Microfluidic technology has turn into increasingly vital in lots of scientific fields reminiscent of regenerative medicine, microelectronics, and environmental science. However, traditional microfabrication techniques face limitations in constructing scale and sophisticated networks. These constraints turn into much more complex on the subject of creating more complex 3D microfluidic networks.
Now, researchers at Kyushu University have developed a brand new and simpler technique for constructing such complex 3D microfluidic networks. Their device? Plants and fungi. The team created a 'soil' medium using glass nanoparticles (silica) and a cellulose-based binding agent, then allowed plants and fungi to grow roots in it. After the plants were removed, the glass was left with a fancy 3D microfluidic network of micrometer-sized hole holes where the roots once were.
The latest method will also be used to watch and preserve 3D biological structures which are typically difficult to review in soil, opening up latest research opportunities in plant and fungal biology. Their findings were published within the journal
“The main motivation for this research was to overcome the limitations of traditional microfabrication techniques in creating complex 3D microfluidic structures. Our lab's focus is biomimetics, where we look at nature and mimic such structures artificially. by trying to solve engineering problems,” explains Professor Fujio Tasmori of Kyushu University's Faculty of Engineering, who led the research. “And what higher example in nature of microfluidics than plant roots and fungal hyphae? So, we got down to develop a way that would harness the natural growth patterns of those organisms and create higher microfluidic networks. could make.”
The researchers began by preparing a 'soil'-like mixture for the plants to grow in, but as an alternative of dirt, they combined the expansion medium with glass nanoparticles smaller than 1 μm in diameter of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose. as a binding agent. They then seeded this 'soil' mixture and waited for the plants to take root. After successful plant growth was confirmed, the 'soil' was baked leaving only the foundation cavity with glass.
“This process is called sintering, which fuses fine particles together into a more solid state. It is similar to powder metallurgy in the manufacture of ceramics,” continues Tsumori. “In this case it's the plant that does the molding.”
Their method was in a position to simulate the complex biological structures of plant most important roots, which could be as much as 150 μm in diameter, and all the way down to root hairs, which could be about 8 μm in diameter. Tests with other organisms showed that the strategy could also mimic the foundation structure of fungi, called hyphae.
“Hyphae are even thinner and can be as small as 1-2 μm in diameter. This is thinner than a strand of spider silk,” says Tsumori.
The team hopes that their latest bio-inspired microfluidic fabrication technique could be utilized in a wide range of fields of science and engineering, potentially resulting in more efficient microreactors, advanced heat exchangers, and advanced tissue engineering scaffolds. .
“In the biological sciences, this technique provides a unique tool to study the complex 3D structure of plant roots and fungal networks, which can advance our understanding of soil ecosystems,” Tasmori concluded. derived “By combining biological systems and engineering, our research has the potential to pave the way for new technologies and scientific discoveries.”