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A ternary model for double-emulsion formation in a capillary microfluidic device
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A microfluidic “baby machine” for cell synchronization
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Automated analysis of single stem cells in microfluidic traps
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This week we’re celebrating our 150th issue at Lab on a Chip. Albert van den Berg, Deputy Chair of our Editorial Board, writes about the journal’s history and its exciting future, in his editorial.
The issue’s front cover features artwork from Kamlesh Patel and colleagues, whose critical review discusses the recent advances in digital microfluidics, focusing on applications for chemistry, biology and medicine. Topics discussed include the use of droplets for chemical synthesis, enzyme assays and the analysis of blood.
Digital microfluidics: a versatile tool for applications in chemistry, biology and medicine
Mais J. Jebrail, Michael S. Bartsch and Kamlesh D. Patel
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40318H
A communication from Yanyi Huang and co-workers demonstrating an integrated microfluidic immunoassay chip for high-throughput sandwich immunoassay tests is featured on the inside front cover.
The authors state the device can perform ELISA measurements in one hour with just 1 μL of sample for four repeats.
High-throughput immunoassay through in-channel microfluidic patterning
Chunhong Zheng, Jingwen Wang, Yuhong Pang, Jianbin Wang, Wenbin Li, Zigang Ge and Yanyi Huang
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40145B
The back cover features artwork from Tony Jun Huang and colleagues, whose paper on acoustic-based tunable patterning demonstrates a technique that can arrange microparticles or cells into arrays using pairs of slanted-finger interdigital transducers.
Tunable patterning of microparticles and cells using standing surface acoustic waves
Xiaoyun Ding, Jinjie Shi, Sz-Chin Steven Lin, Shahrzad Yazdi, Brian Kiraly and Tony Jun Huang
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21021E
Also in this issue is the latest Research highlight from Ali Khademhosseini, and Acoustofluidics 14: Applications of acoustic streaming in microfluidic devices from Martin Wiklund and co-authors.
Read the rest of the issue here.
Scott Manalis and coworkers at MIT have developed a microfluidic version of the “baby-machine”, a device used to synchronize eukaryotic cells at a specific point in the cell cycle for study of cellular and molecular processes.
The original method which was developed in the 1960s chemically bound cells to a membrane. As they divide one cell remains attached to the membrane and the ‘newborn’ cell is eluted, producing a synchronised population of cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. However, the method of chemically attaching cells to the membrane is not suitable for all cell types. Manalis et al have modified this procedure to attach cells by applying pressure differences to capture cells on their microfluidic device, thereby avoiding the use of chemicals that can make cells non-viable.
Read more…
A microfluidic “baby machine” for cell synchronization
Josephine Shaw, Kristofor Payer, Sungmin Son, William H. Grover and Scott R. Manalis
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40277G
Xing-Hua Xia and colleagues at Nanjing University have recently improved on the fluorescent analysis of proteins by utilising the confines of a nanochannel in a microfluidic device. The nanochannel allows the efficient concentration of proteins and separates labelled proteins from unreacted fluorescent labels due to size. This removes the need for purification to remove the unreacted dye on an external chromatographic instrument and allows protein concentration, labelling, and purification in continuous manner in one device.
Read more…
Rapid protein concentration, efficient fluorescence labeling and purification on a micro/nanofluidics chip
Chen Wang, Jun Ouyang, De-Kai Ye, Jing-Juan Xu, Hong-Yuan Chen and Xing-Hua Xia
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC20977B
These latest two HOT articles are free to access for 4 weeks following a simple registration for individual users
If untreated, the mortality rate of HIV‐infected infants may reach 35% by one year of age, and 53% by two years of age If untreated, the mortality rate of HIV‐infected infants may reach 35% by one year of age, and 53% by two years of age. Sourced from www.shutterstock.com
A DNA test to detect HIV in infants in resource-poor countries is a step closer, thanks to a technique to amplify DNA samples developed by US scientists.
Currently, there are no suitable methods to test for HIV in infants in resource-poor areas. The rapid anti-HIV antibody tests for adults can’t be used for early diagnosis in infants. This is because maternal anti-HIV antibodies persist in infant blood for 18 months after birth, even in HIV-negative infants, resulting in false positives.
Efforts to improve infant HIV tests include analysing DNA extracted from dried blood spot samples using the polymerase chain reaction to amplify the DNA, but this requires expensive equipment and trained technicians. It can also take four weeks to get a results, so for the many patients who aren’t able to return to the clinic, an instant result is more practical.
Now, Brittany Rohrman and Rebecca Richards-Kortum at Rice University, Houston, have made a paper and plastic-based device that can amplify 10 strands of HIV DNA to detectable levels in just 15 minutes using dried blood samples.
