IDBR: TYPE B: Microfluidic building blocks for bioinstrumentation

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An award is made to the University of California, Riverside to develop "microfluidic building blocks," a library of parts that can be connected to build custom microfluidic instruments quickly and easily. Microfluidics (the manipulation of fluids on the microliter scale) has enabled important applications in the biological and health sciences, but currently each of these applications uses a custom-made microfluidic "chip" designed and fabricated by a specialist trained in the art of microfabrication using costly and specialized equipment. This highly custom nature of microfluidics has slowed the spread of microfluidic technologies into new applications in the biological sciences. The "microfluidic building blocks" developed in this project enable non-experts to rapidly build custom instruments for their own research needs. Each block performs an elementary microfluidic function like valving, mixing, storing fluids, measuring cell size, or measuring optical density. Using standardized interfaces, the blocks can be literally "clicked together" to build a custom microfluidic instrument without specialized training or equipment. Through collaborations with colleagues in several different fields at UC Riverside and journal and conference presentations in their respective fields, microfluidic building blocks will be disseminated across the bioscience community.By allowing any scientist or engineer to assemble custom microfluidic instruments without specialized training or equipment, microfluidic building blocks have the potential to accelerate research progress throughout science and engineering. In resource-limited areas, doctors and nurses could use a supply of microfluidic building blocks to construct diagnostic or therapeutic instruments tailored for their own unique needs. Additionally, as educational tools, microfluidic building blocks could enhance science and engineering curricula from grade school through university. By assembling blocks into working instruments that accomplish certain tasks, students can learn principles of physics, chemistry, and biology. In summary, microfluidic building blocks have the potential to both enhance existing research in science and technology and prepare the next generation of the STEM workforce.