Dynamics of individual polymers using microfluidic based microcurvilinear flow

Analogy among microfluidics, micromechanics, and microelectronics

We wish to illuminate the analogous link between microfluidic-based devices, and the already established pairing of micromechanics and microelectronics to create a triangular/three-way scientific relationship as a means of interlinking familial disciplines and accomplishing two primary goals: (1) to facilitate the modeling of multidisciplinary domains; and, (2) to enable us to co-simulate the entire system within a compact circuit simulator (e.g., Cadence or SPICE). A microfluidic channel-like structure embedded in a micro-electro-mechanical resonator via our proposed CMOS-MEMS technology is used to illustrate the connections among microfluidics, micromechanics, and microelectronics.

Rapid analytical methods for on-site triage for traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results from an event that causes rapid acceleration and deceleration of the brain or penetration of the skull with an object. Responses to stimuli and questions, loss of consciousness, and altered behavior are symptoms currently used to justify brain imaging for diagnosis and therapeutic guidance. Tests based on such symptoms are susceptible to false-positive and false-negative results due to stress, fatigue, and medications. Biochemical markers of neuronal damage and the physiological response to that damage are being identified. Biosensors capable of rapid measurement of such markers in the circulation offer a solution for on-site triage, as long as three criteria are met: (a) Recognition reagents can be identified that are sufficiently sensitive and specific, (b) the biosensor can provide quantitative assessment of multiple markers rapidly and simultaneously, and (c) both the sensor and reagents are designed for use outside the laboratory.

Microfluidic systems for single DNA dynamics

Recent advances in microfluidics have enabled the molecular-level study of polymer dynamics using single DNA chains. Single polymer studies based on fluorescence microscopy allow for the direct observation of non-equilibrium polymer conformations and dynamical phenomena such as diffusion, relaxation, and molecular stretching pathways in flow. Microfluidic devices have enabled the precise control of model flow fields to study the non-equilibrium dynamics of soft materials, with device geometries including curved channels, cross-slots, and microfabricated obstacles and structures. This review explores recent microfluidic systems that have advanced the study of single polymer dynamics, while identifying new directions in the field that will further elucidate the relationship between polymer microstructure and bulk rheological properties.