Abstract
Microfluidic devices present unique advantages for the development of efficient drug carrier particles, cell-free protein synthesis systems, and rapid techniques for direct drug screening. Compared to bulk methods, by efficiently controlling the geometries of the fabricated chip and the flow rates of multiphase fluids, microfluidic technology enables the generation of highly stable, uniform, monodispersed particles with higher encapsulation efficiency. Since the existing preclinical models are inefficient drug screens for predicting clinical outcomes, microfluidic platforms might offer a more rapid and cost-effective alternative. Compared to 2D cell culture systems and in vivo animal models, microfluidic 3D platforms mimic the in vivo cell systems in a simple, inexpensive manner, which allows high throughput and multiplexed drug screening at the cell, organ, and whole-body levels. In this review, the generation of appropriate drug or gene carriers including different particle types using different configurations of microfluidic devices is highlighted. Additionally, this paper discusses the emergence of fabricated microfluidic cell-free protein synthesis systems for potential use at point of care as well as cell-, organ-, and human-on-a-chip models as smart, sensitive, and reproducible platforms, allowing the investigation of the effects of drugs under conditions imitating the biological system.
Highlights
Development of novel drugs and new strategies for efficient delivery are attractive to enhance treatment outcomes by improving bioavailability and specificity of the therapeutic agent, while minimizing toxicity
Many conventional bulk methods to synthesize drug or gene delivery systems suffer from several drawbacks such as the need to use a large volume of valuable drugs or chemicals, the generation of polydisperse particles that affect the release profile, the limitation of generating carriers loaded with multiple therapeutic agents, and the difficulty associated with localizing drug delivery and investigating the therapeutic/toxic effects in vivo, which requires many animals [1,2,3,4]
human epithelial carcinoma cells (HeLa) cells were cultured in the microfluidic device, reagents for combination drug screening experiments is much higher than that for single drug and the cytotoxicity effect of the anticancer drug etoposide was tested using the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)
Summary
Development of novel drugs and new strategies for efficient delivery are attractive to enhance treatment outcomes by improving bioavailability and specificity of the therapeutic agent, while minimizing toxicity. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) are the most commonly used polymers to fabricate microfluidic devices by the soft-lithography technique [12,13] These materials can be engineered to allow oxygen entry. Droplet generation techniques are a promising alternative solution that enable reactions to occur within the droplets independently In this system, the reaction rate and size, the total volume, and the ratio between reacted molecules in the microchannel can be controlled precisely while avoiding contamination issues [17,18]. Microfluidic platforms that act as a supporting matrix for 3D cell culture at the cell, organ, and human levels are reviewed, as well as in vitro synthesis of proteins on the microfluidic chip These devices and their potential applications are introduced in this review
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