Position Sensitive Microfluidic Detector

描述（由申请人提供）：由低成本聚合物制成的微流控芯片是一种有前途的新兴技术，用于合成和研究新的分子成像探针。这些芯片可以包含各种微电路和微孔，并且能够操纵纳升的试剂和溶剂样品。微流控芯片已被设计用于多种应用，如细胞孵育和FDG合成。在微流控芯片上增加定量和成像少量放射性的能力可以为研究人员提供一个平台，以研究新的成像探针以及在受控的体外环境中使用放射性标记探针的分子过程。所提出的努力的总体目标是设计、构建和实现高性能位置敏感检测器，其可以与微流体芯片集成，用于检测和成像由在这些芯片中循环的流体中存在的放射性标记的探针发射的带电粒子。期望这些带电粒子的高灵敏度检测具有高空间分辨率沿着低的最小可检测活性。项目叙述拟议的研究将调查一种有前途的检测器技术，该技术应在医疗保健方面产生重大影响，特别是在开发用于人类疾病模型体外研究的新工具方面。这项研究可能有益的其他领域是：物理研究，材料研究，国土防御和非破坏性测试。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Microfluidic chips, fabricated from low cost polymers, are a promising, emerging technology for synthesis and study of new molecular imaging probes. These chips can contain a variety of microcircuitry and microwells and are capable of manipulating nanoliter samples of reagents and solvents. The microfluidic chips have been designed for a multitude of applications, such as cell incubation and FDG synthesis. Adding the ability to quantify and image low amounts of radioactivity on a microfluidic chip can provide researchers with a platform to investigate new imaging probes as well as molecular processes with radiolabeled probes in a controlled in- vitro environment. The overall goal of the proposed effort is to design, build and implement a high performance position sensitive detector that can be integrated with microfluidic chips for detection and imaging of charged particles emitted by the radiolabeled probes present in the fluids circulating in these chips. High sensitivity detection of these charged particles is desired with high spatial resolution along with low minimum detectable activity.4. Project Narrative The proposed research will investigate a promising detector technology which should have a major impact in health care, in particular, in the development of a new tool for in- vitro studies of human disease models. Other areas to which this research could be of benefit are: physics research, materials studies, homeland defense, and non-destructive testing.