A polymeric micro-optical interface for flow monitoring in biomicrofluidics

Complex-Order Models: A System Identification Point of View

The present paper proposes a framework for the systematic and fruitful application of complex-order operators for modeling and control applications. We emphasize that special care must be taken when using complex-order elements to ensure that their responses to real-valued stimuli are real-valued themselves. The proposed complex-order real-valued elements enable the seamless generalization of their conventional real and integer-order counterparts. We further demonstrate how any linear operator can be extended in much the same way as the differintegral, by “raising” it to a power of a complex order, while ensuring that its kernel remains real-valued. The applicability of our considerations is demonstrated by a model of a compressed natural gas injection system.

Microscopic Imaging Methods for Organ-on-a-Chip Platforms

Microscopic imaging is essential and the most popular method for in situ monitoring and evaluating the outcome of various organ-on-a-chip (OOC) platforms, including the number and morphology of mammalian cells, gene expression, protein secretions, etc. This review presents an overview of how various imaging methods can be used to image organ-on-a-chip platforms, including transillumination imaging (including brightfield, phase-contrast, and holographic optofluidic imaging), fluorescence imaging (including confocal fluorescence and light-sheet fluorescence imaging), and smartphone-based imaging (including microscope attachment-based, quantitative phase, and lens-free imaging). While various microscopic imaging methods have been demonstrated for conventional microfluidic devices, a relatively small number of microscopic imaging methods have been demonstrated for OOC platforms. Some methods have rarely been used to image OOCs. Specific requirements for imaging OOCs will be discussed in comparison to the conventional microfluidic devices and future directions will be introduced in this review.

Automatic Sorting System for Rigid Piezoelectric Transducer Wafers Used in Displacement Adjustment

Piezoelectric transducer wafers are usually used in pairs to adjust the resonant cavity length of the ring laser gyro. In practice, the paired wafers are required to have similar piezoelectric charge coefficient d₃₁. To handle the pairing operation in-batch, an automatic sorting system was developed on the basis of deformation measurement, which adopted a frame of a Cartesian-coordinate robot. The wafers were self-aligned in the vertical direction, and a vacuum holder was used to pick up, transfer, and then place them on thee testing desk one by one. The excitation voltage was loaded on the wafer by a specifically designed electrode, and the resulting micro deformation was measured by dual opposite inductive micrometers using the relative measurement principle. This particular electrode has the function of attitude self-adjustment and vacuum adsorption, which is conducive to loading the voltage reliably and protecting the wafer from undesired damage. Finally, the wafers were transported to different stock bins based on the measuring results. This system is suited to handle a mass of wafers by continuous processing on site for its high reliability and measurement consistency. The measurement accuracy, validated by laser interferometry, was better than 0.5 μm and the repeatability was superior to 0.1 μm.

Automation of the Leonardo da Vinci Machines

Leonardo da Vinci inventions and projects represent an intriguing starting point to remark the concept that innovation must be considered as a continuous route towards evolution in history. Some of the particular ideas and innovations presented by Leonardo da Vinci led us to formulate a link with automatic control. Selected models of the Leonardo da Vinci machines are presented in this paper, taking strictly into account the original mechanical schemes and working principles, but introducing modern low-cost control equipment, emphasizing the role of automatic control and that of electronic control devices, such as microcontrollers, sensors, and communication devices, to completely automate the Leonardo da Vinci machines. The approach outlined in the paper can be applied not only to other Leonardo machines but also to other mechanical equipment not necessarily designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Moreover, it is useful to remark that the approach followed in this paper can be very important also to introduce students, leading by example, to concepts typical of automation and for assisting in learning, keeping in mind the practical applications of advanced automation principles. The main research task of this paper is proving the efficacy of modern digital control techniques and teleoperation in strongly classical mechanical Leonardo machines, remarking that the projects of Leonardo are prompt to be efficiently controlled. This task could not be explored by Leonardo himself due to the lack of control technology. Moreover, the paper is addressed also to stimulate the young generations of engineers in joining classical mechanics with advanced technology. Therefore, the paper is also devoted to give focus on the fact that the Leonardo machines encompass all the key aspects of modern system engineering.

Nonlinear Position Control Using Only Position Feedback under Position Errors and Yaw Constraints for Air Bearing Planar Motors

In this paper, we propose a nonlinear position control using only position feedback to guarantee the tolerances for position tracking errors and yaw. In the proposed method, both mechanical and electrical dynamics are considered. The proposed method consists of the nonlinear position controller and nonlinear observer. The nonlinear position controller is designed by a backstepping procedure using the barrier Lyapunov function to satisfy the constraints of position error and yaw. The nonlinear observer is developed to estimate full state using only position feedback. The stability of the closed-loop system is proven using Lyapunov and input-to-state stabilities. Consequently, the proposed method satisfies the constraints of position error and yaw using only position feedback for the planar motor.

