Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

In the past decade, significant progresses have taken place in the field of cancer immunotherapeutics. Tumor-targeting or adjuvant immunotherapies are being developed for most human cancers including melanoma, prostate cancer, glioblastoma, sarcoma, lung carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma. New immunotherapeutics, such as Ipilimumab (anti-CTLA-4), have finished human trials and are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical treatment; cell-based immunotherapies such as adoptive cell transfer (ACT) have either been approved (i.e., sipuleucel-T) for the treatment of selected neoplastic malignancies or reached the stage of phase II/III clinical trials. Immunotherapetics has become a sophisticated field. Multimodal therapeutic regimens comprising several functional modules (up to 5 in the case of ACT) have been developed to provide more focused therapeutic responses with improved efficacy and reduced side effects. Despite the tremendous developments, a major challenge mains: the lack of effective and clinically-applicable methods. Due to the complex immunological responses of patients that involve both the organs with neoplastic lesion and the whole immune system, it is difficult to provide comprehensive assessment of therapeutic efficacy and mechanism in patients. Despite the rapid adaptation of advanced medical imaging modalities such as MRI and PET/CT scan and the gold standard pathological examination, there is still unmet demand in the clinic to best evaluate cancer-specific cellular immunity and functions. Flow cytometry analysis has modernized hematology and immunology, and is currently being adapted to clinical immune monitoring through a multi-center endeavour in the US. The study aims to normalize, standardize, and implement flow cytometry-based cellular immunity assay in routine clinical tests. In parallel, new technologies including single cell polyfunctional analysis and immunophenotyping microchip are being developed for rapid, informative, and longitudinal monitoring of immune response to anti-cancer treatment in the clinical settings, shedding new light to future clinical trials of cancer immunotherapies. These technologies were designed to address the major challenges caused by the complexity and functional heterogeneity of cancer biology and cellular immunity, and allow for comprehensive survey of both tumor and the immune system to identify their mechanistic interplay in response to cancer immunotherapy. In addition, new computational tools are required to integrate high dimensional data sets from comprehensive, single-cell level measurements of patient’s immune responses and render most accurate and definitive diagnostic decision facilitated by new immune monitoring tools. This new generation of informative, personalized clinical diagnostic tools will likely contribute to new understanding of therapy mechanism, pre-treatment stratification of patients, ongoing therapeutic monitoring and assessment.

Oncology --- Medicine --- Health & Biological Sciences --- immune assessment --- single cell analysis --- cancer immunotherapy --- tumor immunity --- immune suppression

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Cytofluorometry. --- Microorganisms. --- Germs --- Micro-organisms --- Microbes --- Microscopic organisms --- Organisms --- Microbiology --- Fluorescence cytophotometry --- Fluorimetric cell analysis --- Cytochemistry --- Cytophotometry --- Fluorimetry --- Technique

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

Science: general issues --- Medical microbiology & virology --- Microbiology (non-medical) --- individual microbe --- Single-Cell Analysis --- individual-based ecology --- Agent-based modeling --- research topic

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

Light Microscopic Analysis of Mitochondrial Heterogeneity in Cell Populations and Within Single Cells, by S. Jakobs, S. Stoldt, and D. Neumann *  Advanced Microscopy of Microbial Cells, by J. A. J. Haagensen, B. Regenberg, and C. Sternberg * Algebraic and Geometric Understanding of Cells, Epigenetic Inheritance of Phenotypes Between Generations, by K. Yasuda *  Measuring the Mechanical Properties of Single Microbial Cells, by C. R. Thomas, J. D. Stenson, and Z. Zhang *  Single Cell Analytics: Pushing the Limits of the Doable,         by H. Kortmann, L.M. Blank, and A. Schmid  * Cultivation-Independent Assessment of Bacterial Viability, by F. Hammes, M. Berney, and T. Egli *  Resolution of Natural Microbial Community Dynamics by Community Fingerprinting, Flow Cytometry and Trend Interpretation Analysis, by P. Bombach, T. Hübschmann, I. Fetzer, S. Kleinsteuber, R. Geyer, H. Harms, and S. Müller *Multivariate Data Analysis Methods for the Interpretation of  Microbial Flow Cytometric Data, by H.M. Davey, and C.L. Davey *  From Single Cells to Microbial Population Dynamics: Modelling in Biotechnology Based on Measurements of Individual Cells, by T. Bley.

