OPTOFLUIDICS FOR NEXT GENERATION OF LABORATORY-ON-A-CHIP

0701729丹尼尔·阿廷格，哥伦比亚大学下一代芯片上的光流体技术智力优势：拟议中的研究将把多功能和超快的光学传感器与极其有效的流体处理技术集成到微流体芯片中。这些光流体芯片将执行化学和生物学所必需的任务，如混合、纯化和蛋白质吸附。这些任务将以前所未有的频率执行和监测，接近MHz的速率。该项目的创新之处在于，基于最先进的高品质因数光学纳米结构谐振器，开发出尺寸仅为几微米的通用集成传感器，并基于新型界面和分段流动技术开发出快速流体混合技术。流体处理的小型化和集成化方面的显著进步允许大型-在所谓的微流控芯片中规模集成数千个微通道和阀门，用于新的化学和生物应用，如颗粒合成和基因组分析。在当前的微流控芯片中，操作频率受到基于扩散的混合的限制;此外，传感方法缓慢且庞大，许多需要显微镜和可视化设置。所提出的光流控芯片，集成了高分辨率的光学传感器与快速的微流控能力，预计将有助于显着提高微流控芯片的处理能力，以类似的方式，集成晶体管提高了微电子芯片的处理能力。这个跨学科研究的教育部分涉及理论和数值设计，器件微和纳米制造，以及流体和光学实验。该计划将支持两名研究生和本科生夏季研究经验（REU）活动。它涉及应用物理，机械，电气和生物医学工程的跨界主题。将为K-12学校教师开发有关光流体、微流体和光学传感器的具体教育模块，并通过两个夏季讲习班向纽约大都市地区、布朗克斯和哈莱姆的少数民族和代表性不足的学生介绍这些模块。

0701729Daniel Attinger, Columbia UniversityOptofluidics for Next Generation of Laboratory-On-A-ChipIntellectual Merit: The proposed research will integrate versatile and ultrafast optical sensors with extremely efficient fluid handling techniques into microfluidic chips. These optofluidics chips will perform tasks essential to chemistry and biology, such as mixing, purification, and protein adsorption. These tasks will be executed and monitored at unprecedented frequencies, close to MHz rates. The innovations of the project will be to develop universal integrated sensors with a footprint of a few micrometers, based on state-of-the-art high quality factor optical nanostructured resonators, and to develop fast fluidic mixing based on novel interfacial and segmented flow techniques.Broader Impact: Remarkable advances in the miniaturization and integration of fluid handling have allowed large-scale integration of thousands of microchannels and valves in so-called microfluidic chips for novel chemical and biological applications, such as particle synthesis and genomic analysis. In current microfluidic chips, the operation frequencies are limited by diffusion-based mixing; also, sensing methods are slow and bulky, many requiring a microscope and visualization setup. The proposed optofluidics chips, integrating high-resolution optical sensors with fast microfluidic capabilities, are expected to contribute significantly to increase the processing power of microfluidic chips, in a similar way that integrated transistors have improved the processing power of microelectronic chips. The educational components of this interdisciplinary research involve theory and numerical design, device micro- and nano-fabrication, as well as fluidic and optical experiments. This program will support two graduate students and summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) activities. It involves cross-boundary topics in Applied Physics, Mechanical, Electrical and Biomedical Engineering. Specific education modules on optofluidics, microfluidics and optical sensors will be developed for K-12 school teachers and presented through two summer workshops for minorities and underrepresented students around the New York metropolitan area, in the Bronx and Harlem.