title: A benchtop capillary flow layer-by-layer (CF-LbL) platform for rapid assembly and screening of biodegradable nanolayered films.
abstract: Capillary flow layer-by-layer (CF-LbL) is a microfluidic platform for high throughput preparation and screening of nanolayered polymer films. Using a simple benchtop version of CF-LbL, we systematically studied the effects of various flow conditions and channel geometries on the thickness and surface roughness of the resulting films. We also investigated the biocompatibility and degradation behaviors of a series of enzymatically-degradable films made from naturally derived polymers, i.e. either alginate or hyaluronic acid as the anionic species and poly-l-arginine as the positive species. Furthermore, using one optimized film formulation for coating on the inside walls of a microfluidic chip, we successfully demonstrated the ability of this film to capture and rapidly release cancer cells from whole blood. This simple platform is expected to be a powerful tool to increase the accessibility of the LbL film assembly to a broader scientific community.
authors: Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA. wei.li@ttu.edu.
authors: Ziye
authors: 0000-0002-0419-8523
authors: Z
authors: Dong
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. jtyan@tjh.tjmu.edu.cn.
authors: Ling
authors: L
authors: Tang
authors: Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA. wei.li@ttu.edu.
authors: Caroline C
authors: CC
authors: Ahrens
authors: Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA. wei.li@ttu.edu.
authors: Zhenya
authors: Z
authors: Ding
authors: Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA. wei.li@ttu.edu.
authors: Vi
authors: V
authors: Cao
authors: AbbVie, North Chicago, IL 60064, USA.
authors: Steven
authors: S
authors: Castleberry
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China. jtyan@tjh.tjmu.edu.cn.
authors: Jiangtao
authors: J
authors: Yan
authors: Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA. wei.li@ttu.edu.
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Li