Optically induced electrothermal microfluidic tweezers in bio-relevant media
Optically induced electrothermal microfluidic tweezers in bio-relevant media
Non-contact micro-manipulation tools have enabled invasion-free studies of fragile synthetic particles and biological cells. Rapid electrokinetic patterning (REP) traps target particles/cells, suspended in an electrolyte, on an electrode surface. This entrapment is electrokinetic in nature and thus depends strongly on the suspension medium’s properties. REP has been well characterized for manipulating synthetic particles suspended in low concentration salt solutions (~ 2 mS/m). However, it is not studied as extensively for manipulating biological cells, which introduces an additional level of complexity due to their limited viability in hypotonic media. In this work, we discuss challenges posed by isotonic electrolytes and suggest solutions to enable REP manipulation in bio-relevant media. Various formulations of isotonic media (salt and sugar-based) are tested for their compatibility with REP. REP manipulation is observed in low concentration salt-based media such as 0.1× phosphate buffered saline (PBS) when the device electrodes are passivated with a dielectric layer. We also show manipulation of murine pancreatic cancer cells suspended in a sugar-based (8.5% w/v sucrose and 0.3% w/v dextrose) isotonic medium. The ability to trap mammalian cells and deposit them in custom patterns enables high-impact applications such as determining their biomechanical properties and 3D bioprinting for tissue scaffolding.
Gupta, Kshitiz
726543ab-6767-46cb-89aa-db4ef808dfb7
Moon, Hye‑Ran
0a183da2-3a2a-4283-b86d-174c1890d31c
Chen, Zhengwei
d888751a-1300-4ce4-9d0c-5a2a1075f102
Han, Bumsoo
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Green, Nicolas G.
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Wereley, Steven T
b80225dd-e66c-4d34-9317-fcaf48e94677
17 June 2023
Gupta, Kshitiz
726543ab-6767-46cb-89aa-db4ef808dfb7
Moon, Hye‑Ran
0a183da2-3a2a-4283-b86d-174c1890d31c
Chen, Zhengwei
d888751a-1300-4ce4-9d0c-5a2a1075f102
Han, Bumsoo
55bee93a-67a0-4f05-a50a-2bbcd65a8e79
Green, Nicolas G.
d9b47269-c426-41fd-a41d-5f4579faa581
Wereley, Steven T
b80225dd-e66c-4d34-9317-fcaf48e94677
Gupta, Kshitiz, Moon, Hye‑Ran, Chen, Zhengwei, Han, Bumsoo, Green, Nicolas G. and Wereley, Steven T
(2023)
Optically induced electrothermal microfluidic tweezers in bio-relevant media.
Scientific Reports, 13 (1), [9819].
(doi:10.1038/s41598-023-35722-3).
Abstract
Non-contact micro-manipulation tools have enabled invasion-free studies of fragile synthetic particles and biological cells. Rapid electrokinetic patterning (REP) traps target particles/cells, suspended in an electrolyte, on an electrode surface. This entrapment is electrokinetic in nature and thus depends strongly on the suspension medium’s properties. REP has been well characterized for manipulating synthetic particles suspended in low concentration salt solutions (~ 2 mS/m). However, it is not studied as extensively for manipulating biological cells, which introduces an additional level of complexity due to their limited viability in hypotonic media. In this work, we discuss challenges posed by isotonic electrolytes and suggest solutions to enable REP manipulation in bio-relevant media. Various formulations of isotonic media (salt and sugar-based) are tested for their compatibility with REP. REP manipulation is observed in low concentration salt-based media such as 0.1× phosphate buffered saline (PBS) when the device electrodes are passivated with a dielectric layer. We also show manipulation of murine pancreatic cancer cells suspended in a sugar-based (8.5% w/v sucrose and 0.3% w/v dextrose) isotonic medium. The ability to trap mammalian cells and deposit them in custom patterns enables high-impact applications such as determining their biomechanical properties and 3D bioprinting for tissue scaffolding.
Text
s41598-023-35722-3
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e-pub ahead of print date: 17 June 2023
Published date: 17 June 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
HM and BH thank the support by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01 CA254110, U01 CA274304 and P30 CA023168) and National Science Foundation (MCB-2134603). The authors would like to thank Katherine Clayton and Seungman Park for discussions on REP manipulation of mammalian cells.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 479979
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/479979
ISSN: 2045-2322
PURE UUID: 7dba4c46-fd9c-49a0-8ec0-78738ffafed8
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Date deposited: 31 Jul 2023 16:57
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 02:59
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Author:
Kshitiz Gupta
Author:
Hye‑Ran Moon
Author:
Zhengwei Chen
Author:
Bumsoo Han
Author:
Nicolas G. Green
Author:
Steven T Wereley
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