Inertial flow focusing: a case study in optimizing cellular trajectory through a microfluidic MEMS device for timing-critical applications
Inertial flow focusing: a case study in optimizing cellular trajectory through a microfluidic MEMS device for timing-critical applications
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DOI：
10.1007/s10544-020-00508-1
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发表时间：
2020-08
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
Luke H. C. Patterson;Jennifer L. Walker;Mark A. Naivar;E. Rodriguez-Mesa;M. R. Hoonejani;K. Shields;J. Foster;A. Doyle;M. Valentine;K. Foster
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文献类型：
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作者：
Luke H. C. Patterson;Jennifer L. Walker;Mark A. Naivar;E. Rodriguez-Mesa;M. R. Hoonejani;K. Shields;J. Foster;A. Doyle;M. Valentine;K. Foster
虽然微流体微机电系统（MEMS）非常适合研究机械力对大量细胞的影响，但如果不优化流过它们的流体和颗粒的实验条件，就无法充分利用它们的高通量能力。已知诸如流速和颗粒尺寸的参数影响微流体系统中颗粒的轨迹，并且已经被广泛研究，但是温度和缓冲液粘度的影响还没有被很好地理解。在本文中，我们探索了这些参数对我们自己的细胞撞击装置μHammer的计时的影响，首先跟踪聚苯乙烯珠通过装置的速度，然后可视化这些珠的撞击。通过这些试验，我们发现，我们的设备的时间是敏感的惯性力的变化，颗粒在通过设备时经历的粘性力的比例。这种灵敏度提供了一组参数，可以作为一个强大的框架，在各种实验条件下优化器件性能，而不需要广泛的几何重新设计。使用这些工具，我们能够用我们的设备实现超过360个珠子/秒的有效吞吐量，证明了这种框架在提高依赖于精确颗粒轨迹和定时的微流体系统的一致性方面的潜力。
Although microfluidic micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are well suited to investigate the effects of mechanical force on large populations of cells, their high-throughput capabilities cannot be fully leveraged without optimizing the experimental conditions of the fluid and particles flowing through them. Parameters such as flow velocity and particle size are known to affect the trajectories of particles in microfluidic systems and have been studied extensively, but the effects of temperature and buffer viscosity are not as well understood. In this paper, we explored the effects of these parameters on the timing of our own cell-impact device, the μHammer, by first tracking the velocity of polystyrene beads through the device and then visualizing the impact of these beads. Through these assays, we find that the timing of our device is sensitive to changes in the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces that particles experience while traveling through the device. This sensitivity provides a set of parameters that can serve as a robust framework for optimizing device performance under various experimental conditions, without requiring extensive geometric redesigns. Using these tools, we were able to achieve an effective throughput over 360 beads/s with our device, demonstrating the potential of this framework to improve the consistency of microfluidic systems that rely on precise particle trajectories and timing.