Review of nonlinear oscillatory shear flow notations and presentations: polymeric liquids

We review notations for, along with ways of presenting, the shear stress responses to large-amplitude oscillatory shear flow (LAOS). We find that the Fourier loss and storage viscosities to be the simplest primal notations for interpreting LAOS. The relative intensities provide the best evidence for oscillatory shear entering the large-amplitude regime. Deviation from linear viscoelastic behaviors can be observed through the distortions of Lissajous loops. We explore these loops in their elastic and viscous projections. The centerpiece of this work is our review table, which summarizes experimental measurements for polymer melts and solutions, targeting 21st century publications. Our review also provides conversion formulae to go from any of many notations to the Fourier loss and storage viscosities. The review table also defines which part of the LAOS measurement field has yet to be ploughed and shines light on which notations have been used, and for which purposes, to interpret nonlinearities.     

微流控芯片流体剪切力和肿瘤坏死因子-α共同作用对大鼠软骨细胞表型的影响

流体剪切力是生物体内普遍存在的一种生物力学形式,是细胞微环境的重要组成部分,对细胞多种生物学行为有重要调节作用。该研究以微流控芯片技术为基础,建立了一种基于流阻原理能同时产生4个不同大小流体剪切力的微流控芯片平台,用以研究低流速的流体剪切力对大鼠原代软骨细胞表型维持的影响。结果表明,流体剪切力可促进软骨细胞的表型维持。还加入了肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α),考察流体剪切力和TNF-α共同作用对软骨细胞表型的影响。结果表明,在剪切力和TNF-α共同作用下,软骨细胞的Ⅱ型胶原和蛋白多糖表达明显下调。该研究为软骨组织工程和骨性关节炎的疾病研究提供有力的研究平台,为骨关节疾病治疗和防治提供了理论依据。     

基于微流控驱动和控制技术的临床生化分析系统研究进展

微流控技术具有微量、高效、高通量、微型化、集成化、自动化的特点,为实现现场化、低成本的临床生化分析提供了一条可行的技术途径。针对于目前临床生化分析中复杂流体操控的难点,该文依据系统中采用驱动和控制方式的不同,对各种基于微流控技术的临床生化分析系统进行了分类介绍,同时也介绍了市场上商品化的微流控生化分析仪器,并对其各自特点进行了综合评述。     

Continuous on-line concentration based on dynamic pH junction for trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole by microfluidic capillary electrophoresis combined with flow injection analysis system

A novel, rapid and continuous on-line concentration approach based on dynamic pH junction for the analysis of trimethoprim (TMP) and sulfamethoxazole (SMZ) by microfluidic capillary electrophoresis (CE) combined with flow injection analysis is developed in this paper. Stacking is due to decreases in the velocity of analytes when migrating from the low-pH sample zone (sample was dissolved in 50 mM HCl) to a relatively high-pH buffer (30 mM phosphate buffer, pH 8.5) filled in the capillary. This results in 2.9-4.7-fold improvement in concentration sensitivity relative to conventional capillary electrophoresis methods. The separation could be achieved within 2 min and sample throughput rate can reach up to 38 h(-1).     

Circular‐shaped microfluidic device to study the effect of shear stress on cellular orientation

Understanding the effects of shear stress on mammalian cells is a crucial factor for understanding a number of biological processes and diseases. Here, we show the development of a circular‐shaped microfluidic device for the facile generation of shear stress gradients. With this microfluidic device, the effect of shear stress on orientation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells was studied. This microfluidic device, which enables to control the alignment of human umbilical vein endothelial cells within a microchannel, can be a valuable tool to mimic blood vessels.     

A microfluidic chip capable of switching W/O droplets to vertical laminar flow for electrochemical detection of droplet contents

Analysis of droplet contents is a key function involved in droplet-based microfluidic systems. Direct electrochemical detection of droplet contents suffers problems such as relatively poor repeatability, interference of capacitive current and relatively poor detectability. This paper presents a novel hybrid polydimethylsiloxane-glass chip for highly sensitive and reproducible amperometric detection of droplet contents. By wettability-patterning of the channel surface of the hybrid chip, water in oil droplets generated in the upstream part of the central channel can be switched to a two-phase vertical laminar flow (i.e., a continuous oil stream flowing atop a continuous aqueous stream) in the downstream part of the channel. The vertical laminar flow keeps the analyte in the underneath-flowing aqueous stream in direct contact with the sensing electrodes located on the bottom surface of the channel. Therefore, steady-state current signals with high sensitivity (1.2 A M⁻¹ cm⁻² for H₂O₂), low limit of detection (0.12 μM, S/N = 2), and good reproducibility (RSD 1.1% at 0.3 mM H₂O₂) were obtained. The methods for patterning of the inner channel surface are presented, and the behaviors of the microchip in flow profile switching and amperometric detection are discussed. The application of the developed microchip to enzyme kinetics study is also demonstrated.     

Mixing characteristics of a bubble mixing microfluidic chip for genomic DNA extraction based on magnetophoresis: CFD simulation and experiment

Mixing a small amount of magnetic beads and regents with large volume samples evenly in microcavities of a microfluidic chip is always the key step for the application of microfluidic technology in the field of magnetophoresis analysis. This article proposes a microfluidic chip for DNA extraction by magnetophoresis, which relies on bubble rising to generate turbulence and microvortices of various sizes to mix magnetic beads with samples uniformly. The construction and working principle of the microfluidic chip are introduced. CFD simulations are conducted when magnetic beads and samples are irritated by the generation of gas bubbles with the variation of supply pressures. The whole mixing process in the microfluidic chip is observed through a high-speed camera and a microfluidic system when the gas bubbles are generated continuously. The influence of supply pressure on the mixing characteristics of the microfluidic chip is investigated and discussed with both simulation and experiments. Compared with magnetic mixing, bubble mixing can avoid the magnetic beads gather phenomenon caused by magnetic forces and provide a rapid and high efficient solution to realize mixing small amount of regents in large volume samples in a certain order without complex moving structures and operations in a chip. Two applications of mixing with the proposed microfluidic chip are also carried out and discussed.     

