Microfluidics

Research that includes: 

  • Microvalves and fluidic flow control
  • Micropumps
  • Modeling of microfluidics
  • Particulate air monitoring
  • Flow Sensors
  • Capillary Pump Loop
  • Optoelectronic Transport & Tweezers

BPN345: Biomimetic Microfluidic Silk Gland

David N. Breslauer
2010

We are developing a biomimetic microfluidic device for silk fiber formation that mimics the complexity of in vivo arachnid silk spinning organs. Current methods of fiber formation involve high temperatures and pressures to extrude polymer fibers, which is prohibitive for many biological applications such as tissue engineering. Spiders, however, are able to produce high strength silk fibers under benign conditions. Examination of the spider silk gland reveals that it is essentially a complex microfluidic system. Through in depth understanding of microscopic hydrodynamics, we are...

BPN553: Interactive Materials for Biofabrication

Daniel J. Cohen
2010

Nearly all medical implants and tissue engineered structures (i.e. lab-grown organs) are implanted or grown in a manner where it is difficult to non-destructively assess performance or progress and to make adjustments on the fly. For instance, suppose we wish to engineer a vascular graft to repair a damaged coronary blood vessel. In this case, we would start by taking a scaffold material shaped like a blood vessel and then coating it with endothelial and smooth muscle cells. We would then 'grow' the structure in a bioreactor for a fixed period of time and then implant it into the...

BPN585: High Efficiency Transfection of Cell Reprogramming Factors Using µF-TFT Electroporation Array

Ebrahim Ghafar-Zadeh
Erh-Chia Yeh
Chi-cheng Fu
2010

We present a novel hybrid microfluidic thin film transistor (µF-TFT) electroporation array. This system offers the advantages of spatially and temporally control of electrical conditions (10k individual electrodes) in microenvironments for high efficiency transfection of stem cell reprogramming factors. We demonstrated the preliminary results of Oct4, BSA proteins transfected into fiberblast cells.

Project end date: 02/03/11

BPN587: Nuclear Reprogramming by Microslits Confined Cytoplasm Fusion

Chi-cheng Fu
Erh-Chia Yeh
2010

Adult Somatic cells, such as skin cells, from patients can be used to derive induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) by transduction of four Yamanaka transcription factors. Those patient specific iPS cells, with similar properties to embryonic stem (ES) cells, show great potential on various applications, such as drug screening and disease modeling. However, in applying this technique to therapeutic applications such as tissues regeneration, progress is often hampered by low efficiency (about 0.01 to 0.1%) and slow reprogramming (few weeks). Here, we present a novel way to overcome this...

BPN618: Reprogramming Cells on a Chip

Erh-Chia Yeh
Chi-Cheng Fu
2011

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (IPSCs) are stem cells that can be derived from fibroblast cells (skin). It has the potential of providing multiple tissue types in the body without any transplant rejection and also bypasses the ethical issues of embryonic stem cells. However, because parts of the cellular mechanisms for reprogramming are still unclear, IPSCs has yet to be utilized in the clinical setting since scientists cannot control the reprogramming/ differentiation process precisely. Here we present a microfluidic chip, which can be used for deciphering reprogramming dynamics....

BPN617: Optofluidic Controls and Multi-Photon Real-Time Imaging of Cell Reprogramming

Chi-cheng Fu
Erh-Chia Yeh
2011

Cell reprogramming (for example, conversion of skin cells into stem cells) holds great promise for regenerative medicine such as replacement-cell therapy and patient-specific drug screening. However, the efficiency of reprogramming is hampered by poor understanding on the mechanisms. Here we propose to develop optofluidic controls of cellular communications and molecular imaging of the reprogramming dynamics in a large scale integrated platform. First, two millions of single stem cells and fibroblasts can be paired by microfluidic devices. Then, the joined cell membranes can be...

BPN486: Enhancing Shear-Mediated Arteriogenesis in Cerebral Vessels

Tyson N. Kim
2010

Occlusive arterial disease, including stroke and heart attack, is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Americans. There is significant interest in developing molecular therapy to stimulate blood vessel growth and return blood flow to dying tissue. Our research may elucidate an important biological mechanism that controls artery growth, helping in the development of molecular treatments for occlusive arterial disease.

Project end date: 08/18/11

BPN334: Light-actuated Electrokinetics for Biomolecular Analysis

Arash Jamshidi
2011

This project explores the use of novel optofluidic technologies such as optoelectronic tweezers (OET) and optoelectrowetting (OEW) for manipulation and analysis of biomolecules. Optoelectronic tweezers is an optical manipulation method for manipulating cells, bioparticles and other types of particles. In addition to being non-invasive, dynamic, and reconfigurable, OET provides several advantages over conventional optical manipulation methods including lower optical intensity and larger working area. Light-actuated digital microfluidics or optoelectrowetting is a method for dynamic,...

BPN591: A Unified Platform for Optoelectrowetting and Optoelectronic Tweezers

Justin Valley
2011

A platform capable of seamlessly unifying both optoelectrowetting and optoelectronic tweezers is presented. This enables the user to manipulate aqueous droplets (with electrowetting) as well as individual particles within those droplets (with dielectrophoresis). The device requires no photolithography and droplet/particle manipulation can occur continuously over the entire surface of the device.

Project end date: 08/19/11

BPN333: Study of Single Cell Heterogeneity and Progeny with Phototransistor-based Optoelectronic Tweezers

Hsan-yin (Tony) Hsu
2011

Light-induced dielectrophorsis, or optoelectronic tweezers (OET), provides a dynamic, non-contact, non-invasive optical cell manipulation technique with single cell resolution. OET features a low optical intensity requirement, allowing a large manipulation area for high throughput and preventing potential optical damages. We have designed and fabricated the phototransistor-based OET(Ph-OET) device that enables manipulation of cells in cell culture media. Recently development includes a integrated system for long-term live-cell imaging of mammalian cells with continuous optical...