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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    High spatial and temporal resolution cell manipulation techniques in microchannels
    (Cambridge : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2016) Novo, Pedro; Dell’Aica, Margherita; Janasek, Dirk; Zahedi, René P.
    The advent of microfluidics has enabled thorough control of cell manipulation experiments in so called lab on chips. Lab on chips foster the integration of actuation and detection systems, and require minute sample and reagent amounts. Typically employed microfluidic structures have similar dimensions as cells, enabling precise spatial and temporal control of individual cells and their local environments. Several strategies for high spatio-temporal control of cells in microfluidics have been reported in recent years, namely methods relying on careful design of the microfluidic structures (e.g. pinched flow), by integration of actuators (e.g. electrodes or magnets for dielectro-, acousto- and magneto-phoresis), or integrations thereof. This review presents the recent developments of cell experiments in microfluidics divided into two parts: an introduction to spatial control of cells in microchannels followed by special emphasis in the high temporal control of cell-stimulus reaction and quenching. In the end, the present state of the art is discussed in line with future perspectives and challenges for translating these devices into routine applications.
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    Trapping self-propelled micromotors with microfabricated chevron and heart-shaped chips
    (Cambridge : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2014) Restrepo-Pérez, Laura; Soler, Lluís; Martínez-Cisneros, Cynthia S.; Sanchez, Samuel; Schmidt, Oliver G.
    We demonstrate that catalytic micromotors can be trapped in microfluidic chips containing chevron and heart-shaped structures. Despite the challenge presented by the reduced size of the traps, microfluidic chips with different trapping geometries can be fabricated via replica moulding. We prove that these microfluidic chips can capture micromotors without the need for any external mechanism to control their motion.
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    Biofunctionalized self-propelled micromotors as an alternative on-chip concentrating system
    (Cambridge : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2014) Restrepo-Pérez, Laura; Meyer, Anne K.; Helbig, Linda; Sanchez, Samuel; Schmidt, Oliver G.
    Sample pre-concentration is crucial to achieve high sensitivity and low detection limits in lab-on-a-chip devices. Here, we present a system in which self-propelled catalytic micromotors are biofunctionalized and trapped acting as an alternative concentrating mechanism. This system requires no external energy source, which facilitates integration and miniaturization.