Articles
Journal of Chromatography A (00219673)1757
Microfluidic lab-on-a-chip technologies are revolutionizing diagnostic processes by enabling High-purity particle separation in heterogeneous mixtures, like blood, crucial for swift and accurate diagnoses, particularly in common diseases like cancer or infections where effective pathogen isolation is required. Passive deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) and active acoustophoresis are prominent microfluidic separation methods, each with distinct advantages and limitations. A hybrid approach, combining both, allows simultaneous utilization of their benefits, and enhances separation efficiency and purity through optimal design. A groundbreaking versatile 3D finite element (FE) model of an innovative-designed hybrid microfluidic device, featuring I-shaped DLD arrays and acoustofluidic module based on tilted-angle standing surface acoustic wave (TaSSAW) with focused interdigital transducers (FIDTs), has been presented, accurately predicting particles' behavior and separation dynamics. Simulations of individual devices were also conducted to optimize hybrid device performance, revealing high-efficiency and high-purity separation of polystyrene particles and bioparticles, including circulating tumor cells (MCF-7 CTCs), RBCs, and Escherichia coli bacteria. In the optimized acoustofluidic device, 15 µm polystyrene particles were separated with 100 % purity and 94 % efficiency, while MCF-7 CTCs were separated with 100 % purity and 98 % efficiency. The optimized DLD device achieved 100 % purity and efficiency for 2 µm and 8 µm polystyrene particles, RBCs, and bacteria. In the hybrid device, due to unpredictable factors, MCF-7 CTCs were isolated with 100 % purity but 40 % efficiency, while RBCs and bacteria maintained 100 % purity and efficiency. The results highlight the potential for further geometrical and fluidic optimizations to improve performance, with the 3D model providing a superior predictive tool compared to 2D models, facilitating cost-effective modeling of complex lab-on-a-chip structures. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.
Microfluidics and Nanofluidics (16134982)29(8)
Bacterial infections are a leading cause of mortality globally, and the timeliness of diagnosis is crucial for effective treatment. Traditional diagnostic methods, reliant on bacterial cultures, are often slow, leading to delays in treatment and increased mortality rates. To address delayed treatments, the study proposes a hybrid microfluidic device that employs deterministic lateral displacement (DLD) and dielectrophoresis (DEP) for rapid and continuous bacterial separation from blood cells. The research utilized COMSOL Multiphysics 5.6 to design and simulate the device, focusing on the optimization of various parameters such as pillar geometry, electrode geometry, fluid velocity, voltage, and DEP frequency. In order to calculate the separation efficiency, 120 particles along with the fluid were entered into the primary initial and the optimized hybrid device. The initial simulations yielded a separation efficiency of approximately 72% for bacteria and red blood cells (RBCs), and 100% for white blood cells (WBCs). After iterative optimization of the device’s design, including changes to the pillar geometries and electrode geometries and numbers, the separation efficiency for bacteria and RBCs was enhanced to 95%, while the efficiency for WBCs remained at 100%. These findings demonstrate the high efficiency of the designed microfluidic device in separating particles, indicating its potential to significantly reduce the time required for the detection of bacterial infections compared to conventional methods. The study presents a model of a microfluidic device that not only accelerates the diagnosis process but also maintains high separation efficiency, making it a promising tool for rapid point-of-care diagnostics. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025.
Hadian, M.,
Rabbani, M.,
Shariati, L.,
Ghasemi, F.,
Presley, J.F.,
Sanati, A. Acs Sensors (23793694)10(2)pp. 857-867
The high rate of cancer worldwide and the heavy costs imposed on governments and humanity have always motivated researchers to develop point-of-care (POC) biosensors for easy diagnosis and monitoring of cancer treatment. Herein, we report on a label-free impedimetric biosensor based on Ti3C2Tx MXene and imprinted ortho-phenylenediamine (o-PD) for the detection of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), a biomarker for various cancers surveillance, especially colorectal cancer (CRC). Accordingly, MXene was drop-casted on the surface of a disposable silver electrode to increase the sensitivity and create high-energy nanoareas on the surface, which are usable for protein immobilization and detection. A self-assembled monolayer (SAM) was exploited for oriented CEA immobilization on the MXene-modified electrode. The monomer-protein interaction and successful protein removal were confirmed by molecular docking and atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigations to evaluate the quality of the fabricated molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP). Also, the role of MXene in increasing the electrical field inside the nanoareas was simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics software. A suitable limit of detection (9.41 ng/mL), an appropriate linear range of detection (10 to 100 ng/mL) in human serum, and a short detection time (10 min) resulted from the use of SAM/MIP next to MXene. This biosensor presented outstanding repeatability (97.60%) and reproducibility (98.61%). Moreover, acceptable accuracy (between 93.04 and 116.04%) in clinical serum samples was obtained compared with immunoassay results, indicating the high potential of our biosensor for real sample analysis. This biomimetic and disposable sensor provides a cost-effective method for facile and POC monitoring of cancer patients during treatment. © 2024 American Chemical Society.
