Optofluidic lab-on-a-chip devices

该项目的目标是为先进的多功能芯片上实验室设备开发新的制造和模拟方法，这些设备带有嵌入的光学元件或“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的固有优势是，依赖于光学分析的便携式多功能分析仪器不能用传统的外部整体光学系统实现。短期目标是开发微工程技术，以制造先进但廉价的光生物芯片，这些芯片可应用于广泛的商业应用；例如，饮用水中的病原体检测、食品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多级设备中。我们实验室最近的工作表明，有可能在夹在结构层和光学覆层之间的薄层复制层中制造薄光和流体引导通道。下一步将是添加光路由(外部耦合、反射镜、透镜等)。和流体控制(泵送、阀门、切换)进入光流体层。我们未来工作的新方面将是开发多功能芯片，在其中光信号在与流体通道不同的平面上传输。这允许用更少的光源同时操作多个通道。这些功能的成功开发将导致廉价但功能强大的芯片实验室设备的问世。

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.