{"entity": "publication", "iuid": "39ae955bec344112b4a805da061d92e6", "timestamp": "2026-08-20T20:57:43.988Z", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/39ae955bec344112b4a805da061d92e6.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/39ae955bec344112b4a805da061d92e6"}}, "title": "An acoustofluidic platform for non-contact trapping of cell-laden hydrogel droplets compatible with optical microscopy.", "authors": [{"family": "Fornell", "given": "Anna", "initials": "A", "orcid": "0000-0001-7980-376X", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/bd074d450e004ab584ad06d08396b9b7.json"}}, {"family": "Johannesson", "given": "Carl", "initials": "C"}, {"family": "Searle", "given": "Sean S", "initials": "SS"}, {"family": "Happstadius", "given": "Axel", "initials": "A"}, {"family": "Nilsson", "given": "Johan", "initials": "J", "orcid": "0000-0003-1282-9580", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/702a20b8d6a24b0a97baa81738377beb.json"}}, {"family": "Tenje", "given": "Maria", "initials": "M", "orcid": "0000-0002-1264-1337", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/bd13273274574923b354ca9c605efc8f.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2019-07-00", "journal": {"title": "Biomicrofluidics", "issn": "1932-1058", "volume": "13", "issue": "4", "pages": "044101", "issn-l": "1932-1058"}, "abstract": "Production of cell-laden hydrogel droplets as miniaturized niches for 3D cell culture provides a new route for cell-based assays. Such production can be enabled by droplet microfluidics and here we present a droplet trapping system based on bulk acoustic waves for handling hydrogel droplets in a continuous flow format. The droplet trapping system consists of a glass capillary equipped with a small piezoelectric transducer. By applying ultrasound (4 MHz), a localized acoustic standing wave field is generated in the capillary, trapping the droplets in a well-defined cluster above the transducer area. The results show that the droplet cluster can be retained at flow rates of up to 76 \u03bcl/min, corresponding to an average flow speed of 3.2 mm/s. The system allows for important operations such as continuous perfusion and/or addition of chemical reagents to the encapsulated cells with in situ optical access. This feature is demonstrated by performing on-chip staining of the cell nuclei. The key advantages of this trapping method are that it is label-free and gentle and thus well-suited for biological applications. Moreover, the droplets can easily be released on-demand, which facilitates downstream analysis. It is envisioned that the presented droplet trapping system will be a valuable tool for a wide range of multistep assays as well as long-term monitoring of cells encapsulated in gel-based droplets.", "doi": "10.1063/1.5108583", "pmid": "31312286", "labels": [], "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC6624123"}, {"db": "pii", "key": "1.5108583"}], "notes": [], "created": "2026-08-20T09:29:02.371Z", "modified": "2026-08-20T09:29:02.403Z"}