See the full article in Chemistry World
Or read the Lab on a Chip paper:
A paper and plastic device for performing recombinase polymerase amplification of HIV DNA
Brittany Rohrman and Rebecca Richards-Kortum
Lab Chip, 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40423K
Work from Yongfeng Mei, Fudan University, and colleagues on developing superelastic microsprings features on the front cover of Issue 13. The rolled Ti nanomembranes stretch predictably and proportionally due to the drag force in flowing water, and so are potentially useful as sensors in micro-/nano-electromechanical systems.
Superelastic metal microsprings as fluidic sensors and actuators
Weiming Li, Gaoshan Huang, Jiao Wang, Ying Yu, Xiaojing Wu, Xugao Cui and Yongfeng Mei
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 2322-2328
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40151G
The back cover is courtesy of Samir M. Iqbal and coworkers, who have developed a solid micropore device to detect tumour cells. By pushing cells through the single micropore one at a time cells can be differentiated based on size, elasticity, viscosity and stiffness.
Electrical fingerprinting, 3D profiling and detection of tumor cells with solid-state micropores
Waseem Asghar, Yuan Wan, Azhar Ilyas, Robert Bachoo, Young-tae Kim and Samir M. Iqbal
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 2345-2352
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21012F
Also in this issue we have another of our acoustofluidics series which looks at perturbation methods for analysing acoustic streaming and the latest Research highlights article from Ali Khademhosseini.
The 2nd International Conference on Optofluidics will be held later this year in Dushu Lake Hotel, Suzhou, China between September 13-14, and the submission deadline for abstracts is fast approaching.
The conference will cover the fundamentals of optofluidics, through to fabrication and applications of optofluidic micro- and nano-devices.
Important dates for your diary:
Abstract deadline July 1 2012
Early-bird registration deadline August 31 2012
Lab on a Chip will be publishing a themed issue on optofluidics to coincide with the conference, from papers presented at last year’s conference.
This month sees the following articles in Lab on a Chip that are in the top ten most accessed:
A combined micromagnetic-microfluidic device for rapid capture and culture of rare circulating tumor cells
Joo H. Kang, Silva Krause, Heather Tobin, Akiko Mammoto, Mathumai Kanapathipillai and Donald E. Ingber
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 2175-2181
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40072C
Microfluidic approaches for cancer cell detection, characterization, and separation
Jian Chen, Jason Li and Yu Sun
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1753-1767
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21273K
Real time quantitative amplification detection on a microarray: towards high multiplex quantitative PCR
Anke Pierik, Marius Boamfa, Martijn van Zelst, Danielle Clout, Henk Stapert, Frits Dijksman, Dirk Broer and Reinhold Wimberger-Friedl
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1897-1902
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC20740K
Fabrication of thermoplastics chips through lamination based techniques
Sandrine Miserere, Guillaume Mottet, Velan Taniga, Stephanie Descroix, Jean-Louis Viovy and Laurent Malaquin
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1849-1856
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21161K
Human gut-on-a-chip inhabited by microbial flora that experiences intestinal peristalsis-like motions and flow
Hyun Jung Kim, Dongeun Huh, Geraldine Hamilton and Donald E. Ingber
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 2165-2174
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40074J
Nanomaterials and lab-on-a-chip technologies
Mariana Medina-Sánchez, Sandrine Miserere and Arben Merkoçi
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1932-1943
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40063D
Commercialization of microfluidic point-of-care diagnostic devices
Curtis D. Chin, Vincent Linder and Samuel K. Sia
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 2118-2134
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21204H
The art in science of microTAS
Michael Gaitan and Harp Minhas
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1737-1738
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC90034C
Squeeze-chip: a finger-controlled microfluidic flow network device and its application to biochemical assays
Wentao Li, Tao Chen, Zitian Chen, Peng Fei, Zhilong Yu, Yuhong Pang and Yanyi Huang
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1587-1590
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40125H
“Fluidic batteries” as low-cost sources of power in paper-based microfluidic devices
Nicole K. Thom, Kimy Yeung, Marley B. Pillion and Scott T. Phillips
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1768-1770
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40126F
Why not take a look at the articles today and blog your thoughts and comments below.
Fancy submitting an article to Lab on a Chip? Then why not submit to us today or alternatively email us your suggestions.
We’ve just published another themed issue, this time looking at some of the exciting work from labs in the USA. The issue was partly inspired by the Wyss Institute Symposium on “Microfluidics and Medicine: Accelerating the Flow from Lab to the Clinic“, which focused on work in the microfluidics field that promises to have a transformative impact on medicine and clinical care.
Guest Editors Don Ingber and George Whitesides introduce the issue and discuss the impact of microfluidics on biological advances in their Editorial.
View the issue for HOT papers on high throughput drug screening, isolating rare circulating tumour cells, a microfluidic device that can screen whole worms and lots of organs on chips articles: brain slice on a chip and gut on a chip.
Remember, these articles are free to access for 4 weeks with an RSC Publishing account.
