Speaker
Description
The pursuit of enhanced drug testing for the treatment of diseases has led scientists to develop methodologies for delivering drugs into controlled and localized spaces. Blood-like substances have shown promise as noninvasive solutions [1]. Although individual blood cells have been investigated as drug carriers for various treatments, they face challenges in terms of drug release, targeting, and production. An alternative approach involves the use of blood clots as carrier entities by exploiting their natural formation process [2]. Recent studies have examined in vitro coagulation processes [3]. However, these investigations have neglected important factors, such as blood clot dimensions and composition, which are crucial for developing new controlled materials. Microfluidic mixing technologies enable mass transport governed solely by diffusion, allowing reactions to occur in a non-convective transport environment [4]. The application of these technologies permits the creation of products of various shapes and structures through controlled mixing [5]. In this study, we demonstrate a microfluidic method that effectively controls blood clot size and structure using a 5-inlet Y-junction-like device. Homogeneous and heterogeneous blood clots were constructed following our approach, highlighting the versatility of manufacturing clots using microfluidic approaches.
[1] S. Wang, et al. Med Drug Discov 13, (2022).
[2] H. Ceylan, et al. Sci Adv 7, 1 (2021).
[3] B. M. et al. Semin Cell Dev Biol 112, 1 (2021).
[4] A. G. Niculescu, et al. Nanomaterials 11, (2021).
[5] P. Martinez-Bulit, et al. Chemical Engineering Journal 435 (2022).