Effect of the vibration shear flow field in capillary dynamic rheometer on the crystallization behavior of polypropylene

The self-made capillary dynamic rheometer was adopted to study the relationship between the crystallization behavior of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and the vibration shear conditions, namely, vibration amplitude and vibration frequency. The crystalline structure of iPP under different vibration conditions was characterized by using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and wide-angle X-ray diffractometer (WAXD) techniques. The samples extruded under vibration shear conditions had a higher melting temperature (from DSC). A new shoulder-shape peak appeared at ca. 162 °C under low frequency or low amplitude conditions, which was engulfed by the main melting peak with the increase of the vibration amplitude or frequency. This was probably an indication that more perfect crystals had formed [Polym Eng Sci 38 (1998) 1-20]. The WAXD demonstrated that crystalline form of iPP extruded was not changed but the average crystalline size decreased, according to the Scherrer formula [Analytical methods of polymer materials, China Petrochemical Press, Beijing, 1997]. This proved a large increase in the number of small crystals.     

A microfluidic chip‐based fluorescent biosensor for the sensitive and specific detection of label‐free single‐base mismatch via magnetic beads‐based “sandwich” hybridization strategy

A novel microfluidic chip‐based fluorescent DNA biosensor, which utilized the electrophoretic driving mode and magnetic beads‐based “sandwich” hybridization strategy, was developed for the sensitive and ultra‐specific detection of single‐base mismatch DNA in this study. In comparison with previous biosensors, the proposed DNA biosensor has much more robust resistibility to the complex matrix of real saliva and serum samples, shorter analysis time, and much higher discrimination ability for the detection of single‐base mismatch. These features, as well as its easiness of fabrication, operation convenience, stability, better reusability, and low cost, make it a promising alternative to the SNPs genotyping/detection in clinical diagnosis. By using the biosensor, we have successfully determined oral cancer‐related DNA in saliva and serum samples without sample labeling and any preseparation or dilution with a detection limit of 5.6 × 10^?11 M, a RSD (n = 5) < 5% and a discrimination factor of 3.58–4.54 for one‐base mismatch.     

A novel particle separation method based on induced‐charge electro‐osmotic flow and polarizability of dielectric particles

A new microfluidic method of particle separation was proposed and studied theoretically in this paper. This method is based on the induced charge electro‐osmotic flow (ICEOF) and polarizability of dielectric particles. In this method, a pair of metal plates is embedded on the side channel walls to create a region of circulating flows under applied electric field. When a dielectric particle enters this region, the vortices produced by ICEOF around the particle will interact with the circulating flows produced by the metal plates. Such hydrodynamic interaction influences the particle's trajectory, and may result in the particle being trapped in the flow circulating zone or passing through this flow circulating zone. Because the hydrodynamic interaction is sensitive to the applied electric field, and the polarizability and the size of the particles, separation of different particles can be realized by controlling these parameters. Comparing with electrophoresis and dielectrophoresis methods, this strategy presented in this paper is simple and sensitive.     

In situ and on-line monitoring of hydrodynamic flow profiles in microfluidic channels based on microelectrochemistry: optimization of channel geometrical parameters for best performance of flow profile reconstruction.

A theoretical approach for flow profile reconstruction in a rectangular microfluidic channel equipped with one or two microband electrodes working in generator-collector and generator-generator regimes was proposed by us previously (ChemPhysChem 2005, 6, 1581-1589; ChemPhysChem 2006, 7, 482-487). The purpose of the current study is to determine the ranges of dimensionless parameters corresponding to the highest sensitivity of the minimized functional to the shape of the flow profile. By application of a cubic spline to approximate the flow profile and analysis of the least-squares functional, which can then be represented as a function of one variable, we derive the area of optimal method performance. Thus, mathematical confirmation of our previous theoretical physical predictions could be obtained.     

A simple and green analytical method for determination of iron based on micro flow analysis

A simple, inexpensive and reagent-less colorimetric micro flow analysis (μFA) system was implemented in a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) micro fluidic manifold. A T-shaped micro channel on a PMMA chip was fabricated by laser ablation and topped with molded polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The fabricated μFA system was integrated with the optical components as detector and applied to the determination of iron in water samples. It is based on the measurement of Fe(III)-nitroso-R salt complex at 720 nm formed by the reaction between Fe(III) and nitroso-R salt in an acetate buffer solution pH 5. The proposed μFA consumed very small amount of reagent and sample, it released waste of less than 2.0 mL h⁻¹. The relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) was less than 2% (n = 11) with the recovery of 98.7 ± 0.12 (n = 5). The linear range for the determination of iron in water samples was over the range of 0.05-4.0 μg mL⁻¹ with a correlation coefficient (r²) of 0.9994. The limit of detection (3σ) and limit of quantitation (10σ) were 0.021 μg mL⁻¹ and 0.081 μg mL⁻¹, respectively with a sample throughput of 40 h⁻¹.