#microfluidics

[fuckyeahfluiddynamics]

Acoustically Trapping Nanoparticles

Micrometer-sized particles can be trapped in place against a flow using acoustic waves. But smaller nano-sized particles feel less radiation pressure from acoustic waves, and so keep moving in the flow. But new work shows that it is possible to trap those nanoparticles with some additional help. (Image credit: P. Czerwinski; research credit: A. Pavlič and T. Baasch; via APS)

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Microfluidic method boosts control and separation of tiny particles—a promising tool for medical research

In nanoscale particle research, precise control and separation have long been a bottleneck in biotechnology. Researchers at the University of Oulu have now developed a new method that improves particle separation and purification. The promising technique could be applied, for example, in cancer research. Why nanoscale particles are hard to sort Separating nanosized particles remains a persistent challenge in biotechnology. Once particle size drops below a few hundred nanometers, their behavior becomes dominated by diffusion—the random walk of particles. This weakens the forces used to guide them, causing separation accuracy to collapse.

Read more.

[bpod-bpod]

Cancer Nerves Close-up

Nerves, with their far-reaching signal-conducting projections called axons, are known to infiltrate and influence tumours – regulating their growth and metastatic behaviour. But the fine details remain poorly understood. This study describes a microfluidic device called DACIT (Device for Axon-Cancer cell Interaction Testing) that makes direct analysis of interactions between cancer cells and axons (in 2D and 3D) possible in the lab (mouse mammary cancer cells are shown in magenta interacting with nerve axons in yellow).

Read the published research article here

Image from work by Ines Velazquez-Quesada and colleagues

Bioengineering Department, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution – NonCommercial – NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Published in iScience, February 2026

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[mattgrayyes]

I can't remember when I last spend a whole day going wow like this, the research has got so much further than I'd have expected!

Matt Gray is Trying: Biomedical Research

[innonurse]

Microfluidic organ chip replicates human cervix, addressing critical gap in women's health research

- By InnoNurse Staff -

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) affects over 25% of reproductive-aged women, causing severe health complications, and is inadequately treated by current antibiotics, prompting researchers at Harvard and UC Davis to develop a microfluidic "Cervix Chip" that models the cervix's complex environment to better study BV and improve treatments.

Read more at Harvard University/Medical Xpress

Header image credit: DALL·E 3

[microscope-world]

Microfluidics under the ZEISS Stemi 508 microscope.

[nanotechnologyworld]

Microfluidics device helps diagnose sepsis in minutes

When time matters in hospitals, automated system can detect an early biomarker for the potentially life-threatening condition

In a paper being presented this week at the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference, MIT researchers describe a microfluidics-based system that automatically detects clinically significant levels of IL-6 for sepsis diagnosis in about 25 minutes, using less than a finger prick of blood.     

[fisyx]

When water sticks to my ostensibly hydrophobic chip