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Microfluidics and the MicroAnalytical Laboratory
In
the analytical and biotech industries, there has been tremendous
interest in recent years in the development of chip-based
technologies incorporating microfluidics. It is predicted
that miniaturization of chemical processes using these technologies
will have a huge impact on rapid point-of-care screening
as well as high throughput screening. For these devices
to become commercially viable, device fabrication should
be inexpensive, and the chemistries performed in these systems
must be well controlled to provide accurate and reliable
results. In the past, our group has pioneered microfabrication
methods for the development of microfluidic devices in polymer
materials. We continue to be very active in the development
and characterization of polymer microfluidic devices with
particular interest in bioanalytical applications of these
devices.
The
goal of our program is to promote the development of polymer
microfluidic devices by (1) developing methods for
fabrication and characterization of polymer microchannels;
(2) developing techniques for modulating surfaces for microflow
control and biomolecule immobilization; (3) developing improved
microanalytical separation technologies; and (4) integrating
active MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) components
into microfluidic systems for flow control, sensing and
detection.
Projects
in this multi-disciplinary program include the following;
- Molecular
Imprinted Stationary Phases (Alyssa Henry, Laurie Locascio)
- Applications
of Liposomes in Microfluidic Systems (Wyatt Vreeland, Laurie
Locascio)
- Polymersomes
as PIV Flow Markers (Peter Howell, Laurie Locascio)
- Temperature
Gradient Focusing (in collaboration with David Ross, Process
Measurements Division)
- Cell-based
Microfluidic Sensors for Measuring Toxins in Wastewater
(Laurie Locascio, John Travis in collaboration with Nancy
Love, Virginia Tech)
- Electrokinetic
Micromixers (Tim Johnson, Laurie Locascio)
- Cell
Growth in Microfluidic Systems (Laurie Locascio in collaboration
with Michael Gaitan and Darwin Reyes, Semiconductor Electronics
Division and Patricia Becerra, NEI/NIH)
- Microfluidic
Immunoassays (in collaboration with Michael Gaitan, Semiconductor
Electronics Division, and Nicole Morgan, Paul Smith, Terry
Philips and Tom Pohida, NIH)
- Biocompatible
Surfaces (Alyssa Henry, David Ross, Laurie Locascio in collaboration
with J. Hickman, Clemson, and CFD Research Corporation;
sponsored by DARPA)
- Chemical,
Laser and Plasma Microchannel Surface Modification (Alyssa
Henry, Peter Howell, Laurie Locascio in collaboration with
David Ross, Jon Evju, Mike Tarlov, Process Measurements
Division and J. Hickman, Clemson)
- Temperature
Measurement in Microchannels (Laurie Locascio in collaboration
with David Ross, Process Measurements Division)
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