The fields of microfluidics and BioMEMS are significantly impacting cell biology research and applications through the application of engineering solutions to human disease and health problems. The dimensions of microfluidic channels are well suited to the physical scale of biological cells, and the many advantages of microfluidics make it an attractive platform for new techniques in biology. This new professional reference applies the techniques of microsystems to cell culture applications. The authors provide a thoroughly practical guide to the principles of microfluidic device design and operation and their application to cell culture techniques. The resulting book is crammed with strategies and techniques that can be immediately deployed in the lab. Equally, the insights into cell culture applications will provide those involved in traditional microfluidics and BioMEMS with an understanding of the specific demands and opportunities presented by biological applications. The goal is to guide new and interested researchers and technology developers to the important areas and state-of-the-practice strategies that will enhance the efficiency and value of their technologies, devices and biomedical products.

This book presents a detailed overview of the design, formatting, application, and development of microfluidic chips in the context of cell biology research, enumerating each element involved in microfluidics-based cell analysis, discussing its history, status quo, and future prospects, It also offers an extensive review of the research completed in the past decade, including numerous color figures. The individual chapters are based on the respective authors' studies and experiences, providing tips from the frontline to help researchers overcome bottlenecks in their own work. It highlights a number of cutting-edge techniques, such as 3D cell culture, microfluidic droplet technique, and microfluidic chip-mass spectrometry interfaces, offering a first-hand impression of the latest trends in the field and suggesting new research directions. Serving as both an elementary introduction and advanced guidebook, the book interests and inspires scholars and students who are currently studying microfluidics-based cell analysis methods as well as those who wish to do so.

Now in its Third Edition, the Artech House bestseller, Fundamentals and Applications of Microfluidics, provides engineers and students with the most complete and current coverage of this cutting-edge field. This revised and expanded edition provides updated discussions throughout and features critical new material on microfluidic power sources, sensors, cell separation, organ-on-chip and drug delivery systems, 3D culture devices, droplet-based chemical synthesis, paper-based microfluidics for point-of-care, ion concentration polarization, micro-optofluidics and micro-magnetofluidics. The book shows how to take advantage of the performance benefits of microfluidics and serves as an instant reference for state-of-the-art microfluidics technology and applications. Readers find discussions on a wide range of applications, including fluid control devices, gas and fluid measurement devices, medical testing equipment, and implantable drug pumps. Professionals get practical guidance in choosing the best fabrication and enabling technology for a specific microfluidic application, and learn how to design a microfluidic device. Moreover, engineers get simple calculations, ready-to-use data tables, and rules of thumb that help them make design decisions and determine device characteristics quickly. addressed at the design stage to reduce the risk of failures in the field is presented. The book includes technical details of all state-of-the-art Li-on energy storage subsystems and their requirements, and provides a system designer a single resource detailing all of the common issues navigated when using Li-ion batteries to reduce the risk of field failures. The book details the various industry standards that are applicable to the subsystems of Li-ion energy storage systems and how the requirements of these standards may impact the design of their system. Checklists are included to help readers evaluate their own battery system designs and identify gaps in the designs that increase the risk of field failures. The book is packed with numerous examples of issues that have caused field failures and how a proper design/assembly process could have reduced the risk of these failures.

The necessity of on-site, fast, sensitive, and cheap complex laboratory analysis, associated with the advances in the microfabrication technologies and the microfluidics, made it possible for the creation of the innovative device lab-on-a-chip (LOC), by which we would be able to scale a single or multiple laboratory processes down to a chip format. The present book is dedicated to the LOC devices from two points of view: LOC fabrication and LOC application.

Open microfluidics or open-surface is becoming fundamental in scientific domains such as biotechnology, biology and space. First, such systems and devices based on open microfluidics make use of capillary forces to move fluids, without any need for external energy. Second, the "openness" of the flow facilitates the accessibility to the liquid in biotechnology and biology, and reduces the weight in space applications. This book has been conceived to give the reader the fundamental basis of open microfluidics. It covers successively The theory of spontaneous capillary flow, with the general conditions for spontaneous capillary flow, and the dynamic aspects of such flows. The formation of capillary filaments which are associated to small contact angles and sharp grooves. The study of capillary flow in open rectangular, pseudo-rectangular and trapezoidal open microchannels. The dynamics of open capillary flows in grooves with a focus on capillary resistors. The case of very viscous liquids is analyzed. An analysis of suspended capillary flows: such flows move in suspended channels devoid of top cover and bottom plate. Their accessibility is reinforced, and such systems are becoming fundamental in biology. An analysis of “rails” microfluidics, which are flows that move in channels devoid of side walls. This geometry has the advantage to be compatible with capillary networks, which are now of great interest in biotechnology, for molecular detection for example. Paper-based microfluidics where liquids wick flat paper matrix. Applications concern bioassays such as point of care devices (POC). Thread-based microfluidics is a new domain of investigation. It is seeing presently many new developments in the domain of separation and filtration, and opens the way to smart bandages and tissue engineering. The book is intended to cover the theoretical aspects of open microfluidics, experimental approaches, and examples of application.

Biochip technology has experienced explosive growth in recent years and Biochip technology describes the basic manufacturing and fabrication processes and the current range of applications of these chips. Top scientists from the biochip industry and related areas explain the diverse applications of biochips in gene sequencing, expression monitoring, disease diagnosis, tumor examination, ligand assay and drug discovery.

Cancer cell biology research in general, and anti-cancer drug development specifically, still relies on standard cell culture techniques that place the cells in an unnatural environment. As a consequence, growing tumor cells in plastic dishes places a selective pressure that substantially alters their original molecular and phenotypic properties.The emerging field of regenerative medicine has developed bioengineered tissue platforms that can better mimic the structure and cellular heterogeneity of in vivo tissue, and are suitable for tumor bioengineering research. Microengineering technologies have resulted in advanced methods for creating and culturing 3-D human tissue. By encapsulating the respective cell type or combining several cell types to form tissues, these model organs can be viable for longer periods of time and are cultured to develop functional properties similar to native tissues. This approach recapitulates the dynamic role of cell–cell, cell–ECM, and mechanical interactions inside the tumor. Further incorporation of cells representative of the tumor stroma, such as endothelial cells (EC) and tumor fibroblasts, can mimic the in vivo tumor microenvironment. Collectively, bioengineered tumors create an important resource for the in vitro study of tumor growth in 3D including tumor biomechanics and the effects of anti-cancer drugs on 3D tumor tissue. These technologies have the potential to overcome current limitations to genetic and histological tumor classification and development of personalized therapies.