Are you currently facing challenges with long analysis times, large sample volume requirements, or complex, labor-intensive workflows in your blood-based research or diagnostic development? Creative Biolabs' Microfluidic Chip Development Service helps you accelerate blood analysis, obtain precise and repeatable data, and streamline your entire process through advanced, customized micro-scale engineering. We provide an all-in-one solution from concept to validated prototype, enabling you to bring your lab-on-a-chip vision to reality.
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Background
Blood testing serves as a foundational element in contemporary healthcare, delivering crucial data for diagnosing illnesses, tracking therapies, and enabling tailored medical treatment. Conventional techniques typically demand large sample quantities, sophisticated instrumentation, and trained technicians. Microfluidics, the science of microscale fluid manipulation, introduces a transformative approach by consolidating and downsizing these intricate workflows into unified, streamlined diagnostic systems. This methodology capitalizes on the distinct behavior of liquids in miniaturized environments to execute precisely regulated, accelerated, and effective tests.
Fig.1 Blood cell sorting and analysis.1,3
The application of microfluidics in blood analysis is a rapidly advancing field. Microfluidic chips can precisely handle and process blood components, including red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and plasma, with minimal sample volumes. They are adept at separating these components using various methods, such as hydrodynamic forces, inertial focusing, or acoustic fields. This capability is particularly crucial for applications like liquid biopsy, where low-abundance biomarkers such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) or cell-free DNA (cfDNA) must be isolated and enriched from a complex blood matrix. The development of microfluidic platforms with integrated biosensors and automated analysis has opened new possibilities for point-of-care diagnostics, bringing sophisticated testing capabilities out of the lab and closer to the patient.
Applications
Microfluidic chips are revolutionizing blood analysis across a wide range of applications by offering speed, portability, and enhanced performance.
Disease Diagnostics
Rapid, on-chip detection of infectious diseases, cancer biomarkers, and metabolic disorders.
Liquid Biopsy
Non-invasive isolation and analysis of low-abundance biomarkers such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for cancer early detection, monitoring, and treatment selection.
Point-of-Care (POC) Testing
Development of portable, easy-to-use devices for rapid testing in clinics, remote settings, or at home.
Single-Cell Analysis
Precise sorting and analysis of individual blood cells to study cellular heterogeneity and function in health and disease.
Drug Discovery and Screening
High-throughput platforms for testing drug interactions with blood components or isolated cells.
What We Can Offer
At Creative Biolabs, we offer a full suite of services to support your microfluidic blood analysis project from start to finish. Our offerings are designed to provide maximum flexibility and value, ensuring you have the right tools to achieve your research or commercial goals.
Tailored design services to create a chip optimized for your specific application and sample type.
High-precision manufacturing of single or multi-layer chips using a variety of materials, including PDMS, thermoplastics, and glass.
A complete service that includes design, fabrication, and integration of detection systems, providing you with a fully functional prototype.
Assay Optimization and Integration
Expert assistance in adapting your existing assays to the microfluidic platform for improved performance and efficiency.
We provide a selection of pre-designed, ready-to-use microfluidic chips for common applications such as cell sorting, blood plasma separation, and cell enrichment.
Leverage our specialized benefits—Request a quotation today
Workflow
Why Choose Us
Creative Biolabs is your trusted partner in microfluidic innovation. Our team's deep expertise in both micro-scale engineering and biological applications, combined with a commitment to quality and customer satisfaction, sets us apart. We don't just develop a product; we provide a complete solution designed to meet your project's unique challenges. Our technology offers superior control over fluid dynamics and cellular environments, leading to enhanced accuracy and sensitivity compared to traditional methods.
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Miniaturized and Automated: Our chips reduce sample and reagent consumption while automating complex multi-step processes, minimizing human error, and providing a more efficient workflow.
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Enhanced Sensitivity and Specificity: Precise fluid control and integrated biosensors enable the detection of low-abundance biomarkers, such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) or cell-free DNA (cfDNA), with remarkable sensitivity.
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Rapid Prototyping: Utilizing advanced fabrication techniques like soft lithography, we can quickly produce and iterate on designs, significantly shortening your research and development timeline.
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Cost-Effective Scalability: Our designs are optimized for both R&D and future mass production, providing a clear path to commercialization.
