Collaborative Research: Programmable Microfluidics: A Universal Substrate for Biological Computing

合作研究：可编程微流体：生物计算的通用基础

• 批准号: 0541319
• 负责人: Saman Amarasinghe
• 金额: $ 37.5万
• 依托单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-06-15 至 2009-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0541319&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Programmable; Microfluidics; Universal

ABSTRACT0541319Saman P. AmarasingheMITCollaborative Research: Programmable Microfluidics: A Universal Substrate for Biological ComputingAs fundamental technological limits are beginning to limit the progress of traditional silicon-based computers, biology offers exciting possibilities for building the next generation of computers using the molecular machinery of life to perform computations. While scientists have demonstrated that DNA and cellular processes can be leveraged to perform computations, all experiments to date have been done by hand at a laboratory bench. For biological computing to come into the mainstream, there needs to be a standalone device that can automatically execute the biological protocols and provide a traditional interface to computer programmers and end users.In this research, an inter-disciplinary team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University will collaborate to produce the first programmable chip that can support biological computing. The chip will rely on microfluidics: a technology for manipulating picoliter-quantities of fluids throughout the stages of a biological protocol. In addition to advancing the state-of-the-art in automated fluid transport and manipulation, this "lab-on-a-chip" system will include a new programming language and software system to allow everyday programmers to easily utilize the device. As a demonstration, the microfluidic chip will be applied in a novel study on the response of mammalian cells to complex input signals.Beyond biological computing, a self-contained lab-on-a-chip system can have many ground-breaking applications such as multi-purpose home diagnostic machines and fast drug discovery using automated protocols. The Primary Investigators in this research are Prof. Saman Amarasinghe (MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science), Prof. Todd Thorsen (MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering), and Prof. Jeremy Gunawardena (Department of Systems Biology, Harvard University).

摘要0541319Saman P. Amarasinghe麻省理工学院合作研究：可编程微流体：生物计算的通用基础随着基本技术限制开始限制传统硅基计算机的进步，生物学为使用生命分子机制来执行计算构建下一代计算机提供了令人兴奋的可能性。虽然科学家已经证明 DNA 和细胞过程可用于执行计算，但迄今为止所有实验都是在实验室工作台上手工完成的。要使生物计算成为主流，需要有一个独立的设备，可以自动执行生物协议，并为计算机程序员和最终用户提供传统的界面。在这项研究中，来自麻省理工学院和哈佛大学的跨学科团队将合作生产第一个可以支持生物计算的可编程芯片。该芯片将依赖于微流体技术：一种在生物方案的各个阶段操纵皮升量流体的技术。除了推进自动流体传输和操纵领域的最先进技术之外，这种“芯片实验室”系统还将包括一种新的编程语言和软件系统，使日常程序员能够轻松使用该设备。作为演示，微流控芯片将应用于哺乳动物细胞对复杂输入信号响应的新颖研究。除了生物计算之外，独立的芯片实验室系统还可以具有许多突破性的应用，例如多功能家用诊断机和使用自动化协议的快速药物发现。 这项研究的主要研究人员是 Saman Amarasinghe 教授（麻省理工学院电气工程与计算机科学系）、Todd Thorsen 教授（麻省理工学院机械工程系）和 Jeremy Gunawardena 教授（哈佛大学系统生物学系）。