Development of a lab-on-chip nitrate and nitrite system for natural waters

这项研究将利用微流控系统和芯片实验室设备来现场传感深海部署中的硝酸盐和亚硝酸盐。微型全分析系统和芯片实验室技术的概念始于20世纪90年代初，起源于生物医学/保健研究，并创造了像雅培保健点I-STAT这样具有影响力和行业变革的结果。这些微细加工系统结合了广泛的技术，通常集成了光学、流量控制和电子技术。传感器基于微米大小的通道网络，自然有助于降低试剂和功耗，以及减小物理尺寸。然而，很少有芯片实验室系统的设计意图是在原地、或在深海中部署，或用于长时间的任务。大多数微流控系统是为标准压力和温度范围设计的，大多数系统在实验室工作台上只运行几分钟/小时。在使用芯片实验室技术来创建用于水环境的营养分析仪方面，已经有一些开创性的努力。这些努力已经进行了近十年，但还没有广泛的商业产品。RBR有限公司希望在创造芯片实验室技术方面获得知识和经验，并成为世界上第一个将针对科学海洋界和环境监测行业的微流控营养物分析仪商业化的公司。我们计划解决阻碍这项前景看好的技术大规模采用的关键光学和流体处理挑战。RBR有限公司在设计和制造适用于环境、地球物理和海洋监测的坚固耐用的高精度海洋仪器方面拥有42年的成功历史。我们与西本教授和他在达尔豪西的合作者们的目标是创造一种紧凑型芯片实验室硝酸盐/亚硝酸盐传感器。这将极大地改变目前获取硝酸盐/亚硝酸盐通量数据以及了解人类活动对沿海和海洋生态系统的影响的做法。

This study will utilize microfluidic systems and lab-on-a-chip devices for sensing nitrate and nitrite in situ for deep ocean deployments. The concept of micro-total-analysis systems and lab-on-chip technology was started in the early 1990s, and originated in biomedical/healthcare research and created impactful and industry-shifting results like the Abbott Point of Care i-STAT. These microfabricated systems combine a wide-range of technologies and often integrate optics, flow control, and electronics. The sensors are based on networks of micrometer sized channels and naturally lend themselves toward lower reagent and power consumption, as well as reduced physical size. However, very few lab-on-chip systems have been designed with the intention of deployment in situ, or in the deep ocean, or for long mission durations. Most microfluidic systems are designed for standard pressure and temperature ranges, and most only operate for a few minutes/hours on a laboratory bench. There have been a few pioneering efforts on using lab-on-a-chip technologies to create nutrient analyzers for aquatic environments. These efforts have been ongoing for nearly a decade and yet there are no wide-spread commercial offerings. RBR Ltd. would like to gain knowledge and experience in the creation of lab-on-chip technologies and be the first world-wide to commercialize a microfluidic nutrient analyzer targeting the scientific oceanography community and the environmental monitoring industry. We plan on addressing the key optical and fluid handling challenges that have hindered the dramatic adoption of this promising technology. RBR Ltd. has a successful 42-year history of designing and manufacturing rugged and high precision oceanographic instrumentation suitable for environmental, geophysical, and oceanographic monitoring. Our target, with Professor Sieben and his collaborators at Dalhousie, would be the creation of a compact lab-on-chip nitrate/nitrite sensor. This would be highly transformative to current practices in acquiring data on nitrate/nitrite flux and on understanding anthropogenic impacts on the coastal and ocean ecosystem.