Microfluidic Techniques Research Articles

Multifunctional Analgesic Sutures from Microfluidic Spinning Technology.

Sutures are the most commonly used wound repair method after surgery. However, addressing delayed recovery and pain management remains a significant challenge. Here, microfibers are developed from microfluidic spinning with long-lasting analgesia capabilities for sutures. By using a solvent extraction manner, the polycaprolactone (PCL) microfibers encapsulated with ropivacaine (ROP), a well-known analgesic, can be continuously obtained from microfluidics. The intrinsic property of PCL and the advantage of microfluidic spinning technique impart the microfiber with highly controlled morphologies, mechanical strengths, as well as drug release. After exploring their biocompatibility both at in vitro and in vivo levels, the microfibers are directly applied to wound suture. The results demonstrate the lasting analgesic effect of the microfiber on mice with incision pain, highlighting its potential as promising suture for post-surgery treatments. It is anticipated that the multifunctional analgesic sutures produced through microfluidic spinning will pave the way for utilizing fibers as effective sutures in clinical incision wound treatment.

Micro-fluidic covalent immobilization of multi-gradient RGD peptides on a gelatin surface for studying endothelial cell migration.

Collective endothelial migration is a hallmark of wound healing, which is regulated by spatial concentration gradients of extracellular biochemical factors. Arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) peptides play a vital role in regulating cell migration through specific binding to integrins. In this study, a micro-fluidic technology combined with a photopolymerization technique is developed to create gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA)-based substrates with various concentration gradients of RGD peptides. The capability of generating linear and nonlinear RGD concentration gradients was quantitatively verified through numerical simulation and immunohistochemical quantitative experiments. The results of the concentration gradients show a strong concurrence between the immunohistochemical quantification experiments and numerical simulations. Furthermore, endothelial migration experiments were conducted with various concentration gradients of RGD peptides. We have observed that endothelial cells on the surface of gels with a linear concentration gradient exhibit a larger cell area, a longer cell perimeter, and more stress fiber density. Furthermore, the cells demonstrate directional alignment and migration towards regions with a higher RGD concentration. High concentration gradients significantly enhance endothelial cell migration, consistent with observations on surfaces of gels with nonlinear concentration gradients. In brief, we proposed a simple and effective micro-fluidic photopolymerization technique capable of generating diverse concentration gradients of RGD and probing their effects on cell migration. The results suggest that regulating the RGD peptide concentration gradients can alter the migration of endothelial cells, showing potential for promoting wound healing.

3D simulation estimation and experimental validation of droplet generation in CFD-based flow-focusing microfluidic chips

Abstract Microdroplets generated using microfluidic techniques offer significant advantages over those generated using conventional methods, including high accuracy and excellent monodispersity. However, there remains a paucity of literature regarding the influence of fluid operating conditions and physical properties on droplet generation, specifically in relation to size and frequency, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques. In this study, we present a simplified microfluidic chip capable of flexibly adjusting the structure and size of the microchannels based on specific requirements. Subsequently, three-dimensional numerical simulations of this chip were conducted using CFD techniques and fitted a dimensionless model to estimate the droplet generation size and frequency through multivariate nonlinear regression methods. The experimental validation results demonstrated a strong correlation between the fitted data and the experimental observations, with size differences not exceeding 8% and good monodispersity, indicated by a coefficient of variation of less than 2.4%. This study provides valuable insights and a reference for future research.

Rapid Assessment of Biomarkers on Single Extracellular Vesicles Using "Catch and Display" on Ultrathin Nanoporous Silicon Nitride Membranes.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are particles released from cells that facilitate intercellular communication and have tremendous diagnostic and therapeutic potential. Bulk assays lack the sensitivity to detect rare EV subsets relevant to disease, and while single EV analysis techniques remedy this, they are often undermined by complicated detection schemes and prohibitive instrumentation. To address these issues, a microfluidic technique for EV characterization called "catch and display for liquid biopsy (CAD-LB)" is proposed. In this method, minimally processed samples are pipette-injected and fluorescently labeled EVs are captured in the nanopores of an ultrathin membrane. This enables the rapid assessment of EV number and biomarker colocalization by light microscopy. Here, nanoparticles are used to define the accuracy and dynamic range for counting and colocalization. The same assessments are then made for purified EVs and for unpurified EVs in plasma. Biomarker detection is validated using CD9 and Western blot analysis to confirm that CAD-LB accurately reports relative protein expression levels. Using unprocessed conditioned media,CAD-LB captures the known increase in EV-associated ICAM-1 following endothelial cell cytokine stimulation. Finally, to demonstrate CAD-LB's clinical potential, EV biomarkers indicative of immunotherapy responsiveness are successfully detected in the plasma of bladder cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint blockade.

