Electrokinetic Flow Design for Micro-Laboratories on a Chip

这个工程微系统的目标：“XYZ”芯片项目是在微尺度上研究生物化学测定。 基金被授予支持圣母大学和卡尺技术之间的合作项目，以开发芯片的快速，良好的控制，低试剂的生化分析纳升大小的样品。这种芯片的应用包括药物的快速组合筛选，温度和浓度依赖性反应动力学的测量，以及基因分型和筛选。这些应用是通过电渗将液体样品移动通过微蚀刻通道来执行的。虽然流体流动控制，如样品稀释，加热/冷却，流混合，和分区已被成功地证明，有几个问题，限制了吞吐量，并阻止了多功能，集成的，计算机控制的，网络化的生化实验室在芯片上的完全实现。为了充分实现芯片实验室的潜力，需要解决的具体问题包括：通过通道轮廓减少分散、通过通道图案化和轮廓增强分散、增强传热以及通过封装进行溶质采样。所有设计都将在与Caliper Technologies合作的实际制造芯片上进行测试。

The goal of this Engineering Microsystems: "XYZ" on a Chip project is to investigate biochemical assays on a microscale. Funds are awarded to support a collaborative project between Notre Dame University and Caliper Technologies to develop chips for rapid, well controlled, low-reagent biochemical assays on nanoliter-sized samples. Applications of such chips include rapid combinatorial screening of pharmaceuticals, measurements of temperature and concentration-dependent reaction kinetics, and genetic typing and screening. These applications are executed by moving liquid samples through micro-etched channels through electro-osmosis. While fluid flow controls such as sample dilution, heating/cooling, stream mixing, and partitioning have been demonstrated successfully, there are several issues that limit the throughput and prevent the full realization of a multi-function, integrated, computer controlled, networked biochemical laboratory on a chip. Specific issues which need to be addressed to fully realize the potential of the laboratory on a chip are: dispersion reduction through channel profiling, dispersion enhancement through channel patterning and profiling, enhanced heat transfer, and solute sampling via encapsulation. All designs will be tested on actual fabricated chips in collaboration with Caliper Technologies.