SGER: Liquid Crystal Chemical Valves

在这项由化学部分析和表面化学（ASC）项目资助的探索性研究（SGER）小额资助中，西弗吉尼亚大学的Holland教授及其同事将开发一种新技术，通过改变外部刺激下的液晶形态来指导芯片实验室设备中的流体动力学流动。利用液晶介质控制流体流动将提供一种基于温度、磁场和电场变化的灵活的化学阀门控制手段。新开发的化学阀将取代目前的机械阀，用于芯片上的流体控制。这将大大提高它们的实用性，并使先进的微流体全分析系统的制造成为可能。

In this Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER) funded by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry (ASC) program of the Chemistry Division Prof. Holland of the University of West Virginia and co-workers will develop a new technique to direct hydrodynamic flow in lab-on-a-chip devices by changing liquid crystal morphology with external stimuli. Control of fluid flow with liquid crystal media will offer a flexible means of chemical valving which will be based on temperature, magnetic field, and electric field changes . The newly developed chemical valves will replace current mechanical valving for fluidic control on chips. This will greatly increase their utility and enable the fabrication of advanced microfluidic total analysis systems.