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Proceedings ArticleDOI

Design and Development of Microfluidic Based Dielectric Sensors for Biomedical Applications

TL;DR: In this paper, a microfluidic device capable of sensing even fraction of pico Farad capacitive change is proposed, which is used for fluid concentration identification and characterization based on the dielectric permittivity.
Abstract: A microfluidic device capable of sensing even fraction of pico Farad capacitive change is proposed. Purpose of the developed device is fluid concentration identification and characterization on the basis of the dielectric permittivity. A microchannel, realized on Silicon layer, below a sensing capacitor formed by electrodes sputter printed on a glass substrate. Fluids inside the microchannel affects the capacitance that is measured by a standard electronic interface system. Experimental results obtained for different fluids injected in the microchannel demonstrate the ability of the system to differentiate the fluids and estimate their dielectric permittivity both as pure samples and as mixtures at varying concentration of solute fractions. This makes the device a promising building block for fluid mixing monitoring in microfluidic systems.
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A highly integrated microfluidic chip with the function of DNA amplification is demonstrated, which has the advantages of small size with a high degree of integration, high polymerase chain reaction efficiency, digital control and simple fabrication at low cost.
Abstract: We demonstrate a highly integrated microfluidic chip with the function of DNA amplification. The integrated chip combines giant electrorheological-fluid actuated micromixer and micropump with a microheater array, all formed using soft lithography. Internal functional components are based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and silver/carbon black-PDMS composites. The system has the advantages of small size with a high degree of integration, high polymerase chain reaction efficiency, digital control and simple fabrication at low cost. This integration approach shows promise for a broad range of applications in chemical synthesis and biological sensing/analysis, as different components can be combined to target desired functionalities, with flexible designs of different microchips easily realizable through soft lithography.

55 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Yuksel Temiz1, Emmanuel Delamarche1
TL;DR: A simple, yet efficient method for monitoring liquid displacement in microfluidic chips using capacitive sensing and a compact, low-cost, and battery-powered device communicating with a smartphone is implemented.
Abstract: The ever-increasing need for portable, easy-to-use, cost-effective, and connected point-of-care diagnostics (POCD) has been one of the main drivers of recent research on lab-on-a-chip (LoC) devices. A majority of these devices use microfluidics to manipulate precisely samples and reagents for bioanalysis. However, filling microfluidic devices with liquid can be prone to failure. For this reason, we have implemented a simple, yet efficient method for monitoring liquid displacement in microfluidic chips using capacitive sensing and a compact (75 mm × 30 mm × 10 mm), low-cost ($60), and battery-powered (10-hour autonomy) device communicating with a smartphone. We demonstrated the concept using a capillary-driven microfluidic chip comprising two equivalent flow paths, each with a total volume of 420 nL. Capacitance measurements from a pair of electrodes patterned longitudinally along the flow paths yielded 17 pL resolution in monitoring liquid displacement at a sampling rate of 1 data/s (~1 nL/min resolution in the flow rate). We characterized the system using human serum, biological buffers, and water, and implemented an algorithm to provide real-time information on flow conditions occurring in a microfluidic chip and interactive guidance to the user.

40 citations


"Design and Development of Microflui..." refers background in this paper

  • ...and biological application has gain enough attraction [1-2]....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a microfluidic device with embedded capacitive sensing is proposed for fluid discrimination and characterization in a microchannel on the basis of the dielectric permittivity.
Abstract: A microfluidic device with embedded capacitive sensing is proposed. The purpose of the device is fluid discrimination and characterization in a microchannel on the basis of the dielectric permittivity. The device is fabricated in a hybrid cost-effective technology which innovatively combines PDMS (PolyDiMethylSiloxane) soft photolithography and screen printing techniques. A microchannel, realized in a PDMS layer, is placed in the field of a sensing capacitor formed by electrodes screen-printed on a glass substrate. Fluids inside the microchannel affect the capacitance, that is in the order of femtofarads, which is measured by a tailored electronic interface system. The electronic system features a sensitivity of 100 V/pF and a resolution threshold of 0.06 fF. Experimental results obtained for different fluids injected in the microchannel demonstrate the ability of the system to discriminate the fluids and to estimate their dielectric permittivity both as pure samples and as mixtures at varying solute fractions. This makes the device a promising building block for fluid mixing monitoring in microfluidic systems.

33 citations


"Design and Development of Microflui..." refers background in this paper

  • ...The dielectric permittivity of different fluids or mixtures affects the capacitance of the electrode [7], which is the parameters being mesaured in our case to estimate the dielectric constant of different fluids....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The development of a microfluidic device capable of maintaining the long-term culture of viable tissue biopsies will enable evaluation of cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions within multi-cellular systems.
Abstract: This communication reports the development of a microfluidic device capable of maintaining the long-term culture of viable tissue biopsies. Tissue-based models will enable evaluation of cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions within multi-cellular systems. The device demonstrated is a prototype, fabricated with the capacity to receive biopsy samples up to 2 mm3, from various tissue sources. Presently, this system has been tested with human colorectal tissue biopsies, for periods in excess of 3 days. The response of normal colorectal tissue and neoplastic biopsies to hypoxia was assayed by the release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) into the media, which was measured off-chip. As anticipated, the hypoxia induced a greater VEGF response in the tumour biopsies than the non-malignant tissue.

32 citations


"Design and Development of Microflui..." refers background in this paper

  • ...These devices can be made of one or more channel where the desired fluid or tissue sample [3] can be manipulated for analysis....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A new strategy for reducing the workload in the processing and analysis of the big data arising from widespread use of mhealth products is proposed, and potential issues of implementing this strategy are discussed.
Abstract: Mobile health technologies to detect physiological and simple-analyte biomarkers have been explored for the improvement and cost-reduction of healthcare services, some of which have been endorsed by the US FDA. Advancements in the investigations of non-invasive and minimally-invasive molecular biomarkers and biomarker candidates and the development of portable biomarker detection technologies have fuelled great interests in these new technologies for mhealth applications. But apart from the development of more portable biomarker detection technologies, key questions need to be answered and resolved regarding to the relevance, coverage, and performance of these technologies and the big data management issues arising from their wide spread applications. In this work, we analyzed the newly emerging portable biomarker detection technologies, the 664 non-invasive molecular biomarkers and the 592 potential minimally-invasive blood molecular biomarkers, focusing on their detection capability, affordability, relevance, and coverage. Our analysis suggests that a substantial percentage of these biomarkers together with the new technologies can be potentially used for a variety of disease conditions in mhealth applications. We further propose a new strategy for reducing the workload in the processing and analysis of the big data arising from widespread use of mhealth products, and discuss potential issues of implementing this strategy.

15 citations


"Design and Development of Microflui..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Exploiting the micrometric volume requirement for signal analysis these device offers future solution in the chemical and biological analysis of expensive material and on filed measurement[6]....

    [...]