This study proposes a microfluidic device used for X-/Y-sperm separation based on monoclonal antibody-conjugated magnetic beads, which become positively charged in the flow system. Y-sperms were selectively captured via a monoclonal antibody and transferred onto the microfluidic device and were discarded, so that X-sperms can be isolated and commercially exploited for fertilization demands of female cattle in dairy industry. Therefore, the research team used monoclonal antibody-conjugated magnetic beads to increase the force that causes the Y-sperm to be pulled out of the system, leaving only the X-sperm for further use. The experimental design was divided into the following: Model 1, the microfluid system for sorting positive magnetic beads, which yielded 100% separation; Model 2, the sorting of monoclonal antibody-conjugated magnetic beads in the fluid system, yielding 98.84% microcirculation; Model 3, the sorting of monoclonal antibody-conjugated magnetic beads with sperm in the microfluid system, yielding 80.12% microcirculation. Moreover, the fabrication microfluidic system had thin film electrodes created via UV lithography and MWCNTs electrode structure capable of erecting an electrode wall 1500 µm above the floor with a flow channel width of only 100 µm. The system was tested using a constant flow rate of 2 µL/min and X-/Y-sperm were separated using carbon nanotube electrodes at 2.5 V. The structure created with the use of vertical electrodes and monoclonal antibody-conjugated magnetic beads technique produced a higher effective rejection effect and was able to remove a large number of unwanted sperm from the system with 80.12% efficiency.

Fe₃Si films are deposited onto the Si(111) wafer using sputtering with parallel facing targets. Surface modification of the deposited Fe₃Si film is conducted by using a microwave plasma treatment under an Ar atmosphere at different powers of 50, 100 and, 150 W. After the Ar plasma treatment, the crystallinity of the coated Fe₃Si films is enhanced, in which the orientation peaks, including (220), (222), (400), and (422) of the Fe₃Si are sharpened. The extinction rule suggests that the B₂–Fe₃Si crystallites are the film’s dominant composition. The stoichiometry of the Fe₃Si surfaces is marginally changed after the treatment. An increase in microwave power damages the surface of the Fe₃Si films, resulting in the generation of small pinholes. The roughness of the Fe₃Si films after being treated at 150 W is insignificantly increased compared to the untreated films. The untreated Fe₃Si films have a hydrophobic surface with an average contact angle of 101.70°. After treatment at 150 W, it turns into a hydrophilic surface with an average contact angle of 67.05° because of the reduction in the hydrophobic carbon group and the increase in the hydrophilic oxide group. The hardness of the untreated Fe₃Si is ~9.39 GPa, which is kept at a similar level throughout each treatment power.

In this research, we aimed to count the ratio of the number of motile to immotile sperm for patients with infertility problems based on a low-sperm-concentration examination. The microfluidic system consists of two series of applications: The conventional separation of motile sperm and the proposed inductance (L), capacitance (C), and resistance (R) or LCR impedance sperm counter. In the experiment, 96% of motile sperm were isolated from nonmotile sperm in the first part and transported to the second part to count and calculate real-time sperm concentration. A pair of microelectrodes composed of thin metal film were integrated between microchannels, resulting in a peak signal for LCR single-cell detection, as well as the estimated total sperm concentration. A minimum of 10 µL of the sperm sample was completely analyzed with an accuracy of 94.8% compared with the standard computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) method. This method could be applied for low-cost sperm separation and counting in the future.

Microfluidic chip designs and their application for E antigen typing on red blood cells.

Opisthorchiasis, a major foodborne parasitic zoonotic disease in Thailand and neighboring countries, is caused by the carcinogenic liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini (OV). Accurate classification of OV infection is critical for timely intervention and public health management. In this study, we propose a reliable machine learning (ML) classification model based on peak current data from an electrochemical immunosensor and additional patient condition features, which can facilitate intuitive decision-making without the need for expert personnel. This is the first report to classify OV infection using a ML algorithm integrated with electrochemical biosensor data. A total of 531 urine samples from both OV-positive and OV-negative individuals in endemic areas were analyzed using the immunosensor. We evaluated the effectiveness of six different ML models through cross-validation. Among these models, the decision tree and AdaBoost classifiers demonstrated outstanding performance, each achieving the highest accuracy of 90.65% (95% CI 0.89–0.91). The decision tree model yielded an F1 score of 91%, sensitivity of 95%, and specificity of 83%, while the AdaBoost model achieved an F1 score of 90%, sensitivity of 94%, and a higher specificity of 86%. The neural network model also performed excellently, with an accuracy of 89.72% (95% CI 0.84–0.93), and an F1 score of 89%. The statistical comparison of the model’s performance highlighted the significant difference between the top-performing models and the rest. These results underscore the significance of incorporating sensor data and ML to accurately classify OV infections and enable early diagnosis and intervention. By using this ML model, the status of OV infection can be detected by interpreting sophisticated raw electrochemical data. This implies that patients or medical staff with no prior experience with electrochemical sensors can nevertheless comprehend the disease condition with confidence. The proposed ML models hold promise for enhancing disease surveillance and control strategies in endemic regions and could thus assist medical professionals in the decision-making process and in addressing the burden of opisthorchiasis infection.

This study examined the performance of a microfluidic device for sperm separation assuming that X- and Y-sperm have different surface electrical charges. The proposed microfluidic chip was first tested with electrically charged particles, namely TiO₂-coated polystyrene (PS) beads, to mimic spermatozoa. Negatively charged TiO₂-coated PS beads were fabricated in a simple and efficient manner. These beads were characterised using X-ray diffraction, tungsten scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy mode, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy to determine the reason for the persistence of the negative surface charge. The fabricated TiO₂-coated PS beads were partly coated in mixed forms of amorphous Ti⁴⁺⁺, which caused a sustained negative charge on the surface after fabrication. The microfluidic device was simulated to obtain an optimal structure for fabrication. Negatively charged TiO₂-coated PS beads were tested in designed microfluidic devices. Detailed structures for microfluidic device design with integrated microelectrodes were fabricated using a photolithographic technique, and the finished device was tested with PS beads. Based on PS-bead separation, a microfluidic device with a 150 μm microchannel and 100 μm distance between electrodes was the best performing prototype at 87.07% with a confidence level of 95%. Commercial positively and negatively charged PS beads were tested in the selected design for additional validation. Finally, sperm separation using the proposed device was conducted; the specially designed microfluidic device with multiwalled carbon nanotubes was fabricated, and the proposed device showed a X- and Y-sperm separation accuracy of 74.62%.