High precision acoustofluidic synthesis of stable, biocompatible water-in-water emulsions

Water-in-water (w/w) emulsions, comprising aqueous droplets within another continuous aqueous phase, rely on a low interfacial tension for stability. Thus far, it has been challenging to control their size and stability without the use of stabilizers. In this study, we introduce a microfluidic technique that addresses these challenges, producing stable w/w emulsions with precisely controlled size and uniformity. Results shows that using an acoustically actuated microfluidic mixer, PEG, Dextran, and alginate solutions (84.66 mPa.s viscosity difference) were homogenized rapidly, forming uniformly distributed w/w emulsions stabilized in alginate gels.The emulsion size, uniformity, and shear sensitivity can be tuned by modifying the alginate concentration. Biocompatibility was evaluated by monitoring the viability of kidney cells in the presence of emulsions and gels. In conclusion, this study not only showed emulsion formation with a high mixing efficiency exceeding 90 % for all viscosities, actuated at an optimized frequency of 1.064 MHz, but also demonstrated that an aqueous, solvent, and emulsifier-free composition exhibited remarkable biocompatibility, holding promise for precise drug delivery, cosmetics, and food applications.

Facile production of water-in-oil emulsions stabilized by unmodified cellulose nanocrystals using transient double emulsions technique

For hydrophilic biomacromolecules like cellulose and cellulose nanoparticles, creating water-in-oil emulsions poses significant challenges, particularly in controlling the size distribution and the interfacial composition simultaneously. Here, we introduced a simple transient double emulsion microfluidic approach for fabricating cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) stabilized water-in-oil emulsions. It requires no chemical modifications or extra surfactants. Moreover, it allows control over the droplet size and surface coverage by simply adjusting the flow rates and particle concentration of the middle phase of the initial double emulsion. With the increase of the outer phase flow rate from 5000 μL h−1 to 8000 μL h−1, the diameter of the droplets significantly decreased from 236.0 ± 3.0 μm to 130.2 ± 2.2 μm. Moreover, the minimum CNC concentration required for emulsion stabilization using this method was lowered to only 0.1 wt%.This work demonstrates the feasibility of combining microfluidic techniques and double emulsion methods for producing unmodified CNCs-stabilized emulsions.

Preparation of Baicalin Liposomes Using Microfluidic Technology and Evaluation of Their Antitumor Activity by a Zebrafish Model.

Baicalin (BCL), a well-known flavonoid molecule, has numerous therapeutic applications. However, its low water solubility and bioavailability limit its applicability. Microfluidics is a new method for liposome preparation that provides efficient and rapid control of the process, improving the stability and controllability. This study used microfluidic techniques to create baicalin liposomes (BCL-LPs), first screening for optimal total flow rates (TFR) and flow rate ratios (FRR), and then optimizing the phospholipid concentration, phospholipid-to-cholesterol ratio, and Tween-80 concentration using univariate and response surface methodology approaches. The study found that the ideal phospholipid content was 9.5%, the phospholipid-to-cholesterol ratio was 9:1 (w:w), and the Tween-80 concentration was 15%. BCL-LPs achieved 95.323% ± 0.481% encapsulation efficiency under the optimum circumstances. Characterization indicated that the BCL-LPs were spherical and uniform in size, with a mean diameter of 62.32 nm ± 0.42, a polydispersity index of 0.092 ± 0.009, and a zeta potential of -25.000 mV ± 0.216. In vitro experiments found that BCL-LPs had a better slow-release effect and stability than the BCL monomer. In zebrafish bioassays, BCL-LPs performed better than BCL monomer in terms of biological activity and bioavailability. The established method provided a feasible medicine delivery platform for BCL and could apply for the transport and encapsulation of more natural compounds, expanding the applications of drug delivery systems in healthcare and cancer therapies.

