Microfluidic Synthesis of Barcode Particles for Multiplex Assays

Abstract

The increasing use of high-throughput assays in biomedical applications, including drug discovery and clinical diagnostics, demands effective strategies for multiplexing. One promising strategy is the use of barcode particles that encode information about their specific compositions and enable simple identification. Various encoding mechanisms, including spectroscopic, graphical, electronic, and physical encoding, have been proposed for the provision of sufficient identification codes for the barcode particles. These particles are synthesized in various ways. Microfluidics is an effective approach that has created exciting avenues of scientific research in barcode particle synthesis. The resultant particles have found important application in the detection of multiple biological species as they have properties of high flexibility, fast reaction times, less reagent consumption, and good repeatability. In this paper, research progress in the microfluidic synthesis of barcode particles for multiplex assays is discussed. After introducing the general developing strategies of the barcode particles, the focus is on studies of microfluidics, including their design, fabrication, and application in the generation of barcode particles. Applications of the achieved barcode particles in multiplex assays will be described and emphasized. The prospects for future development of these barcode particles are also presented.

Microfluidic fabrication of magnetic porous multi-walled carbon nanotube beads for oil and organic solvent adsorption

“…[23][24][25][26][27] These droplets have been applied as templates to fabricate polymeric particles and composite particles with complicated structures for different applications. [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] However, the generation of porous MCNT adsorbents via this approach and their adsorption properties still remain unexplored. In this paper, we utilized a modied capillary microuidic method to construct 3D magnetic porous multi-walled carbon nanotube beads (MCNTBs).…”

Composite core-shell microparticles from microfluidics for synergistic drug delivery

“…Because of their capability of generating monodisperse emulsions and executing precise control over the suspended droplets inside the microchannels and their operation, microfluidic emulsification technologies have become a powerful tool for controllable fabrication of microparticles with desired properties [26][27][28]. The degree of control afforded by microfluidics is highlighted by the ability to generate controlled multiple emulsions of double, triple, and an even higher-order, where the size and number of encapsulated droplets can be manipulated with high accuracy [29].…”

Microfluidic generation of Buddha beads-like microcarriers for cell culture

“…Among them, microcarriers have emerged as novel biomimetic platforms, which offer 3D biomaterial scaffolds for cell encapsulation and aggregate formation [10][11][12][13][14][15]. Several approaches have been proposed for fabricating microcarriers, such as photolithography, micromolding, electrojetting and microfluidics [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24].…”