Microfluidic systems for blood and blood cell characterization

Abstract

first_pagesettingsOrder Article Reprints This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon. Open AccessReview Microfluidic Systems for Blood and Blood Cell Characterization by Hojin Kim 1,Alexander Zhbanov 2ORCID andSung Yang 2,3,* 1 Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Dongseo University, Busan 47011, Republic of Korea 2 School of Mechanical Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea 3 Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Biosensors 2023, 13(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios13010013 Received: 24 October 2022 / Revised: 16 December 2022 / Accepted: 19 December 2022 / Published: 22 December 2022 (This article belongs to the Section Nano- and Micro-Technologies in Biosensors) Download Browse Figure Review Reports Versions Notes Abstract A laboratory blood test is vital for assessing a patient’s health and disease status. Advances in microfluidic technology have opened the door for on-chip blood analysis. Currently, microfluidic devices can reproduce myriad routine laboratory blood tests. Considerable progress has been made in microfluidic cytometry, blood cell separation, and characterization. Along with the usual clinical parameters, microfluidics makes it possible to determine the physical properties of blood and blood cells. We review recent advances in microfluidic systems for measuring the physical properties and biophysical characteristics of blood and blood cells. Added emphasis is placed on multifunctional platforms that combine several microfluidic technologies for effective cell characterization. The combination of hydrodynamic, optical, electromagnetic, and/or acoustic methods in a microfluidic device facilitates the precise determination of various physical properties of blood and blood cells. We analyzed the physical quantities that are measured by microfluidic devices and the parameters that are determined through these measurements. We discuss unexplored problems and present our perspectives on the long-term challenges and trends associated with the application of microfluidics in clinical laboratories. We expect the characterization of the physical properties of blood and blood cells in a microfluidic environment to be considered a standard blood test in the future.