Phenomena and Processes --- Cytological Techniques --- Clinical Laboratory Techniques --- Investigative Techniques --- Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment --- Microbiological Techniques --- Single-Cell Analysis --- Microbiological Phenomena --- Biology --- Mechanical Engineering --- Engineering & Applied Sciences --- Health & Biological Sciences --- Bioengineering --- Cytology --- Microorganisms --- Analysis. --- Germs --- Micro-organisms --- Microbes --- Microscopic organisms --- Chemistry. --- Spectroscopy. --- Biotechnology. --- Cell biology. --- Microscopy. --- Biological Microscopy. --- Spectroscopy/Spectrometry. --- Cell Biology. --- Analysis, Microscopic --- Light microscopy --- Micrographic analysis --- Microscope and microscopy --- Microscopic analysis --- Optical microscopy --- Optics --- Cell biology --- Cellular biology --- Cells --- Cytologists --- Chemical engineering --- Genetic engineering --- Analysis, Spectrum --- Spectra --- Spectrochemical analysis --- Spectrochemistry --- Spectroscopy --- Chemistry, Analytic --- Interferometry --- Radiation --- Wave-motion, Theory of --- Absorption spectra --- Light --- Spectroscope --- Physical sciences --- Qualitative --- Organisms --- Microbiology --- Cytology. --- Spectrometry --- Analytical chemistry --- Bacteria --- cells --- cytology --- microorganisms --- Bacteriology --- Cell counting --- Microscopy --- Biotechnology

Choose an application

• Reference Manager
• EndNote
• RefWorks (Direct export to RefWorks)

The development of micro- and nanodevices for blood analysis is an interdisciplinary subject that demands the integration of several research fields, such as biotechnology, medicine, chemistry, informatics, optics, electronics, mechanics, and micro/nanotechnologies. Over the last few decades, there has been a notably fast development in the miniaturization of mechanical microdevices, later known as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), which combine electrical and mechanical components at a microscale level. The integration of microflow and optical components in MEMS microdevices, as well as the development of micropumps and microvalves, have promoted the interest of several research fields dealing with fluid flow and transport phenomena happening in microscale devices. Microfluidic systems have many advantages over their macroscale counterparts, offering the ability to work with small sample volumes, providing good manipulation and control of samples, decreasing reaction times, and allowing parallel operations in one single step. As a consequence, microdevices offer great potential for the development of portable and point-of-care diagnostic devices, particularly for blood analysis. Moreover, the recent progress in nanotechnology has contributed to its increasing popularity, and has expanded the areas of application of microfluidic devices, including in the manipulation and analysis of flows on the scale of DNA, proteins, and nanoparticles (nanoflows). In this Special Issue, we invited contributions (original research papers, review articles, and brief communications) that focus on the latest advances and challenges in micro- and nanodevices for diagnostics and blood analysis, micro- and nanofluidics, technologies for flow visualization, MEMS, biochips, and lab-on-a-chip devices and their application to research and industry. We hope to provide an opportunity to the engineering and biomedical community to exchange knowledge and information and to bring together researchers who are interested in the general field of MEMS and micro/nanofluidics and, especially, in its applications to biomedical areas.

red blood cells --- n/a --- metastatic potential --- microfluidic devices --- microstructure --- lens-less --- regression analysis --- power-law fluid --- narrow rectangular microchannel --- biomedical coatings --- XTC-YF cells --- red blood cell (RBC) aggregation --- Y-27632 --- finite element method --- POCT --- CEA detection --- immersed boundary method --- suspension --- particle tracking velocimetry --- biomicrofluidics --- computational fluid dynamics --- red blood cells (RBCs) --- modified conventional erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) method --- computational biomechanics --- RBC aggregation index --- microfabrication --- microfluidics --- morphological analysis --- chronic renal disease --- multiple microfluidic channels --- centrifugal microfluidic device --- deformability --- master molder using xurography technique --- fluorescent chemiluminescence --- hydrophobic dish --- pressure-driven flow --- cell deformability --- mechanophenotyping --- separation and sorting techniques --- density medium --- cell adhesion --- polymers --- rheology --- circular microchannel --- blood on chips --- multinucleated cells --- velocity --- cell analysis --- microfluidic chip --- twin-image removal --- cancer --- Lattice–Boltzmann method --- diabetes --- hyperbolic microchannel --- Lattice-Boltzmann method