Farhadi, N.,
Soltanizadeh, N.,
Masaeli, E.,
Rabbani, M. Journal of Food Science and Technology (Iran) (20088787)22(159)pp. 301-315
The purpose of this study is to investigate the ability of smart scaffolds of Kappa-carrageenan (Carr) and the combination of Kappa-carrageenan and quince seed mucilage (Carr:Quc) to support C2C12 viability and growth for cultured meat production. Carr and Carr:Quc with a final concentration of 1.5% (v/w) were developed using a 5% potassium chloride solution. The capability of the scaffolds to respond to the pH change of the environment was evaluated, and the viability of C2C12 at normal pH (7.4) and varying pH levels (7.4-5.5) was assessed. The evaluation of swelling changes with varying pH (pH 1-7) showed that for the Carr scaffold, the highest swelling was observed at pH 5, reaching 145%, which showed a significant difference compared to swelling at other pH levels (p < 0.05). The highest swelling for the Carr:Quc scaffold was also observed at pH 5, reaching 428%, with a significant difference compared to swelling at other pH levels (p < 0.05). Moreover, the change in the swelling behavior of the scaffolds was evaluated by changing the pH from 7.4 to 5.5. Carr did not show any swelling change, while Carr:Quc demonstrated a significant change in swelling after exposure to pH 5.5 for 30, 45, 60, 180, and 360 min. On Carr:Quc, C2C12 showed higher viability in normal conditions compared to varying pH levels from 7.4 to 5.5. Furthermore, after culturing on Carr:Quc, C2C12 maintained their viability throughout the culture period for 15 days at pH 7.4 and showed the potential for spheroid formation. The findings of this study could pave the way for the design of scaffolds made of edible biopolymers to facilitate tissue engineering of cultured meat. © 2025 Tarbiat Modares University. All rights reserved.
Rabbani, M.,
Salehani, A.A.,
Farnaghi, M.,
Moshtaghi, M. Journal Of Medical Signals And Sensors (22287477)14(4)
Fabricating three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds is attractive due to various advantages for tissue engineering, such as cell migration, proliferation, and adhesion. Since cell growth depends on transmitting nutrients and cell residues, naturally vascularized scaffolds are superior for tissue engineering. Vascular passages help the inflow and outflow of liquids, nutrients, and waste disposal from the scaffold and cell growth. Porous scaffolds can be prepared by plant tissue decellularization which allows for the cultivation of various cell lines depending on the intended application. To this end, researchers decellularize plant tissues by specific chemical and physical methods. Researchers use plant parts depending on their needs, for example, decellularizing the leaves, stems, and fruits. Plant tissue scaffolds are advantageous for regenerative medicine, wound healing, and bioprinting. Studies have examined various plants such as vegetables and fruits such as orchid, parsley, spinach, celery, carrot, and apple using various materials and techniques such as sodium dodecyl sulfate, Triton X-100, peracetic acid, deoxyribonuclease, and ribonuclease with varying percentages, as well as mechanical and physical techniques like freeze-thaw cycles. The process of data selection, retrieval, and extraction in this review relied on scholarly journal publications and other relevant papers related to the subject of decellularization, with a specific emphasis on plant-based research. The obtained results indicate that, owing to the cellulosic structure and vascular nature of the decellularized plants and their favorable hydrophilic and biological properties, they have the potential to serve as biological materials and natural scaffolds for the development of 3D-printing inks and scaffolds for tissue engineering. © 2024 Journal of Medical Signals & Sensors.
