Flow control in textile-based capillary-driven microfluidic platforms

基于织物的毛细管驱动微流体平台中的流量控制

• 批准号: RGPIN-2020-07071
• 负责人: MacDonald, Brendan
• 金额: $ 1.97万
• 依托单位: University of Ontario Institute of Technology
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=744022
• 关键词: Flow; control; textile; based; capillary

Access to reliable and timely diagnostic and environmental testing is crucial to ensure the health of people and the environment. Paper-based microfluidic tests enable users to perform their own testing instead of relying on trained personnel in labs, which vastly increases access to reliable testing. My group has developed paper-based arsenic tests for water testing in Bangladesh, and fabricated miniaturized features in paper-based platforms for allergy testing. Paper-based tests are user-friendly because the fluid flow is capillary-driven, which occurs automatically and enables the tests to be used without external devices, such as pumps. Textiles can also provide capillary-driven flow. Textiles are flexible materials made from a network of fibres formed by weaving, knitting, knotting, braiding, and other methods. There are several advantages to creating tests on textile platforms including strength and flexibility, the ability to create ordered and precise flow paths with fibre placement, the capability for coatings to alter the flow, compatibility with a wide range of fluids, and the simplicity and ubiquity of textile manufacturing around the world. Building on my group's success with paper-based microfluidic platforms, textiles present us with an exciting opportunity to create robust user-friendly tests with high precision and predictability. The objective of this research program is to expand the functionality of textile-based microfluidic test platforms by developing an understanding of the capillary-driven flow behaviour through ordered fibrous networks and to develop customized textiles to control this flow. This will be accomplished by 1) determining the influence of fibre spacing on the capillary-driven flow and using fibre patterns to provide controllable flow speeds, 2) analysing the influence of fibre types and treatments on the capillary-driven flow behaviour, and 3) examining the surface tension and capillary-driven flow behaviour of various fibre coatings. This program will then explore the application of the textile-based testing platforms for specific tests, particularly testing for recreational and illicit drugs. Anticipated Outcomes: The research supported by this grant will develop an understanding of capillary-driven flow through textile-based microfluidic platforms and develop simple methods to control the flow. Textile-based platforms can then be used to develop user-friendly tests for a wide range of diagnostic and environmental targets, with the compatibility enabling the testing of more substances than is currently possible. These tests will allow users to obtain critical and timely information about their health and the health of their surrounding environments, leading to improved health outcomes. The personnel trained under this program will acquire a valuable skillset in microfluidic test design and development that will make them suitable for careers in Canada's expanding biotech sector.

获得可靠，及时的诊断和环境测试对于确保人们和环境的健康至关重要。基于纸张的微流体测试使用户能够执行自己的测试，而不是依靠实验室中的训练有素的人员，从而大大增加了对可靠测试的访问。我的小组已经开发了基于纸张的砷测试，用于孟加拉国的水测试，并在基于纸张的平台中制造了微型化功能，用于过敏测试。基于纸张的测试是用户友好的，因为流体流是毛细管驱动的，它会自动发生，并使测试能够在没有外部设备（例如泵）的情况下使用。纺织品还可以提供毛细管驱动的流动。纺织品是由纤维网络制成的柔性材料，该材料由纤维网络制成，该网络由编织，编织，打结，编织和其他方法形成。在纺织平台上创建测试，包括强度和灵活性，具有纤维放置的有序和精确的流动路径，涂料改变流动的能力，与多种流体的兼容性以及全世界纺织品制造的简单性和普遍性。纺织品以纸质的微流体平台的成功为基础，它为我们提供了一个令人兴奋的机会，以高精度和可预测性创建强大的用户友好测试。该研究计划的目的是通过通过有序的纤维网络对毛细管驱动的流动行为的了解，扩大基于纺织品的微流体测试平台的功能，并开发自定义的纺织品以控制该流程。这将通过1）确定纤维间距对毛细管驱动流动的影响，并使用纤维模式提供可控的流速，2）分析纤维类型和处理对毛细管驱动流动行为的影响，以及3）检查各种光纤涂料的表面张力和毛细管流动行为。然后，该程序将探索基于纺织品的测试平台在特定测试中的应用，尤其是对娱乐和非法药物的测试。预期的结果：这笔赠款支持的研究将通过基于纺织品的微流体平台对毛细血管驱动的流程有所了解，并开发简单的方法来控制流动。然后，基于纺织品的平台可用于开发针对广泛的诊断和环境目标的用户友好测试，其兼容性使得能够比目前更多的物质进行测试。这些测试将使用户获得有关其健康及其周围环境健康的关键和及时信息，从而改善健康状况。根据该计划培训的人员将获得微流体测试设计和开发方面的宝贵技能，这将使它们适合加拿大不断扩大的生物技术领域的职业。