BioMEMS

Research that includes:

  • Immunosensors
  • Single Cell Analysis
  • Cell Manipulation and Probing
  • SERS BioImaging
  • Micro Total Analysis Systems uTAS
  • DNA Transformations
  • Cell Cryropreservation
  • Optoelectronic Transport & Tweezers

APP42: Low-Power, Low-Leakage Microvalve

Jeremy Frank
2004

Design a valve suitable for integration into a portable, wearable microfluidic device. Wearable microfluidic devices have a very limited supply of working fluid and the use of this fluid must be very tightly budgeted to increase the life of the system. Microvalves incorporated into this system must have incredibly low leakage rates to reduce wasted fluid by increasing the precision that fluid is distributed to other parts of the system. Additionally, due to the meager amount of energy available from the system battery, the valves must have very low power consumption.

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APP41: Capillary Action Accumulation Device

Eric Hobbs
2004

The main goal of this project is the development of water-powered, osmotic micropumps to serve as clean, compact, and inexpensive power sources for bioassay and drug delivery applications. Osmosis is applied to design micropumps fabricated by MEMS-compatible processes for the integration with other microfluidic devices. The innovative osmotic micropumps will be able to serve as clean, compact, and inexpensive power sources for bioassay and drug delivery systems.

Project end date: 09/10/04

DL10: Clinical Testing of MEMS-Syringes

Raja Sivamani
Boris Stoeber
2004

MEMS syringes offer possibilities of painlessly injecting suspensions of fine drug powders and biocompatible liquids through an array of hollow microneedles into the epidermis under the stratum corneum. The stratum corneum serves as the main barrier to transdermal penetration and drug delivery. It is important to find microneedle design parameters that will maximize skin penetration and delivery of drugs into the epidermal skin layer. Eventually, microneedles may be adapted for medical injection applications such as diabetes treatment and vaccines.

Project end date:...

APP86: Microfluid Integrated Nano-Scale Biological Cell Probes

Jesse Herrick
2004

Biologists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are performing rigorous cell research, in which standard cell analysis techniques has provided limited information. The current analysis techniques are typically external observation based, however, it has become apparent that internal observation techniques may be required for a better and more thorough understanding of cellular function. The devices under investigation in this collaborative project between LLNL and UC Berkeley aim to help fulfill this need. The devices, which are based on both MEMS and NEMS technologies, will be...

APP63: Sickle-Cell Anemia Event Detection Sensor

Jennifer S. Wade
2004

The objective of this project is to design, fabricate and test a micro-flow channel that can be used to accurately simulate, detect, analyze and predict the rheological properties of Sickle Cells flowing through arteriole bifurcations of various diameters and lengths. One property of interest is the effect blood osmolarity variations has on Hb SS red cell compliance, as well as, the variation of hematocrit levels. Ultimately, this data and the trends extrapolated from it will be used to understand the differences between healthy and Sickle blood flow in arterioles. As well as,...

APP84: Microfluidic System for Cryogenically Storing and Reviving Biological Cells

Natalya Etina
2005

The project goal is the design, fabrication, and testing of the structural component in the cell-based environmental monitoring sensor. The structure will consist of a microfabricated array of cell wells as well as multi-level microfluidic manifolds to carry the necessary fluids to these wells. While the cells are being stored, liquid nitrogen would flow through channels around the wells and bring the cells to cryogenic temperatures. At room temperature, the functioning cells would be supplied with food and have their waste removed through two separate fluid lines under the wells....

LPL33: Time Division Multiplexed Microfluidic Lateral Patch Clamp Array

Mike Mueller
Michelle Khine
Cristian Ionescu-Zanetti
Niraj Patel
2005

Our goal is to apply newly emerging technology in MEMS and microfluidics to create a high-throughput electrophysiology platform for characterizing ion channels in drug discovery and drug development. We plan to replace the micropipette of the original patch clamp design with Ag/AgCl electrodes, and form arrays of electrodes to create a high-throughput patch clamp system on a chip. The device should be high-throughput, to increase the amount of data able to be collected per unit time. Furthermore, the device should be largely automated, in order to reduce or eliminate the manual labor...

BPN310: Integrated Microfluidic SERS Devices

Beomseok Kim
Jeonggi Seo
2005

Raman is a label-free analytical method, which offers tremendous advantages for biomolecular detection. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique can overcome the low cross-sectional problems inherent in Raman spectroscopy. SERS has been observed for a very large number of molecules adsorbed on the surface of Au or Ag in a variety of morphologies and physical environments. With these environments, its detection limit can reach up to 6-10 orders of magnitude over conventional Raman spectroscopy. We know nanoparticle sizes (15-200 nm) and interparticle spaces (0-10 nm) are...

DL11: Microflow Control using Thermally Responsive Triblock Copolymers

Boris Stoeber
2005

Dilute aqueous solutions of poly(ethylene oxide)x-poly(propylene oxide)y-poly(ethylene oxide)x triblock copolymers undergo reversible gel formation at elevated temperatures. This effect can be effectively used for active and passive flow control in microfluidic devices, where the gel phase can block the flow channel partially or entirely. Heat transfer occurs fast through the typically small width of a microchannel resulting in a fast valve response time. A novel micromixing concept has been developed based on active microvalves.

Project end date: 08/31/05

LPL36: Behavior of water and ice in nanocavities

J. Tanner Nevill
2005

Nanogap sensors have been developed to study various biochemical reactions such as DNA hybridization, protein conformation, and polymer formation. Recently, the nanogap sensors have been used to study the dielectric properties of water and ice. It is well known that water plays a vital role in many processes on the molecular level. Without water, there would be no cell membranes, no ion transport, no protein ligand interaction, and the list can go on ad nauseum. Although we recognize how important water is to these functions, the precise role of water is still not completely...