SBIR Phase I: Nanostructures for Controlled Fluid Transport

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将开发一种新的方法，通过表面纳米结构泵送和控制微流体设备内的流体流动，该表面纳米结构由含有共价结合的电化学活性物质的自组装单层组成。 通过控制流动通道内的表面能（表面润湿性），可以使流体流到装置内的期望位置。 施加低电压（2伏）使表面在亲水和疏水状态之间切换。 在这种低电压下，硅可以用来制造微型器件，而电渗泵则需要玻璃、石英或塑料器件。 硅是非常有利的，因为电子工业已经为硅开发了独特的超精密低成本制造方法，这将导致微流体装置的成本效益制造。商业上，从这项工作中出现的紧凑集成传感器装置将在临床医学，药物发现，基因检测和研究，环境监测，以及军事和反恐安全（监测病原体、毒素和神经毒剂）。特别是，这些增强的微流体可以与独特的硅微针装置相结合，该装置用于无痛的一步糖尿病葡萄糖自我检测，与糖尿病非常普遍的少数人群相关。 此外，这项新技术使生物诊断产品的易用性成为可能，这将使视力差和手眼协调能力有限的长期糖尿病患者受益，因为测试的执行是完全自动的，不需要将血液从手指针刺或手臂针刺转移到测试条上（所有现有产品都需要）。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a novel method of pumping and controlling fluid flow within microfluidic devices via surface nanostructures consisting of self-assembled monolayers containing covalently bound electrochemically active species. By controlling the surface energy (surface wettability) within the flow channels, fluid can be made to flow to the desired location within the device. Application of a low voltage (2 volts) switches the surface between hydrophilic and hydrophobic states. At this low voltage, silicon can be used to make the microdevices, in contrast to electro-osmotic pumping which requires glass, quartz, or plastic devices. Silicon is highly advantageous because unique ultraprecise low cost manufacturing methods have been developed by the electronics industry for silicon, which will lead to cost-effective manufacturing of the microfluidic device.Commercially, the compact integrated sensor devices emerging from this work will have widespread commercial use in clinical medicine, drug discovery, genetic testing and research, environmental monitoring, and military and antiterrorism security (monitoring pathogens, toxins, and nerve agents). In particular, these enhanced microfluidics can be combined with the unique silicon microneedle devices developed for painless one step diabetic glucose self-testing, relevant to minority populations in which diabetes is very prevalent. Additionally, the ease of use of biodiagnostic products made possible by this new technology will benefit long-term diabetics handicapped by poor eyesight and limited hand-eye coordination, because performance of a test is completely automatic requiring no transfer of blood from a fingerstick or armstick to a test strip (required in all current products).