Micro and Nanosystems 

About: Micro and Nanosystems is an academic journal published by Bentham Science. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Engineering & Computer science. It has an ISSN identifier of 1876-4029. Over the lifetime, 313 publications have been published receiving 1793 citations.

Surface Acoustic Wave Driven Microfluidics – A Review

Abstract: his paper presents a systematic overview on the recent works on surface acoustic wave (SAW) driven microfluidics. SAW microfluidics is based on acoustic streaming induced by leaky SAW radiation into a liquid. The development of this field attracts attention from microfluidic research community due to its rapid actuation, programmable capability, simple and yet efficient operation. In our paper, SAW microfluidic applications are categorized into droplet-based applications and continuous-flow applications. Droplet is actuated into unique behaviours depending on the applied SAW power. A wide range of droplet based applications have been employed utilizing these behaviours. In continuous-flow system, applications are further categorized based on the interaction of travelling SAW and standing SAW with the bulk liquid. Finally, future perspectives of SAW driven microfluidics are discussed

Potentiometric detection of DNA molecules hybridization using gene field effect transistor and intercalator

Abstract: We propose a new concept of a gene field effect transistor (FET) for detection of allele specific oligonucleotide hybridization, which is in principle based on charge density change at the gate insulator. The electrical characteristics of the gene FET were found to shift after specific binding of biomolecules at the surface of the gate insulator. Allele specific oligonucleotide hybridization and reaction between double-stranded DNA and intercalator were successfully detected with gene FETs because they have intrinsic charges in an aqueous solution. Ability to discriminate single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was also examined using the gene FET. Our results show that control of hybridization temperature and utilization of intercalator lead to more precise SNP analysis using the gene FET.

Microfluidic Bioreactors for Cell Culturing: A Review

Abstract: The use of microfluidic bioreactor platforms for cell culturing holds considerable promise for a range of fields which include drug discovery, tissue engineering, bioprocessing optimisation and cell based screening studies. Microflu- idic bioreactor systems have length scales that are well matched to the physical dimensions of most cells and microorgan- isms. In view of this, microfluidic bioreactors have attractive features which make them ideal to study the behaviour of cells and their internal organisation in their native microenvironment. Due to their small footprint microbioreactor plat- forms offer a number of advantages over conventional macroscale systems including improved biological function, higher quality cell-based data, reduced volume of reagents, ease of integration and lower cost. This review highlights the basic concepts, designs and operational requirements of microbioreactors for cell based studies. An illustrative outline of differ- ent applications of microbioreactors and some indication of new trends and progress in recent years are provided. Specific examples of applications of microbioreactors are drawn for cytotoxicity assays, tissue engineering, stem cells, microbial fermentations, single cell analysis and in vitro fertilisation.

Microfluidic Hydrodynamic Cell Separation: A Review

Abstract: Microfluidic continuous cell separation based on hydrodynamic interaction in a microfluidic channel has attracted attention because of its robustness, high throughput and cell viability This paper systematically gives an overview on recent advances in hydrodynamic particle and cell separation in microfluidic devices It presents the basic ideas and fluid mechanics for the hydrodynamic interaction of a particle in a microfluidic system Secondly, different kinds of devices are introduced with detailed descriptions of their mechanisms, designs and performances Finally, the review addresses some practical issues of microfluidic sorting devices for use in biological or medical studies