Microfluidic and Nanofluidic Biotechnologies for Applications in the Health Sciences

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The nature of disease, from its biological origins to its identification and management in patients, is inherently complex. Advances in the development of novel biophysical analytical capabilities provide researchers access to new insight into the biological origins of disease, while empowering doctors with more efficient diagnostics tools and treatment options. This Discovery program is aimed at developing new microfluidic biotechnologies that mitigate the shortcomings of existing analytical platforms by exploiting micro- and nano-scale phenomena. While microfluidic devices capable of performing complex sample manipulation procedures can mitigate efficiency and reproducibility issues associated with standard laboratory practices, the integration of on-chip analytical capabilities (biosensors) greatly enhances functionality. These so-called “labs-on-a-chip” are capable of complex sample processing while on-chip detectors or biosensors provide feedback. This multidisciplinary research program will explore three complementary themes, by proposing the development of microfluidic platforms that provide insight into the behavior of diseased cells, and that lead to new disease diagnostics and cell-based treatment opportunities. Specifically, a microfluidic volume sensor capable of trapping and tracking the size of individual cells will be developed and used to quantify cellular growth rate with respect to genetic abnormalities and disease state. Abnormalities in the growth rate of cancer cells are well-known to lead to tumor development. This microfluidic platform will further enable the correlation of growth rate of diseased cells under the influence of various chemotoxic agents (drugs). For diagnostics applications, nanopore sensors integrated within the microfluidic platform will be used to detect disease-related biomarkers (proteins). With single molecule sensitivity, nanopore sensors are capable of highly multiplexed detection of proteins when combined with novel biochemical assays. When integrated with microfluidics, performance can be enhanced while leading the way towards a truly portable point-of-care diagnostics platform. Thirdly, motivated by cell-based regenerative medicine applications, a microfluidic technology capable of encapsulating stem and progenitor cells will be developed. By encapsulating cells in specially formulated hydrogels, we expect to significantly increase cell viability, engraftment and treatment efficacy. While this research program focuses on microfluidic technology development, the work is clearly motivated by specific biomedical applications. In fact, we maintain several synergistic collaborations with other researchers and industrial partners that allow graduate students to hone their skills in applied biophysics (technology development) while providing multidisciplinary impact. In the long-term, this work will not only provide innovations in analytical microfluidic technologies but also seeks to improve the health of Canadians.