NSF-CGP Fellowship: Dispensing and Metering of Nanoliter Liquid Volumes

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9819282JonesThis award provides funds to support a 9-month research visit by Dr. Thomas Byron Jones, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Rochester, for collaboration with Dr. Masao Washizu, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kyoto University, Japan. The goal of their research is to develop and test microelectrode systems for manipulation and control of nanoliter-sized liquid volumes using dielectrophoretic (DEP) forces. DEP liquid control offers the prospect of enhanced functionality for IOTAS (micro total analysis systems) for chemical and cellular/biological processes, especially in applications where available liquid or cell samples are very small, toxic, or biologically hazardous, or where strict isolation of samples must be maintained. A long-term objective would be programmable systems where liquid injected by a micropipette is dispensed reproducibly into nanoliter droplets for transport one-at-a-time across a substrate for such processing as laser-optical or dielectrometric assay, mixing, or separation.The experimental approach in this research will integrate the new electric field-actuated droplet transport scheme, developed by the host, with DEP liquid handling to meter and dispense aqueous solutions and chemical compounds in liquid form. Once successful in demonstrating voltage-actuated droplet dispensing, the collaborators will integrate the electrode structure with the droplet transport scheme to create a very basic m-TAS device. The ultimate objective will be a voltage-controlled structure that draws a microliter volume of liquid from a reservoir (probably via a dielectric siphon) and then dispenses this into nanoliter droplets. The project will be mutually beneficial because of the complementary expertise of the collaborators which will contribute to the two-way exchanges of ideas, skills, and techniques planned for this research. This project is supported under the Science Fellowship Program between the National Science Foundation and the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership.***