Design, synthesis, and characterization of novel copolymer gel particles for water-plugging applications

Abstract Multi-stage plugging represents a promising strategy for enhancing production and injection rates in medium-and low-permeability oilfields. Despite its potential, the efficacy of current plugging agents, particularly hydrophobically bonded water-soluble polyacrylamide-based gel microspheres, is hindered by notable drawbacks such as low stability and inadequate compressive strength. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of water plugging mechanisms coupled with the optimization of gel microsphere properties is essential for advancing the development of gel-based plugging agents with superior characteristics or intelligent regulatory capabilities. The P(AA-AM-[PrSO3]Vim) ionic liquid copolymerized gel particles were designed and synthesized by using microfluidic technique and titration gel method with AM, acrylic acid (AA), 1-vinylimidazole (Vim) and 1,3-propylsulfonyl lactone (PrSO3) as the raw materials. The morphology and structure of the copolymer gel particles were characterized, and the effects of [PrSO3]Vim and cross-linker content on the water-absorbing properties and strength of the gel particles were investigated. When the amount of [PrSO3]Vim was 12%, the concentration of crosslinker was 1.5%, and the temperature was 40°C, the water absorption capacity reached the maximum value of 163 g·g−1. The strength of the P(AA–AM–[PrSO3]Vim) spherical gel particles was maximized at a [PrSO3]Vim content of 4%. Furthermore, the chemical and physical roles of the P(AA–AM–[PrSO3]Vim) spherical gel particles were studied in a typical water-plugging environment. This study provides experimental data and a theoretical basis for the application of functional spherical gel-plugging particles in current oilfield environments.

Deep learning enabled label-free microfluidic droplet classification for single cell functional assays.

Droplet-based microfluidics techniques coupled to microscopy allow for the characterization of cells at the single-cell scale. However, such techniques generate substantial amounts of data and microscopy images that must be analyzed. Droplets on these images usually need to be classified depending on the number of cells they contain. This verification, when visually carried out by the experimenter image-per-image, is time-consuming and impractical for analysis of many assays or when an assay yields many putative droplets of interest. Machine learning models have already been developed to classify cell-containing droplets within microscopy images, but not in the context of assays in which non-cellular structures are present inside the droplet in addition to cells. Here we develop a deep learning model using the neural network ResNet-50 that can be applied to functional droplet-based microfluidic assays to classify droplets according to the number of cells they contain with >90% accuracy in a very short time. This model performs high accuracy classification of droplets containing both cells with non-cellular structures and cells alone and can accommodate several different cell types, for generalization to a broader array of droplet-based microfluidics applications.

Facile Formation of Multifunctional Biomimetic Hydrogel Fibers for Sensing Applications.

To face the challenges in preparing hydrogel fibers with complex structures and functions, this study utilized a microfluidic coaxial co-extrusion technique to successfully form functional hydrogel fibers through rapid ionic crosslinking. Functional hydrogel fibers with complex structures, including linear fibers, core-shell structure fibers, embedded helical channels, hollow tubes, and necklaces, were generated by adjusting the composition of internal and external phases. The characteristic parameters of the hydrogel fibers (inner and outer diameter, helix generation position, pitch, etc.) were achieved by adjusting the flow rate of the internal and external phases. As biocompatible materials, hydrogel fibers were endowed with electrical conductivity, temperature sensitivity, mechanical enhancement, and freeze resistance, allowing for their use as temperature sensors for human respiratory monitoring and other biomimetic application developments. The hydrogel fibers had a conductivity of up to 22.71 S/m, a response time to respiration of 37 ms, a recovery time of 1.956 s, and could improve the strength of respiration; the tensile strength at break up to 8.081 MPa, elongation at break up to 159%, and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) up to -13.080% °C-1 were better than the existing related research.

