An on-site, reconfigurable, multi-sample microfluidic-platform for rapid parallel sample-manipulation

在对加拿大人的健康和福祉至关重要的许多领域，包括环境监测、医疗诊断、食品安全、法医学和基础生物学研究，进行生物和化学剂检测的能力至关重要。对快速、准确和廉价的高通量样品操作仪器的需求日益增长，用于检测来自以下方面的试剂：1)许多样品；和/或2)在单个样品中检测多种试剂。目前，这种大规模的分析是使用缓慢的传统实验室技术或大型桌面系统进行的。微流体技术是一种在亚毫米管中操纵小液体体积的技术，它在最小化仪器尺寸、样本量和成本方面提供了无与伦比的创新前景。然而，在许多微流体成功的同时

In many fields of importance to Canadians' health and well-being, including environmental monitoring, medical diagnostics, food safety, forensics, and basic biological research, the ability to perform biological and chemical agent detection is of paramount importance. There is a growing need for instruments for fast, accurate, and inexpensive sample manipulation with high-throughput for detection of agents from: 1) many samples; and/or 2) to detect multiple agents in a single sample. Currently, such large scale analysis is performed using slow conventional lab techniques or large table-top systems. Microfluidics technology, which is the manipulation of small liquid volumes in sub-millimetre tubes, offers unparalleled promise for innovation in minimizing instrument size, sample volume, and cost. However, while many successful microfluidic