A microfluidic chamber is a specific type of microfluidic device that controls how fluids move on the chip. Although it's still a fairly new technology, it's an essential tool for applications like cell culture and drug testing.
Below, explore the different types of microfluidic chambers and the most common use cases for each type.
5 Common Types of Microfluidic Chambers
The specific tools you use will directly impact how well you are able to carry out your lab procedures, and microfluidic chambers are an excellent example of that. Here's a brief overview of the most common microfluidic chamber types and their typical applications.
1. Reaction Chambers
Also known as interaction chambers, microfluidics reaction chambers use their microchannels to facilitate tiny reactions between different substances. They come in several different configurations based on your requirements:
- Open: You can place the sample directly into the chamber using an inkjet or a micropipette.
- Closed: You place your sample into the microfluidic channels on the chip, which direct the sample to the reaction chamber.
- Single-phase: This system mixes substances to create a homogeneous solution, which makes it a suitable tool for applications like cell sorting, which uses specific markers to isolate cell types, or nanoparticle synthesis, where controlled environments facilitate uniform particle size.
- Multi-phase: This system efficiently separates and isolates fluids that cannot be mixed, which is ideal for identifying substances like toxins and proteins.
These chambers trap the air bubbles produced in the reaction, which makes it possible for researchers to closely study them — even at the microscopic level.
2. Organ-on-a-Chip
An organ-on-a-chip is a specialized microfluidic chamber system that mimics the microenvironments present in the human body. For example, you could recreate a kidney or a liver on a microfluidic chip.
Organs-on-chips are excellent tools for:
- Drug development: Organs-on-chips realistically mimic how the human body reacts to specific drugs, helping drug developers determine whether their product is safe and effective enough to bring to market.
- Studying diseases: Researchers can use organs-on-chips to safely observe how common diseases progress in specific organs, which can provide valuable insight into potential treatments.
- Testing consumer products: Organ-on-a-chip technology is a suitable in vitro alternative to animal testing in industries like cosmetics or household chemicals.
- Cell culture: The dynamic flow of fluids in the chip's microchannels simulates natural processes, enabling researchers to grow living human cells for use in various procedures.
3. Electrokinetic Chambers
This type of chamber enables researchers to study the specific movement patterns of certain liquids in response to varying electric fields (e-fields). Electrokinetic chambers are typically made from durable materials like polymers and glass, with a series of microchannels configured for each application.
Additionally, electrokinetic chambers use electrokinetic valves to give researchers precise control over the flow of the substances being tested, enabling more accurate measurements and reducing the risk of procedural error. This characteristic makes them suitable tools for biotech procedures such as:
- DNA separation
- Mixing otherwise incompatible substances
- Measuring object lengths
- Understanding e-field limitations
4. Immunoassay Chambers
Microfluidics technology is an excellent medium for detecting specific biological disease indicators, such as proteins, antigens and antibodies. Unlike traditional immunoassay techniques, microfluidics can rapidly generate results without using up the entire sample, making it an efficient solution for use cases like:
- Food toxicity testing: Consuming molds and other toxins can cause serious illness in unsuspecting consumers. Food companies can use microfluidics immunoassays to screen their products for hazardous substances before packaging.
- Point-of-care (POC) testing: Clinics and hospitals can use microfluidic immunoassay chambers to quickly test patients onsite for diseases like HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis. Being able to get accurate results faster enables providers to provide the right care sooner, increasing a patient's chances of recovery.
- Environmental testing: Researchers can use microfluidic immunoassays to measure the quantities of allergens in specific environments, like office buildings and schools. This technology is also suitable for monitoring the levels of pollutants like pesticides and heavy metals in certain ecosystems.
5. Concentration Gradient Generators (CGGs)
Stable concentration gradients are essential for accurately studying how certain biological systems respond to specific gradients of a substance, which has many applications in life sciences and pharmaceuticals. For example, you can use a microfluidic CGG to determine dosing limits for medications.
The specific type of CGG you use will impact its function:
- Branching: This type uses a tree-like structure of microchannels to create diluted concentrations at various places on the chip, providing precise control over the gradient profiles.
- Flow-resistive: This model uses a flow barrier — typically made from hydrogel, nanopore membranes or microchannels — to allow certain substances to passively diffuse through them according to the gradient.
- Christmas tree: This configuration has a pyramid shape that's similar to a Christmas tree, which enables the flow of substances to mix together, separate and recombine with other substances. The flow of the liquid through the channels creates a concentration gradient that increases by the bottom of the tree, enabling you to identify how cells respond to specific concentrations of a chemical.
The Advantages of Microfluidics
Why is microfluidics such a big deal in the life sciences industry? Is it really better than traditional testing methods? For some applications, it is.
Some of the biggest advantages of microfluidics technology in labs include:
- Greater efficiency: Microfluidics procedures use fewer samples and materials without sacrificing productivity, making them resource- and cost-efficient alternatives to conventional lab methods.
- More accurate results: Microfluidics chambers give researchers greater control over their lab procedures, which helps them achieve better results that can be recreated.
- Higher throughput: Even though microfluidics systems are tiny, they can generate more results than other methods in significantly less time.
- Portability: Microfluidics devices are smaller and lighter than most conventional lab equipment, so you can easily transport them between building floors or locations for point-of-care testing and similar applications.
Find Reliable and Affordable Microfluidics Equipment From New Life Scientific
Using the right microfluidics chamber for your specific procedures can help you get more accurate results in less time than with more traditional fluid testing methods. However, with the price of new equipment today, many labs have trouble getting the materials they need. That's where quality used equipment comes in.
At New Life Scientific, we know quality research depends on having the right tools for the job. Our mission is to improve our customers' work by making it easy to buy and sell used lab equipment for many different applications, including microfluidics. Plus, we thoroughly inspect and test all of our products for quality and reliability so you can have peace of mind.
Browse our available microfluidics equipment, or contact us today for more information on any of our products. We're happy to help you find what you need!
