Microfluidics for Sample Pretreatment

A special issue of Biosensors (ISSN 2079-6374). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosensors and Healthcare".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 605

Special Issue Editors

School of Mechanical Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
Interests: microfluidics; femtosecond laser microfabrication; plasma separation; blood typing; point-of-care testing; open microfluidics; cloth-based microfluidics

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Guest Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In point-of-care testing, sample pretreatment is the first and most key issue for following sample analysis. Due to low sample consumption, high efficiency, small device footprint, low cost, and high manipulation resolution, microfluidic technology has been widely applied for microscale sample pretreatment (blood, sweat, urine, wound exudate, exhaled breath condensate, and so on), such as CTCs’ separation from peripheral blood, plasma separation from the whole blood, blood cells’ separation from other blood components, exosome isolation, sweat extraction, and so on. So far, a variety of progress has already been made in these areas, and several advances are commercialized. However, a high-performance method for sample pretreatment is still highly sought after, as the current methods are still limited in terms of sample separation quality. For example, the plasma yield is still lower in POC plasma separation. Also, the purity, capture efficiency, and viability of CTCs is still limited to meet actual needs. This Special Issue is devoted to elucidating the most recent technical innovations and developments in the area of sample pretreatment through using microfluidic methods. Any contribution in the following sense is welcome to be submitted to this Special Issue. Contributions in the form of reviews and original research papers are welcome.

Topics of interest for this Special Issue include the following:

  • CTCs’ separation via microfluidics;
  • Plasma separation from the whole blood;
  • Blood cells’ separation from other blood components;
  • Exosome isolation;
  • New methods for sample pretreatment;
  • Other liquid sample pretreatment;
  • High-performance microfluidic separation methods;
  • Wound exudate/exhaled breath condensate collection and analysis.

Dr. Bing Xu
Prof. Dr. Nan Xiang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • sample pretreatment
  • plasma separation
  • blood cell separation
  • exosome isolation
  • novel microfluidic separation methods
  • CTC separation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 1765 KiB  
Article
Microfluidic System Based on Flexible Structures for Point-of-Care Device Diagnostics with Electrochemical Detection
by Kasper Marchlewicz, Robert Ziółkowski, Kamil Żukowski, Jakub Krzemiński and Elżbieta Malinowska
Biosensors 2025, 15(8), 483; https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15080483 - 24 Jul 2025
Viewed by 441
Abstract
Infectious diseases poses a growing public health challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic has further emphasized the urgent need for rapid, accessible diagnostics. This study presents the development of an integrated, flexible point-of-care (POC) diagnostic system for the rapid detection of Corynebacterium diphtheriae, the [...] Read more.
Infectious diseases poses a growing public health challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic has further emphasized the urgent need for rapid, accessible diagnostics. This study presents the development of an integrated, flexible point-of-care (POC) diagnostic system for the rapid detection of Corynebacterium diphtheriae, the pathogen responsible for diphtheria. The system comprises a microfluidic polymerase chain reaction (micro-PCR) device and an electrochemical DNA biosensor, both fabricated on flexible substrates. The micro-PCR platform offers rapid DNA amplification overcoming the time limitations of conventional thermocyclers. The biosensor utilizes specific molecular recognition and an electrochemical transducer to detect the amplified DNA fragment, providing a clear and direct indication of the pathogen’s presence. The combined system demonstrates the effective amplification and detection of a gene fragment from a toxic strain of C. diphtheriae, chosen due to its increasing incidence. The design leverages lab-on-a-chip (LOC) and microfluidic technologies to minimize reagent use, reduce cost, and support portability. Key challenges in microsystem design—such as flow control, material selection, and reagent compatibility—were addressed through optimized fabrication techniques and system integration. This work highlights the feasibility of using flexible, integrated microfluidic and biosensor platforms for the rapid, on-site detection of infectious agents. The modular and scalable nature of the system suggests potential for adaptation to a wide range of pathogens, supporting broader applications in global health diagnostics. The approach provides a promising foundation for next-generation POC diagnostic tools. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidics for Sample Pretreatment)
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