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

能够进行快速自动生化分析的低成本、便携式芯片实验室系统可以影响各种各样的应用，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（医学诊断、新生儿筛查、DNA指纹识别）、体外生物分子生产（例如，肝素）和生物化学传感（病原体检测、空气和水监测、化学爆炸物检测）。 由于阵列上甚至数十个液滴的同时协调非常难以手动编程，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，这将是数字微流体系统技术的自动化使能者。与数字微流体硬件集成的液滴协调算法将为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。 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用于控制设备的算法，并应用这些设备。 拟议的研究将开发专门的路由和调度算法，用于微流控生物芯片上的液滴协调。 设计可扩展的网格布局和液滴协调算法，跨不同的硬件实现的一般原则将被开发。这些算法将使数字微流体系统的操作更加稳健和用户友好，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。 拟议的研究将涉及本科生和研究生的研究，并将纳入研究所教授的研究生课程。推广活动包括课后乐高机器人活动和与RPI的大学预科教育倡议中心合作为中学生举办的机器人夏令营。

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.