Generalized Single Stage Class C Amplifier: Analysis from the Viewpoint of Chaotic Behavior

This paper briefly describes a recent discovery that occurred during the study of the simplest mathematical model of a class C amplifier with a bipolar transistor. It is proved both numerically and experimentally that chaos can be observed in this simple network structure under three conditions: (1) the transistor is considered non-unilateral, (2) bias point provides cubic polynomial feedforward and feedback transconductance, and (3) the LC tank has very high resonant frequency. Moreover, chaos is generated by an autonomous class C amplifier; i.e., an isolated system without a driving force is analyzed. By the connection of a harmonic input signal, much more complex behavior can be observed. Additionally, due to the high degree of generalization of the amplifier cell, similar fundamental circuits can be ordinarily found as subparts of typical building blocks of a radio frequency signal path.

3D-Printed micro-optofluidic device for chemical fluids and cells detection

In this work, it is presented a micro-optofluidic flow detector used for on-chip biological and chemical samples investigation. It is made in Poly-dimethyl-siloxane using a master-slave approach based on the 3D-Printing techniques. The micro-optofluidic device is made by assembling a microfluidic T-junction with a micro-optical section that consists of two optical fiber insertions and a PDMS gold-spattered micro-waveguide. The working principle in the detection is based on a different light transmission correlated to the fluid interfering with the laser beam in a micro-channel section. The proposed solution allows to realize a PDMS micro-device taking the advantage of 3D- Printing and goes beyond the restriction in the material selection. The device's performances were tested in the fluids detection and in the evaluation of the cell concentrations. Additionally, the micro-device was used as a real-time two-phase fluids flow detector. The two-phases flows were successfully monitored in different experimental conditions, varying both hydrodynamic and optical external stimuli.

Real-Time Detection of Slug Velocity in Microchannels

Microfluidics processes play a central role in the design of portable devices for biological and chemical samples analysis. The bottleneck in this technological evolution is the lack of low cost detection systems and control strategies easily adaptable in different operative conditions, able to guarantee the processes reproducibility and reliability, and suitable for on-chip applications. In this work, a methodology for velocity detection of two-phase flow is presented in microchannels. The approach presented is based on a low-cost optical signals monitoring setup. The slug flow generated by the interaction of two immiscible fluids {air and water} in two microchannels was investigated. To verify the reliability of the detection systems, the flow nonlinearity was enhanced by using curved geometries and microchannel diameter greater than 100 μm. The optical signals were analyzed by using an approach in a time domain, to extract the slug velocity, and one in the frequency domain, to compute the slug frequency. It was possible to distinguish the water and air slugs velocity and frequency. A relation between these two parameters was also numerically established. The results obtained represent an important step in the design of non-invasive, low-cost portable systems for micro-flow analysis, in order to prove that the developed methodology was implemented to realize a platform, easy to be integrated in a System-on-a-Chip, for the real-time slug flow velocity detection. The platform performances were successfully validated in different operative conditions.

Emergent behaviors in RBCs flows in micro-channels using digital particle image velocimetry

The key points in the design of microfluidic Lab-On-a-Chips for blood tests are the simplicity of the microfluidic chip geometry, the portability of the monitoring system and the ease on-chip integration of the data analysis procedure. The majority of those, recently designed, have been used for blood separation, however their introduction, also, for pathological conditions diagnosis would be important in different biomedical contexts. To overcome this lack is necessary to establish the relation between the RBCs flow and blood viscosity changes in micro-vessels. For that, the development of methods to analyze the dynamics of the RBCs flows in networks of micro-channels becomes essential in the study of RBCs flows in micro-vascular networks. A simplification in the experimental set-up and in the approach for the data collection and analysis could contribute significantly to understand the relation between the blood non-Newtonian properties and the emergent behaviors in collective RBCs flows. In this paper, we have investigated the collective behaviors of RBCs in a micro-channel in unsteady conditions, using a simplified monitoring set-up and implementing a 2D image processing procedure based on the digital particle image velocimetry. Our experimental study consisted in the analysis of RBCs motions freely in the micro-channel and driven by an external pressure. Despite the equipment minimal complexity, the advanced signal processing method implemented has allowed a significant qualitative and quantitative classification of the RBCs behaviors and the dynamical characterization of the particles velocities along both the horizontal and vertical directions. The concurrent causes for the particles displacement as the base solution-particles interaction, particle-particle interaction, and the external force due to pressure gradient were accounted in the results interpretation. The method implemented and the results obtained represent a proof of concept toward the realization of a general-purpose microfluidic LOC device for in-vitro flow analysis of RBCs collective behaviors.

Microfluidic on-chip fluorescence-activated interface control system

A microfluidic dynamic fluorescence-activated interface control system was developed for lab-on-a-chip applications. The system consists of a straight rectangular microchannel, a fluorescence excitation source, a detection sensor, a signal conversion circuit, and a high-voltage feedback system. Aqueous NaCl as conducting fluid and aqueous glycerol as nonconducting fluid were introduced to flow side by side into the straight rectangular microchannel. Fluorescent dye was added to the aqueous NaCl to work as a signal representing the interface position. Automatic control of the liquid interface was achieved by controlling the electroosmotic effect that exists only in the conducting fluid using a high-voltage feedback system. A LABVIEW program was developed to control the output of high-voltage power supply according the actual interface position, and then the interface position is modified as the output of high-voltage power supply. At last, the interface can be moved to the desired position automatically using this feedback system. The results show that the system presented in this paper can control an arbitrary interface location in real time. The effects of viscosity ratio, flow rates, and polarity of electric field were discussed. This technique can be extended to switch the sample flow and droplets automatically.