Optofluidic lab-on-a-chip devices

该项目的目标是开发新的制造和模拟方法，用于先进的多功能嵌入式光学芯片实验室设备，或“光生物芯片”，以及将使用它们的智能诊断仪器。将光学分布置于生物芯片内部的固有优势是，依靠光学分析的便携式、多功能分析仪器无法通过传统的外部散装光学系统来实现。短期目标是开发微工程技术，用于制造先进而廉价的光生物芯片，该芯片可广泛应用于商业应用；例如，饮用水中的病原体检测、食物的营养分析或从血液中提取稀有细胞。挑战在于将光学和流体功能结合在同一个多级器件中。我们实验室最近的工作已经证明，在夹在结构层和光学包层之间的薄复制层中制造薄的光和流体引导通道是可能的。下一步将在光流体层中添加光路由（外部耦合、反射镜、透镜等）和流体控制（泵送、阀门、开关）。我们未来工作的新方面将是开发多功能芯片，其中光信号在与流体通道不同的平面上传播。这允许许多通道用更少的光源同时操作。这些特性的成功开发将导致廉价但功能强大的芯片实验室设备的可用性。

The goal of this project is to develop novel fabrication and simulation methods for advanced, multifunctional lab-on-chip devices with imbedded optics, or "opto-biochips" and intelligent diagnostic instruments that will use them. The inherent advantage to putting optical distribution inside biochips is that portable, multi-functional analysis instruments that depend on optical analysis cannot be realized with traditional external bulk optical systems. The short-term goal is to develop micro-engineering techniques for the fabrication of advanced, yet inexpensive, opto-biochips that can be applied to a wide range of commercial applications; for example, pathogen detection in drinking water, nutritional analysis of foods or the extraction of rare cells from blood. The challenge is to combine optical AND fluidic functionality in the same multi-level device. Recent work in our lab has demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate thin light- and fluid-guiding channels in thin, replicated layers sandwiched between structural and optical cladding layers. The next steps will be adding optical routing (external coupling, mirrors, lenses, etc.) and fluid control (pumping, valves, switching) into the opto-fluidic layer. The novel aspect of our future work will be the development of multifunctional chips in which the optical signals travel in a different plane from the fluid channels. This allows many channels to operate simultaneously with fewer light sources. Successful development of these features will lead to the availability of inexpensive but highly functional lab-on-a-chip devices.