Resonant oscillation of droplets under an alternating electric field to enhance solute diffusion

This study investigates a novel microfluidic mixing technique that uses the resonant oscillation of coalescent droplets. During the vertical contact-separation process, solutes are initially separated as a result of the combined effects of diffusion and gravity. We show that the application of alternating current (AC) voltage to microelectrodes below the droplets causes a resonant oscillation, which enhances the even distribution of the solute. The difference in concentration between the top and bottom droplets exhibits frequency dependence and indicates the existence of a particular AC frequency that results in a homogeneous concentration. This frequency corresponds to the resonance frequency of the droplet oscillation that is determined using particle tracking velocimetry. To understand the mixing process, a phenomenological model based on the equilibrium between surface tension, viscosity, and electrostatic force was developed. This model accurately predicted the resonance frequency of droplet flow and was consistent with the experimental results. These results suggest that the resonant oscillation of droplets driven by AC voltage significantly enhances the diffusion of solutes, which is an effective approach to microfluid mixing.

A Magnetically Driven Biodegradable Microsphere with Mass Production Capability for Subunit Vaccine Delivery and Enhanced Immunotherapy.

Subunit vaccines have emerged as a promising strategy in immunotherapy for combating viral infections and cancer. Nevertheless, the clinical application of subunit vaccines is hindered by limitations in antigen delivery efficiency, characterized by rapid clearance and inadequate cellular uptake. Here, a novel subunit vaccine delivery system utilizing ovalbumin@magnetic nanoparticles (OVA@MNPs) encapsulated within biodegradable gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) microspheres was proposed to enhance the efficacy of antigen delivery. OVA@MNPs-loaded GelMA microspheres, denoted as OMGMs, can be navigated through magnetic fields to deliver subunit vaccines into the lymphatic system efficiently. Moreover, the biodegradable OMGMs enabled the sustained release of subunit vaccines, concentrating OVA around lymph nodes and enhancing the efficacy of induced immune response. OMGMs were produced through a microfluidic droplet generation technique, enabling mass production. In murine models, OMGMs successfully accumulated antigens in lymph nodes abundant in antigen-presenting cells, leading to enhanced cellular and humoral immunity and pronounced antitumor effects with a single booster immunization. In conclusion, these findings highlight the promise of OMGMs as a practical subunit vaccination approach, thus addressing the limitations associated with antigen delivery efficiency and paving the way for advanced immunotherapeutic strategies.

Hydrogel Microsphere-Encapsulated Bimetallic Nanozyme for Promoting Diabetic Bone Regeneration via Glucose Consumption and ROS Scavenging.

The healing of bone defects among diabetic patients presents a critical challenge due to the pathological microenvironment, characterized by hyperglycemia, excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and inflammation. Herein, multifunctional composite microspheres, termed GMAP are developed, using a microfluidic technique by incorporating Au@Pt nanoparticles (NPs) and GelMA hydrogel to modulate the diabetic microenvironment for promoting bone regeneration. The GMAP enables the sustained release of Au@Pt NPs, which function as bimetallic nanozymes with dual enzyme-like activities involving glucose oxidase and catalase. The synergistic effect allows for efficient glucose consumption and ROS elimination concurrently. Thus, the GMAP effectively protects the proliferation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) under adverse high-glucose conditions. Furthermore, it also promotes the osteogenic differentiation and paracrine capabilities of BMSCs, and subsequently inhibits inflammation and enhances angiogenesis. In vivo diabetic rats bone defect model, it is demonstrated that GMAP microspheres significantly improve bone regeneration, as verified by micro-computed tomography and histological examinations. This study provides a novel strategy for bone regeneration by modulating the diabetic microenvironment, presenting a promising approach for addressing the complex challenges associated with bone healing in diabetic patients.

Engineering a vacuum-actuated peristaltic micropump with novel microchannel design to rapidly separate blood plasma with extremely low hemolysis

A need exists for scalable, automated lab-on-chip systems to separate blood plasma for medical diagnostics. In this study, a vacuum-actuated peristaltic micropump (VPM) was developed, incorporating with the inertial microfluidic technique for the separation and collection of blood plasma from diluted blood. The features of the micropump were investigated by varying parameters such as frequency, vacuum pressure, and the number of microchannels. The highest achievable flow rate was found to be 832 µL/min. Subsequently, to minimize the occurrence of red blood cell rupture during the separation process and significantly reduce hemolysis, the configuration of the vertical wall inside the microchannel was modified to an inclined wall. This improvement was validated through experiments using high-speed cameras and fluorescent particles. Blood plasma separation was achieved with high efficiency (98.5 %), rapidity (<1 min), automation, and minimal whole blood usage (5 µL). Importantly, the vacuum actuator with an inclined wall obstruction design demonstrated very low hemolysis (less than 2 %).

