Plastic based microfluidic systems and their applications in biology.

[摘要] This research work focuses on the development of plastic microfabrication techniques, specifically epoxy based casting for the fabrication of microfluidic platforms that can then be used for different chemical and biological applications. Over the past few years there have been various applications of miniaturization in life sciences for different areas like drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry, molecular recognition in clinical diagnostics, cell culture and manipulation for cellular and tissue engineering, which have radically changed the way in which information is processed and experiments are performed.A casting technique using optical grade epoxies has been developed to fabricate these microfluidic systems. Miniaturization offers the possibility to integrate multiple functions onto a single platform. Two separate techniques for integration of control elements onto plastic based systems are discussed. The first one involves embedding active silicon micromachined devices in plastic microsystems using a Polymer Flip chip process and the other involves surface micromachining to build from the bottom up devices that can be integrated within the system. A polyethylene glycol (PEG) based actuator has been developed and used to fabricate nozzle-diffuser pumps that can be integrated easily within a microfluidic system. Flow rates of up to 80 nl/min and pressures of up to 1400 Pa can be generated.Work has been done in developing tools for molecular and cellular biology applications. Fabricated devices can be used for molecular assays of bio-molecules like nucleic acids and proteins. Demonstration devices were designed and fabricated to perform Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Capillary electrophoresis (CE). Also, application of microfluidics and microfabrication can be used to engineer cellular interactions with surfaces and surroundings. Cell attachment is critical to the normal functioning of the cell and requires Extra Cellular Matrix (ECM) proteins for proper attachment. An electrochemical deposition technique for patterning conductive biomolecules doped with proteins is explained. Laminar flows in channels are used to precisely control the flow of the electrolyte over the electrodes to define the area of deposition. Using this technique precisely controlled deposition of polypyyrole (PPY) doped with collagen is achieved on gold microelectrodes.

[发布机构] University of Michigan

[效力级别] Based

[关键词] Applications;Based;Biology;Biomems;Mems;Microfluidic;Plastic;Systems;Biomedical engineering