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

BPN571: Implantable Microengineered Neural Interfaces for Studying and Controlling Insects

Travis L. Massey
2015

Our goal is to control the flight of an insect by appropriating its sensory systems. Although significant funding has gone in to developing micro air vehicles (MAVs, wingspan <15cm), flying insects still significantly outperform the most sophisticated flying robots in efficiency, flight time, stability, and maneuverability. The restrictions that such a small spatial scale places on the amount of energy that can be stored on-board and on actuator efficiency means that this gap is expected to continue for a number of years to come. We are therefore pursuing a novel MAV design that...

BPN649: Magnetic Particle Flow Cytometer

Pramod Murali
2015

Circulating tumor cells can be found in peripheral blood in cancer patients and their number correlates to the stage of cancer. Currently, fluorescent markers are used to tag the cancerous cells to count them with a flow cytometer which requires multiple sample preparation steps such as centrifugation, erythrocyte lysis, etc. The use of magnetic microparticle labels instead can significantly simplify sample preparation and can enable point-of- care diagnostic devices to detect cancerous cells. We have demonstrated an integrated prototype which includes a CMOS chip, microfluidics, and...

BPN805: Rapid Detection of Drug-resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria on Chip

Soochan Chung
Jun Ho Son
2015

Recent progress in disease research and molecular diagnostics are leading us to the realization stage of highly precise and personalized treatment technology. However, complicated sample preparation process and low precision of quantitative (q)PCR in current molecular diagnostic technology are enormously delaying the development of treatment for organisms which are causes of healthcare-associated infections, such as Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Here we develop an integrated drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) detection on...

BPN699: A Modular System for High-Density, Multi-Scale Electrophysiology

Maysamreza Chamanzar
2016

Truly large-scale electrophysiology simultaneous recording of thousands of individual neurons in multiple brain areas remains an elusive goal of neuroscience. The traditional approach of studying single neurons in isolation assumes that the brain can be understood one component at a time. However, in order to fully understand the function of whole brain circuits, it is essential to observe the interactions of large numbers of neurons in multiple brain areas simultaneously with high spatiotemporal resolution. This project will establish a complete system for multi-scale...

BPN769: Acousto-Optic Modulation of Brain Activity: Novel Techniques for Optogenetic Stimulation and Imaging

Maysam Chamanzar
2016

One of the fundamental challenges in monitoring and modulating central nervous system activity is the lack of tools for simultaneous non-invasive interrogation of local neuronal ensembles in different regions of the brain. Despite recent advances in neural modulation techniques, including a rapidly expanding optogenetic and imaging toolset, we still lack a robust, minimally- invasive optogenetic stimulation platform. The ability to independently deliver light to multiple highly-localized regions of the brain would drastically improve in vivo optogenetic experiments. Illuminating a...

BPN756: MEMS Devices for Oral Delivery of Proteins and Peptides

Kiana Aran
Marc Chooljian
2016

Oral delivery of proteins and large molecule drugs has been a challenge due to the denaturing effects of digestive environment, enzymatic destruction and poor GI mucus permeability, leading to extremely low drug bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy. In spite of considerable efforts over the past decades, oral delivery of proteins and large molecule drugs with low therapeutic efficacy and bioavailability remains a major challenge. There is a great need for a suitable oral delivery system which can maintain the protein integrity, improve bioavailability and overcome the mucus...

BPN745: Wafer-Scale Intracellular Carbon Nanotube-Based Neural Probes

Konlin Shen
2016

Current in-vivo methods of electrical recordings of the brain are hampered by low spatial resolution, invasiveness to the surrounding tissue, and scalability. Carbon nanotube based electrodes are ideal for intracellular neural recordings due to their small size and flexibility, allowing for higher density arrays and less damage to the brain. However, current methods for selective placement and alignment of carbon nanotubes cannot be done easily on a wafer scale. This project aims to solve this issue in order to create wafer-scale carbon nanotube based neural probes for intracellular...

BPN831: Sample-to-Answer Multiplex Molecular Diagnostics for Subtyping Pathogenic Bacteria

Sang Hun Lee
Byungrae Cho
Jun Ho Son
2016

The rapid and sensitive detection of pathogenic bacteria is crucial for identifying the pathogen and patient care with precise antibiotic treatment in public health. Thus, various diagnostic approaches such as a sequencing, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) have been used, but current methods still lack for practical application due to long processing time, and a large equipment- based operation. Here, we report a macrofluidic diagnostic platform, capable of rapid sample preparation, pathogen lysis and genetic profiling of multiple...

BPN847: A 3D Printed Microfluidic-Based Blood Filtration Device Examines the Effect of Blood Components in the Aging Process

Kiana Aran
Daniel Park
2017

Studies on blood parabiosis between young and old mice have shown reversals in the progression of aging. However, the definitive cellular elements in young mice that advance rejuvenation in old mice are yet to be identified. The goal of this project is to determine the specific blood component in young mice responsible for rejuvenation in old mice. This project focuses on designing a microfluidic-based blood exchange device capable of continuously separating and exchanging different type of blood components during blood transfusion between small animals to help identify the blood...

BPN771: Silicon Carbide ECoGs for Chronic Implants in Brain-Machine Interfaces

Camilo A. Diaz-Botia
2017

Several technologies have been developed for interfacing with the brain such as microwires, electrode arrays, and electrocorticography (ECoG) arrays. While each of them has strengths and weaknesses, they all share a common disadvantage of limited device longevity due to a variety of failure modes; these include scar tissue formation and material failure, among others. A particularly pronounced problem is the failure of the insulating material at the insulator-conductor interfaces (e.g. recording sites and insulated conducting traces). Damage to these vital interfaces compromises...