Published Data
Fig.2 Overall illustration of the plasma separation microfluidic device with the dual cover.2,3
In a study on a membrane filter-integrated microfluidic device for blood plasma extraction, a key experiment demonstrated the device's ability to extract plasma from whole blood without the need for external power sources or instruments. The device, which incorporated nano-interstices to actively draw plasma, successfully supplied 20 μL of extracted plasma with a high extraction yield of approximately 45%. The extraction was completed in just 16 minutes, showcasing the device's speed and efficiency. This approach addresses common issues in point-of-care testing, such as the need for skilled handling and the potential for sample dilution, which can negatively impact assay sensitivity. The results highlight the potential of passive microfluidic designs to provide simple, rapid, and effective solutions for sample preparation.
FAQs
Q: Why is low sample volume a critical advantage of microfluidic platforms for blood analysis?
A: Microfluidic systems are engineered for minimal fluid volumes, operating in the microliter or nanoliter range. This is particularly advantageous for blood analysis as it conserves valuable patient samples, especially in pediatric or critical care settings where sample availability is limited. It also minimizes the use of expensive reagents and can reduce biohazardous waste.
Q: What are some key microfluidic principles used for separating and manipulating blood components?
A: Microfluidic devices leverage specific fluidic principles to precisely control blood components. For example, hydrodynamic focusing can be used to align cells in a single file for high-throughput single-cell analysis, while dielectrophoresis (DEP) utilizes electric fields to sort cells based on their intrinsic electrical properties. Other techniques, like deterministic lateral displacement (DLD), are employed to separate particles and cells based on size.
Q: How do microfluidic platforms achieve high-sensitivity detection in blood-based assays?
A: The high surface-to-volume ratio inherent in microfluidic channels enhances the efficiency of molecular interactions and binding events. By concentrating analytes within a small, defined volume, the local concentration increases, leading to stronger signals and a lower limit of detection. This is particularly beneficial for detecting low-abundance biomarkers, such as those found in early-stage disease.
Q: What are the primary material considerations when developing a microfluidic chip for blood analysis?
A: Selecting the right material is crucial for blood-based applications. Materials must be biocompatible to prevent cell damage or non-specific protein adsorption. Common choices include polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), known for its optical transparency and gas permeability, and thermoplastics like cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) or polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), which are suitable for scalable manufacturing and have low autofluorescence.
Q: Can microfluidic chips be designed to integrate multiple sequential blood analysis steps?
A: Yes, a key advantage of microfluidic technology is the ability to create complex, integrated circuits on a single chip. This "lab-on-a-chip" approach allows for the sequential automation of multiple steps, such as sample filtration, cell separation, lysis, and nucleic acid amplification, all within one enclosed device. This integration reduces manual handling, minimizes contamination, and accelerates the overall analysis time.
Featured Services
Feature Products
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CAT No
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Material
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Product Name
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Application
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MFMM-0723-JS12
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Glass
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Double Emulsion Droplet Chip
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Our double emulsion microfluidic chip, incorporating localized modifications and a classic flow-focusing structure, is specifically designed to generate stable and uniform double emulsion droplets.
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MFCH-005
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PDMS
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3D Cell Culture Chip-Neuron
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Neuron cell culture and study of axon transport, axon protein synthesis, axon damage/regeneration, signal transduction of axon to somatic signal.
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MFCH-009
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PDMS
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Synvivo-Idealized Co-Culture Network Chips (IMN2 radial)
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SynBBB 3D Blood Brain Barrier Model/SynRAM 3D Inflammation Model/SynTumor 3D Cancer Model/SynTox 3D Toxicology Model.
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MFMM1-GJS4
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COC
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BE-Doubleflow Standard
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Studying circulating particles, cell interactions, and simple organ-on-a-chip system construction.
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MFMM1-GJS6
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COC
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BE-Transflow Custom
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Used to construct a cell interface or Air-Liquid interface (ALI) to study more complex culture systems.
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For detailed inquiries regarding our offerings, reach out to our specialists.
References
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Jiang, Jianing et al. "An integrated microfluidic device for rapid and high-sensitivity analysis of circulating tumor cells." Scientific Reports vol. 7 42612. 15 Feb. 2017, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep42612
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Kim, Jaehoon et al. "Nano-Interstice Driven Powerless Blood Plasma Extraction in a Membrane Filter Integrated Microfluidic Device." Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 21,4 1366. 15 Feb. 2021, https://doi.org/10.3390/s21041366
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Distributed under Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification.
