Microfluidic Tools for Bioanalysis

微流体学是对具有微米级特征的微型制造设备中流体流动的研究和应用，由于减少了试剂消耗和分析时间，能够将多种功能集成到单个设备上，并具有高通量分析的潜力，因此受到化学家、工程师、生物学家、物理学家和临床医生的欢迎。在这里，我们建议开发一种依赖于一种特殊形式的微流体的新工具，即“数字微流体”(DMF)。在DMF中，通过在电极阵列上施加电动力来精确控制样品和试剂液滴的位置和体积。这份NSERC发现-拨款提案概述了一个广泛的研究计划，该计划以开发DMF启用的生物分析方法为主题，跨越两个流程：(1)将样品处理与检测相结合，以及(2)细胞培养与分析的整合。STREAM 1中描述的工作将导致实验室外部(使用便携式光度检测器实现免疫分析)和实验室内部(使用核磁共振光谱学等强大方法)的强大的新“样品输入、分析输出”技术。STREAM 2中描述的工作将使生命科学的研究人员能够提出与中风后中枢神经系统的再生、早期转移中的转录组变化以及最近观察到的细胞-细胞内陷现象有关的问题。因此，该计划将对基础科学和应用科学产生重大影响，为人类健康带来潜在的长期利益。也许同样重要的是，这笔赠款将直接支持6名研究生的培训，并将间接惠及其他几名研究生。这些受训人员将在积极的、跨学科的环境中接受指导，并将成为下一代加拿大科学家、发明家和就业创造者。

Microfluidics, the study and applications of fluid flow in microfabricated devices with micrometer-sized features, has become popular for chemists, engineers, biologists, physicists, and clinicians because of the advantages of reduced reagent consumption and analysis time, the capacity to integrate multiple functions onto a single device, and the potential for high-throughput analysis. Here, we propose to develop new tools relying on a particular form of microfluidics known as "digital microfluidics" (DMF). In DMF, the positions and volumes of sample and reagent droplets are precisely controlled through the application of electrodynamic forces on an array of electrodes. This NSERC Discovery-grant proposal outlines a broad research program unified by the theme of the development of DMF-enabled methods for bioanalysis, spanning two streams: (1) combining sample processing with detection, and (2) integration of cell culture and analysis. The work described in stream 1 will lead to powerful new "sample in, analysis out" techniques outside (implementing immunoassays with portable photometric detectors) and inside (using powerful methods like nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy) of the laboratory. The work described in stream 2 will enable investigators in the life sciences to ask questions related to regeneration in the central nervous system after stroke, transcriptome changes in early-stage metastasis, and the relatively recently observed phenomenon of cell-cell entosis. Thus, this program is poised to have significant impact on basic and applied science, with potential long-term benefits for human health. Perhaps equally as importantly, this grant will directly support the training of six graduate students and will indirectly benefit several others. These trainees will be mentored in a positive, interdisciplinary environment, and will emerge as the next generation of Canadian scientists, inventors, and job creators.