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Hybrid microfluidic systems that are composed of multiple different types of substrates have been recognized as a versatile and superior platform, which can draw benefits from different substrates while avoiding their limitations. This review article introduces the recent innovations of different types of low-cost hybrid microfluidic devices, particularly focusing on cost-effective polymer- and paper-based hybrid microfluidic devices. In this article, the fabrication of these hybrid microfluidic devices is briefly described and summarized. We then highlight various hybrid microfluidic systems, including polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based, thermoplastic-based, paper/polymer hybrid systems, as well as other emerging hybrid systems (such as thread-based). The special benefits of using these hybrid systems have been summarized accordingly. A broad range of biological and biomedical applications using these hybrid microfluidic devices are discussed in detail, including nucleic acid analysis, protein analysis, cellular analysis, 3D cell culture, organ-on-a-chip, and tissue engineering. The perspective trends of hybrid microfluidic systems involving the improvement of fabrication techniques and broader applications are also discussed at the end of the review.
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Toward Vasculature in Skeletal Muscle-on-a-Chip through Thermo-Responsive Sacrificial Templates
Developing new approaches for vascularizing synthetic tissue systems will have a tremendous impact in diverse areas. One area where this is particularly important is developing new skeletal muscle tissue systems, which could be utilized in physiological model studies and tissue regeneration. To develop vascularized approaches a microfluidic on-chip design for creating channels in polymer systems can be pursued. Current microfluidic tissue engineering methods include soft lithography, rapid prototyping, and cell printing; however, these have limitations such as having their scaffolding being inorganic, less desirable planar vasculature geometry, low fabrication efficiency, and limited resolution. Here we successfully developed a circular microfluidic channel embedded in a 3D extracellular matrix scaffolding with 3D myogenesis. We used a thermo-responsive polymer approach with micromilling-molding and designed a mixture of polyester wax and paraffin wax to fabricate the sacrificial template for microfluidic channel generation in the scaffolding. These findings will impact a number of fields including biomaterials, biomimetic structures, and personalized medicine in the future.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1946456
- PAR ID:
- 10211693
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Micromachines
- Volume:
- 11
- Issue:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 2072-666X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 907
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3390/mi11100907