Lab on a Chip is delighted to announce the publication of a themed issue dedicated to Analytical miniaturization and nanotechnologies, published in collaboration with the III International Workshop on Analytical Miniaturization and NANOtechnologies to be held next month in Barcelona. The issue was guest edited by Arben Merkoçi and Jörg P. Kutter, who introduce the issue in an editorial on the use of nanotechnologies and nanomaterials for the design and applications of lab-on-a-chip and other miniaturized analytical systems
We hope you will enjoy reading this collection of articles.
Tutorial Review
Lab-in-a-tube: ultracompact components for on-chip capture and detection of individual micro-/nanoorganisms
Elliot J. Smith, Wang Xi, Denys Makarov, Ingolf Mönch, Stefan Harazim, Vladimir A. Bolaños Quiñones, Christine K. Schmidt, Yongfeng Mei, Samuel Sanchez and Oliver G. Schmidt
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1917-1931
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21175K
Critical Reviews
Nanomaterials and lab-on-a-chip technologies
Mariana Medina-Sánchez, Sandrine Miserere and Arben Merkoçi
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1932-1943
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40063D
Cargo-towing synthetic nanomachines: Towards active transport in microchip devices
Joseph Wang
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1944-1950
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC00003B
Carbon nanotube based stationary phases for microchip chromatography
Klaus B. Mogensen and Jörg P. Kutter
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1951-1958
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40102A
Communications
Glass/PDMS hybrid microfluidic device integrating vertically aligned SWCNTs to ultrasensitive electrochemical determinations
Fernando Cruz Moraes, Renato Sousa Lima, Thiago Pinotti Segato, Ivana Cesarino, Jhanisus Leonel Melendez Cetino, Sergio Antonio Spinola Machado, Frank Gomez and Emanuel Carrilho
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1959-1962
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40141J
Contactless conductivity biosensor in microchip containing folic acid as bioreceptor
Renato S. Lima, Maria H. O. Piazzetta, Angelo L. Gobbi, Ubirajara P. Rodrigues-Filho, Pedro A. P. Nascente, Wendell K. T. Coltro and Emanuel Carrilho
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1963-1966
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40157F
Papers
Bipolar electrochemistry for cargo-lifting in fluid channels
Gabriel Loget and Alexander Kuhn
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1967-1971
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21301J
Capillary soft valves for microfluidics
Martina Hitzbleck, Laetitia Avrain, Valerie Smekens, Robert D. Lovchik, Pascal Mertens and Emmanuel Delamarche
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1972-1978
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC00015F
Microreactor with integrated temperature control for the synthesis of CdSe nanocrystals
Sara Gómez-de Pedro, Cynthia S. Martínez-Cisneros, Mar Puyol and Julián Alonso-Chamarro
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1979-1986
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC00011C
Nanophotonic lab-on-a-chip platforms including novel bimodal interferometers, microfluidics and grating couplers
Daphné Duval, Ana Belén González-Guerrero, Stefania Dante, Johann Osmond, Rosa Monge, Luis J. Fernández, Kirill E. Zinoviev, Carlos Domínguez and Laura M. Lechuga
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1987-1994
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40054E
Printed two-dimensional photonic crystals for single-step label-free biosensing of insulin under wet conditions
Tatsuro Endo, Masaya Sato, Hiroshi Kajita, Norimichi Okuda, Satoru Tanaka and Hideaki Hisamoto
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1995-1999
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40066A
On-chip electrochemical detection of CdS quantum dots using normal and multiple recycling flow through modes
Mariana Medina-Sánchez, Sandrine Miserere, Sergio Marín, Gemma Aragay and Arben Merkoçi
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 2000-2005
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC00007E
High NIR-purity index single-walled carbon nanotubes for electrochemical sensing in microfluidic chips
Diana Vilela, Alejandro Ansón-Casaos, María Teresa Martínez, María Cristina González and Alberto Escarpa
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 2006-2014
DOI: 0.1039/C2LC40099E
Do you work at forefront of nanotechnology for miniaturisation?
Submit your next piece of exciting research to Lab on a Chip.
Ever wondered what makes a successful submission? A little preparation and some simple changes may make all the difference. Harp Minhas, Editor of Lab on a Chip, shares his top ten tips for getting published:
1. Ensure your work has novelty and advances existing knowledge
2. Provide a clear statement of novelty/impact
3. Provide a cover letter
4. Read and follow the Guidelines for Authors
5. Perform a thorough literature search
6. Keep the language simple; short sentences
7. Proof read before submission
8. Write a clear, logical and concise story
9. On revision, address all the reviewer comments
10. If rejected, learn from the experience
The above list is not intended to give you all the information you will require to write papers, but may help set you upon the right path and could be helpful as a check list when preparing your work for submission to a journal. Many other factors are also important, for example, reading the Ethical Guidelines is essential if you are presenting experiments that involve animals; as is the declaration of in-press papers, if these are not declared up front, they will inevitably lead to delays in the publication of your work.
