Recent Advances of PDMS In Vitro Biomodels for Flow Visualizations and Measurements: From Macro to Nanoscale Applications

Micromachines (Basel). 2024 Oct 29;15(11):1317. doi: 10.3390/mi15111317.

Abstract

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has become a popular material in microfluidic and macroscale in vitro models due to its elastomeric properties and versatility. PDMS-based biomodels are widely used in blood flow studies, offering a platform for improving flow models and validating numerical simulations. This review highlights recent advances in bioflow studies conducted using both PDMS microfluidic devices and macroscale biomodels, particularly in replicating physiological environments. PDMS microchannels are used in studies of blood cell deformation under confined conditions, demonstrating the potential to distinguish between healthy and diseased cells. PDMS also plays a critical role in fabricating arterial models from real medical images, including pathological conditions such as aneurysms. Cutting-edge applications, such as nanofluid hemodynamic studies and nanoparticle drug delivery in organ-on-a-chip platforms, represent the latest developments in PDMS research. In addition to these applications, this review critically discusses PDMS properties, fabrication methods, and its expanding role in micro- and nanoscale flow studies.

Keywords: PDMS applications; biomedical engineering; blood flow; in vitro biomodels; microfluidics; polydimethylsiloxane.

Publication types

  • Review

Grants and funding

C. Ferrera gratefully acknowledges funding from the Junta de Extremadura through grant IB20105 (partially funded by FEDER). The authors additionally acknowledge the projects 2022.02085.PTDC (https://doi.org/10.54499/2022.02085.PTDC), 2022.06207.PTDC (https://doi.org/10.54499/2022.06207.PTDC), and PTDC/EEI-EEE/2846/2021 (https://doi.org/10.54499/PTDC/EEI-EEE/2846/2021) for the financial support, through national funds (OE), within the scope of the Scientific Research and Technological Development Projects (IC&DT) program in all scientific domains (PTDC), PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), via the Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. (FCT, I.P) and the R&D Units projects UIDB/00690/2020, UIDB/04077/2020, UIDB/04436/2020, UIDB/00532/2020, and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020). Andrews Souza acknowledges FCT for the Ph.D. scholarship 2021. 07961.BD. Glauco Nobrega was supported by the doctoral grant PRT/BD/153088/2021, financed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), and with funds from MCTES/República Portuguesa, under the MIT Portugal Program).