{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T10:31:34Z","timestamp":1785407494166,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,27]],"date-time":"2026-06-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782518400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Hungary","award":["INBIOM TKP2021-EGA-04"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["INBIOM TKP2021-EGA-04"]}]},{"award":["INBIOM TKP2021-EGA-04"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["INBIOM TKP2021-EGA-04"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03vhmm238","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary","award":["2025-2.1.1-EK\u00d6P"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025-2.1.1-EK\u00d6P"]}]},{"award":["2025-2.1.1-EK\u00d6P"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025-2.1.1-EK\u00d6P"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03vhmm238","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Micromachines"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This paper presents the development, fabrication, and characterization of a droplet-based microfluidic platform designed for precise local thermal treatment of cancer cells, with prospective chemical targeting as a future application. The workflow begins with a finite element model (FEM) using COMSOL Multiphysics 6.0 to characterize coupled hydrodynamic and thermal behavior, specifically analyzing temperature distributions across single-phase and three-phase regimes. Following the simulation, work has progressed to the fabrication of a microfluidic device and the characterization of its platinum heat source and temperature detector to ensure precise thermal control. To replicate realistic biochemical conditions, experiments have employed a three-phase configuration of oil, water, and fluorescent BSA solution. In the final stage, DX5-GFP MES-SA cancer cells have replaced the BSA solution to complete the measurements. To ensure reagent homogenization and consistent cellular exposure, a serpentine channel design was utilized to induce Dean vortices, which significantly enhanced internal mixing within the droplets. Fluorescence-loss experiments demonstrated that localized heating above ~60 \u00b0C induces irreversible thermal damage in both model proteins (fluorescent BSA) and cancer cells, establishing a proof-of-concept basis for precise thermal regulation at the single-droplet level. By deactivating specific thermo-sensitive proteins responsible for drug resistance, this integrated approach to thermal and hydrodynamic optimization enhances the efficacy of chemical stimuli and provides a robust platform for investigating the modulation of cellular defense mechanisms in future biotechnological applications. The platform holds significant potential for advancing precision oncology by enabling systematic, single-cell-level investigation of heat-shock-mediated drug sensitization, with long-term implications for overcoming multidrug resistance in aggressive cancer therapies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/mi17070782","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T05:58:04Z","timestamp":1782799084000},"page":"782","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["From Simulation to Application: Droplet-Based Microfluidics for Thermal Targeting of Cancer Cells"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-2262-548X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zsombor","family":"Szomor","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Microsystems Laboratory, Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, 1121 Budapest, Hungary"},{"name":"Doctoral School on Materials Sciences and Technologies, \u00d3buda University, 1034 Budapest, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eszter L.","family":"T\u00f3th","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microsystems Laboratory, Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, 1121 Budapest, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8331-1212","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"J\u00e1nos M.","family":"Bozor\u00e1di","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microsystems Laboratory, Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, 1121 Budapest, Hungary"},{"name":"Doctoral School on Materials Sciences and Technologies, \u00d3buda University, 1034 Budapest, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1360-4201","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tam\u00e1s","family":"Pardy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Thomas Johann Seebeck Department of Electronics, Tallinn University of Technology, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rauno","family":"J\u00f5emaa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Thomas Johann Seebeck Department of Electronics, Tallinn University of Technology, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8022-4367","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"P\u00e9ter","family":"F\u00fcrjes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Microsystems Laboratory, Institute of Technical Physics and Materials Science, HUN-REN Centre for Energy Research, 1121 Budapest, Hungary"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1038\/s43586-023-00212-3","article-title":"Droplet-based microfluidics","volume":"3","author":"Moragues","year":"2023","journal-title":"Nat. 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