III-CXT: Enabling Automated Digital Microfluidic Biochips for Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Screening

能够进行快速自动化生化分析的低成本、便携式芯片实验室系统可以影响广泛的应用，包括生物研究(基因组学、蛋白质组学、糖组学、药物发现)、遗传分析(医疗诊断、新生儿筛查、DNA指纹)、体外生物分子生产(如肝素)和生化传感(病原体检测、空气和水监测、化学爆炸物检测)。由于即使是阵列上数十个液滴的同时协调也极难手动编程，因此自动实现数百甚至数千个液滴的灵活协调的算法至关重要。该项目将开发算法，这些算法将成为数字微流控系统技术的自动化使能。液滴协调算法与数字微流控硬件相结合，将对使用纳升液滴的生化反应提供前所未有的空间和时间控制。一个由计算机科学家、生物化学家和生物医学工程师组成的跨学科团队将开发控制设备的算法，并应用这些设备。这项拟议的研究将开发专门的路线和调度算法，用于协调微流控生物芯片上的液滴。将开发设计可扩展网格布局和液滴协调算法的一般原则，这些算法可以在不同的硬件实现中工作。这些算法将实现数字微流控系统的强大和用户友好的操作，为最终用户提供灵活性，并能够对反应进行精确的空间和时间控制。拟议的研究将包括本科生和研究生参与研究，并将纳入私人投资促进机构教授的研究生课程。外展活动包括课后乐高机器人活动和中学生暑期机器人夏令营，与RPI的大学前教育倡议中心合作。

Low-cost, portable lab-on-a-chip systems capable of rapid automated biochemical analysis can impact a wide variety of applications including biological research (genomics, proteomics, glycomics, drug discovery), genetic analysis (medical diagnostics, newborn screening, DNA fingerprinting), in vitro biomolecule production (e.g., heparin), and biochemical sensing (pathogen detection, air and water monitoring, chemical explosives detection). Since the simultaneous coordination of even tens of droplets on the array is extremely difficult to program manually, algorithms to automatically enable the flexible coordination of hundreds or even thousands of droplets are essential. This project will develop algorithms that will be the automation enabler of digital microfluidic system technology. The droplet coordination algorithms, integrated with digital microfluidic hardware, will provide unprecedented spatial and temporal control over biochemical reactions using nanoliter droplets. An interdisciplinary team of computer scientists, biochemists, and biomedical engineers will develop algorithms for the control of devices, and apply these devices. The proposed research will develop specialized routing and scheduling algorithms for the coordination of droplets on a microfluidic biochip. General principles for designing scalable grid layouts and droplet coordination algorithms that work across different hardware implementations will be developed. The algorithms will enable robust and user friendly operation of digital microfluidics systems, offering end users flexibility and the ability to exercise precise spatial and temporal control over reactions. The proposed research will involve undergraduate and graduate students in research, and will be integrated into graduate courses taught by the PIs. Outreach activities include after-school Lego robotics activities and summer robotics camps for middle school students in collaboration with RPI's Center for Initiatives in Pre-College Education.