Timescale dependent homogeneous assembly of lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles in laminar mixing for enhanced lung cancer treatment

The homogeneity of core–shell structure lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (HNPs) is crucial for efficient intracellular cargo delivery. While microfluidic techniques have been recognized for their capabilities in precisely controlling the size and drug encapsulation efficiency, there is little research exploring the impact of mass transfer behavior within microchannels on the homogeneous assembly process of HNPs. Here, we manipulated the laminar flow state within TrM device to achieve controlled assembly of HNPs and explored a timescale dependent assembly technique to ensure the homogeneity of folate modified HNPs (FHNPs). Our founding indicate that this method enabled the control over the growth kinetics of PLGA cores within a timescale (τgrow) of 1–15 ms. The homogeneous ligand assembly on the surface of FHNPs can only be achieved when τgrow exceeds the timescale of functional lipid coating (τcoating). Compared to conventional bulk mixing methods, this strategy significantly reduces the risk of heterogeneous assembly in FHNPs fabrication and ensures consistent reproducibility across batches. The homogeneous FHNPs (HFHNPs) fabricated through this method exhibit precise control over particle size (ranging from 75 nm to 150 nm), low polydispersity index, and consistent core–shell structure. Furthermore, this strategy enhances the density of available folate ligands on the surface of FHNPs. In subsequent in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor assays, the icariside Ⅱ (IS) loaded HFHNPs (IS@HFHNPs) exhibited enhanced cellular uptake and tumor accumulation behavior. the timescale dependent homogeneous assembly method for HNPs developed in this research presents a promising avenue for maintaining quality in the synthesis of self-assembly composite nanomecidine.

Single Cell Droplet-Based Efficacy and Transcriptomic Analysis of a Novel Anti-KLRG1 Antibody for Elimination of Autoreactive T Cells.

Progress in developing improvements in the treatment of autoimmune disease has been gradual, due to challenges presented by the nature of these conditions. Namely, the need to suppress a patient's immune response while maintaining the essential activity of the immune system in controlling disease. Targeted treatments to eliminate the autoreactive immune cells driving disease symptoms present a promising new option for major improvements in treatment efficacy and side effect management. Monoclonal antibody therapies can be applied to target autoreactive immune cells if the cells possess unique surface marker expression patterns. Killer cell lectin like receptor G1 (KLRG1) expression on autoreactive T cells presents an optimal target for this type of cell depleting antibody therapy. In this study, we apply a variety of in vitro screening methods to determine the efficacy of a novel anti-KLRG1 antibody at mediating specific natural killer (NK) cell mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). The methods include single-cell droplet microfluidic techniques, allowing timelapse imaging and sorting based on cellular interactions. Included in this study is the development of a novel method of sorting cells using a droplet-sorting platform and a fluorescent calcium dye to separate cells based on CD16 recognition of cell-bound antibody. We applied this novel sorting method to visualize transcriptomic variation between NK cells that are or are not activated by binding the anti-KLRG1 antibody using RNA sequencing. The data in this study reveals a reliable and target-specific cytotoxicity of the cell depleting anti-KLRG1 antibody, and supports our droplet-sorting calcium assay as a novel method of sorting cells based on receptor activation.

Microfluidics-Driven Dripping Technique for Fabricating Polymer Microspheres Doped with AgInS2/ZnS Quantum Dots.

Fluorescent microspheres are at the forefront of biosensing technologies. They can be used for a wide range of biomedical applications. They consist of organic dyes and polymers, which are relatively immune to photobleaching and other environmental factors. However, recently developed AgInS2/ZnS quantum dots are a water-soluble, low-toxicity class of semiconductor nanocrystals with enhanced stability as fluorescent materials. Here, we propose a simple way for making microspheres: a microfluidic dripping technique for acrylamide polymer spheres doped with quantum dots. Analyses of their spectra show that the emission of quantum dots, dispersed in water, is saturated with an increasing pump intensity, while quantum dots embedded into polymer microspheres exhibit a more sustained emission. Moreover, our study unveils a remarkable reduction in the luminescence lifetime of quantum dots embedded in microspheres: the mean value of the decay time for quantum dots in solutions was 91 and 3.5 ns for similar quantum dots incorporated into polymer microspheres.

