Enabling Light-Driven Microfluidics with Laser Streaming

通过激光流实现光驱动微流体

• 批准号: 1932734
• 负责人: Dong Liu
• 金额: $ 37.84万
• 依托单位: University of Houston
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-09-01 至 2023-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1932734&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Enabling; Light; Driven; Microfluidics; Laser

Microfluidics deals with flow of small volumes of fluids in a network of tiny channels. Microfluidic devices have the potential to transform several fields including medicine and healthcare, from drug delivery to cancer treatment. Similar to the piping system in your house, the function of a microfluidic device relies on pumps and valves. Because of their small dimensions, such components are complex and costly to fabricate. This is considered a bottle-neck to the wide-spread use of microfluidics. As a novel solution, light-driven microfluidics uses light to drive and control the flow. At present, the light-based methods only work with special types of fluids that do not even include water. This project will create a new approach, called laser streaming, to make the light-driving method in microfluidics possible for all types of fluids. Through this project, training opportunities will be offered to students, from K-12 to graduate levels, to prepare them for future STEM careers. The goal of this project is to lay the scientific and technological foundation for laser streaming by elucidating the underlying physics, addressing the tunability of light-matter interactions, and demonstrating its efficacy for microfluidic operations. This project will focus on four specific aims: (i) Experimentally validating the hypothesis that laser streaming is the synergy of laser-induced photoacoustics and Eckart-type acoustic streaming with resort to particle image velocimetry and acoustic measurements, (ii) Numerically modeling the multi-physical processes involving photothermal, thermoelastic and acoustic streaming interactions, (iii) Developing optical methods to modulate light-to-sound energy conversion and optimize the controllability of laser streaming flow by using laser-induced grating techniques, and (iv) Experimentally showcasing the efficacy of laser streaming in microfluidic pumping, mixing and valving operations. On the practical aspect, this work will unleash light-driven microfluidics from its fundamental constraints for practical applications in a myriad of industries. On the intellectual aspect, this project will set the cornerstone for a new discipline called opto-acoustofluidics, which may go beyond conventional optofluidics and acoustofluidics to foster various new opportunities in science and engineering.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

微流体处理小体积流体在微小通道网络中的流动。微流体设备有可能改变包括医学和医疗保健在内的多个领域，从药物输送到癌症治疗。与您家中的管道系统类似，微流体设备的功能依赖于泵和阀门。由于它们的小尺寸，这样的部件复杂且制造成本高。这被认为是微流体广泛使用的瓶颈。作为一种新的解决方案，光驱动微流体使用光来驱动和控制流动。目前，基于光的方法仅适用于甚至不包括水的特殊类型的流体。该项目将创建一种称为激光流的新方法，使微流体中的光驱动方法适用于所有类型的流体。通过这个项目，将为学生提供培训机会，从K-12到研究生水平，为他们未来的STEM职业做好准备。该项目的目标是通过阐明基础物理学，解决光-物质相互作用的可调谐性，并证明其对微流体操作的有效性，为激光流奠定科学和技术基础。该项目将侧重于四个具体目标：（i）借助粒子图像测速和声学测量，实验验证激光流是激光诱导光声和声学流协同作用的假设，（iii）发展光学方法，以调制光-声能量转换，并利用激光诱导光栅技术优化激光流的可控性，以及（iv）实验性地展示激光流在微流体泵送、混合和阀门操作中的功效。在实践方面，这项工作将使光驱动微流体从其基本限制中解放出来，用于无数行业的实际应用。在智力方面，该项目将为一门名为光声流控的新学科奠定基石，该学科可能超越传统的光声流控和声流控，为科学和工程提供各种新的机会。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Photoacoustic laser streaming with non-plasmonic metal ion implantation in transparent substrates

透明基板中非等离子体金属离子注入的光声激光流

• DOI: 10.1364/oe.430025
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Optics Express
• 影响因子: 3.8
• 作者: Ai, Xin;Lin, Feng;Tong, Tian;Chen, Di;Yue, Shuai;Mohebinia, Mohammadjavad;Napagoda, Jayahansa;Qiu, Yunao;Tong, Xin;Yu, Peng
• 通讯作者: Yu, Peng

Microfluidic Pumps with Laser Streaming from Tips of Optical Fibers and Sewing Needles

• DOI: 10.1002/adom.202201534
• 发表时间: 2022-10-09
• 期刊: ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS
• 影响因子: 9
• 作者: Tong, Tian;Yue, Shuai;Bao, Jiming
• 通讯作者: Bao, Jiming