). 11 This domain of contactless and label-free acoustic technique is known as acoustofluidics, 12 and its applications range from the analysis of cells, 13 and biomolecules, 14 to techniques like acoustic levitation, 15 acoustic actuation, 16 acoustophoresis, 17 acoustic tweezers, 18 etc . Recent progress in acoustofluidics technologies for diagnostics, drug synthesis and delivery, tissue engineering, fundamental biological studies, biological particle separation, and sorting proves the evidence of using acoustics in modern medical science and technology.…”

Patterning of Protein-Sequestered Liquid-Crystal Droplets Using Acoustic Wave Trapping

“…Thus, particles that are relatively denser and stiffer than the surrounding medium are trapped at the acoustic pressure nodes, whereas other particles are trapped at acoustic pressure antinodes created by the acoustic standing wave. − Therefore, in general, acoustic trapping method is noninvasive and just tuning of the acoustic standing wavelength can lead to spatial manipulation of particles, regardless of their optical, electrical, or magnetic properties. , As a result, acoustic standing waves have been exploited in the field of tissue engineering, point-of-care diagnostics, and biophysical studies by spatial patterning and manipulation of micron-sized particles, living cells, bacteria, blood constituents, synthetic cells (protocells), aqueous droplets dispersed in oil, and so forth. ,− For example, a combination of acoustic standing wave pressure field and in situ complex coacervation has been used to design and build microarrays of coacervate microdroplets with controllable spatial geometry, lattice dimensions, and physical and chemical properties. ,− Acoustic-mediated in situ assembly of coacervate droplets exhibits variable surface-attachment properties and dynamic behavior and shows spontaneous uptake of dye molecules, proteins, enzymes, nanoparticles, and microparticles, thus producing spatial and time-dependent fluorescent output when exposed to a reactant diffusion gradient. Further, these spatially positioned coacervate droplets containing enzymes have been explored to understand the chemical signaling pathway between the protocell communities via enzymatic cascade reactions and to understand higher-order collective behavior. ,− Further, contactless nature of the acoustic force simplifies the fabrication of the chip and combining acoustic technology with microfluidics (acoustofluidic) enables a greater degree of control over the spatial localization of different constituents dispersed in the fluid. ,− …”