Capillary electrochromatography applied to the separation of enantiomers utilizing packed capillary columns with silica-vancomycin. A tutorial

The separation and analysis of chiral compounds is an important topic in various fields such as research, pharmaceutical industry, food control, agrochemistry, biochemistry, forensics and toxicology, etc. The interest in the mentioned fields is mainly due to the fact that enantiomers could react with the chiral environment. Therefore, their separation and analysis are a challenging issue because the use of these compounds can be related to humans and animals’ lives as well as to the environment (e.g., soil and water). Their separation can be performed with different analytical techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, supercritical fluid chromatography, and microfluidic technique (capillary electrophoresis and capillary electrochromatography-CEC). Usually the direct resolution method is applied making use of a chiral stationary phase (CSP). This tutorial is aimed at illustrating the main features of CEC using a packed capillary, e.g., employing a silica-vancomycin CSP. The synthesis of the CSP, the instrumentation of CEC coupled with UV and mass spectrometry detectors, method optimization, and two selected applications are presented and discussed.

Aerosol delivery of immunotherapy and Hesperetin-loaded nanoparticles increases survival in a murine lung cancer model.

Studies have shown that flavonoids like Hesperetin, an ACE2 receptor agonist with antioxidant and pro-apoptotic activity, can induce apoptosis in cancer cells. ACE2 receptors are abundant in lung cancer cells. Here, we explored the application of Hesperetin bound to PLGA-coated nanoparticles (Hesperetin-nanoparticles, HNPs), and anti-CD40 antibody as an aerosol treatment for lung tumor-bearing mice. In-vitro and in-vivo studies were performed in human A549 (ATCC) and murine LLC1 (ATCC) lung cancer cell lines. Hesperetin Nanoparticles (HNP) of about 60nm diameter were engineered using a nano-formulation microfluidic technique. A syngeneic orthotopic murine model of lung adenoma was generated in wild (+/+) C57/BL6 background mice with luciferase-positive cell line LLC1 cells. Lung tumor-bearing mice were treated via aerosol inhalation with HNP, anti-CD40 antibody, or both. Survival was used to analyze the efficacy of aerosol treatment. Cohorts were also analyzed for body condition score, weight, and liver and kidney function. Analysis of an orthotopic murine lung cancer model demonstrates a differential uptake of the HNP and anti-CD40 by cancer cells relative to normal cells. A higher survival rate, relative to untreated controls, was observed when aerosol treatment with HNP was added to treatment via anti-CD40 (p<0.001), as compared to CD40 alone (p<0.01). Moreover, 2 out of 9 tumor-bearing mice survived long term, and their tumors diminished. These 2 mice were shown to be refractory to subsequent development of subcutaneous tumors, indicating systemic resilience to tumor formation. We successfully established increased therapeutic efficacy of anti-CD40 and HNP in an orthotopic murine lung cancer model using inhalation-based administration. Our findings open the possibility of improved lung cancer treatment using flavonoids and immuno-adjuvants.

Recent Advances in Dielectrophoretic Manipulation and Separation of Microparticles and Biological Cells.

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is an advanced microfluidic manipulation technique that is based on the interaction of polarized particles with the spatial gradient of a non-uniform electric field to achieve non-contact and highly selective manipulation of particles. In recent years, DEP has made remarkable progress in the field of microfluidics, and it has gradually transitioned from laboratory-scale research to high-throughput manipulation in practical applications. This paper reviews the recent advances in dielectric manipulation and separation of microparticles and biological cells and discusses in detail the design of chip structures for the two main methods, direct current dielectrophoresis (DC-DEP) and alternating current dielectrophoresis (AC-DEP). The working principles, technical implementation details, and other improved designs of electrode-based and insulator-based chips are summarized. Functional customization of DEP systems with specific capabilities, including separation, capture, purification, aggregation, and assembly of particles and cells, is then performed. The aim of this paper is to provide new ideas for the design of novel DEP micro/nano platforms with the desired high throughput for further development in practical applications.