Lab on a Chip Blog

Pioneers of Miniaturisation Lecture 2013 – deadline 27th June!

Helen Bache, Development Editor — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:56:39 +0000

Miniaturisation plays a significant role in our daily lives as all our handheld devices become smaller and other larger devices become handheld or desktop based and this trend is set to continue. The use of micro and nano fluidic technologies will impact on a diverse range of industries ranging from their use in motor cars, through health improvement applications to their use in protecting national and environmental security needs.

At Lab on a Chip, we strongly believe in this technology and have been willing to show the necessary commitment and financial support to back the development of this research community. It is in this vein we present this award to honour and support the up and coming, next generation pioneers in this field of endeavour. So the Lab on a Chip Journal will again join forces with Corning Incorporated to award the eighth ‘Pioneers of Miniaturisation’ Lectureship at µTAS, including a certificate of recognition and a prize of $5000. The lectureship will be presented at the µTAS 2013 Conference in Freiburg, Germany.

Who should you nominate?

The award is for early to mid-career scientists (nominees must be no older than 45 by the closing date for nominations).
The award is for extraordinary or outstanding contributions to the understanding or development of miniaturised systems. This will be judged mainly through their top 1-3 papers and/or an invention documented by patents/or a commercial product. Awards and honorary memberships may also be considered.The awardee is required to give a short lecture at the µTAS Conference in the same year.

The 2012 Pioneers of Miniaturisation Lectureship was awarded to Professor Andrew deMello, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

See here for further information, including past winners.

Nominations to Lab on a Chip Managing Editor Harp Minhas by 27^th June

Free to access HOT articles!

Helen Bache, Development Editor — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:57:39 +0000

These articles are HOT as recommended by the referees. And we’ve made them free to access for 4 weeks*

Attomolar protein detection using a magnetic bead surface coverage assay
H. Cumhur Tekin, Matteo Cornaglia and Martin A. M. Gijs
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC41285G

This article is featured in the collection Lab on a Chip Top 10%

Cost-effective and rapid blood analysis on a cell-phone
Hongying Zhu, Ikbal Sencan, Justin Wong, Stoyan Dimitrov, Derek Tseng, Keita Nagashima and Aydogan Ozcan
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC41408F

Microfluidics study of intracellular calcium response to mechanical stimulation on single suspension cells
Tao Xu, Wanqing Yue, Cheuk-Wing Li, Xinsheng Yao and Mengsu Yang
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC40880A

Programmable parylene-C bonding layer fluorescence for storing information on microfluidic chips
Ata Tuna Ciftlik, Diego Gabriel Dupouy and Martin A. M. Gijs
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC41280F

An electrospray ms-coupled microfluidic device for sub-second hydrogen/deuterium exchange pulse-labelling reveals allosteric effects in enzyme inhibition
Tamanna Rob, Preet Kamal Gill, Dasantila Golemi-Kotra and Derek J. Wilson
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC00007A

A simple, rapid, low-cost diagnostic test for sickle cell disease
Xiaoxi Yang, Julie Kanter, Nathaniel Z. Piety, Melody S. Benton, Seth M. Vignes and Sergey S. Shevkoplyas
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC41302K

Engineering of functional, perfusable 3D microvascular networks on a chip
Sudong Kim, Hyunjae Lee, Minhwan Chung and Noo Li Jeon
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC41320A

This article is featured in the collection Lab on a Chip Top 10%

In situ synthesis of silver nanoparticle decorated vertical nanowalls in a microfluidic device for ultrasensitive in-channel SERS sensing
Joseph Parisi, Liang Su and Yu Lei
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC41249K

This article is featured in the collection Lab on a Chip Top 10%

*Free access to individuals is provided through an RSC Publishing personal account. Registration is quick, free and simple

The 3rd International Conference on Optofluidics

Helen Bache, Development Editor — Mon, 20 May 2013 09:17:41 +0000

The 3rd International Conference on Optofluidics (Optofluidcs2013)

15-17 August 2013, Hong Kong

Abstract submission deadline: 3 June 2013 (Monday)

http://www.optofluidics.cn/

There are only 3 weeks remaining until the abstract submission deadline – 3 June 2013. Please follow the template to prepare the abstracts and email to opf2013@polyu.edu.hk.

Accepted papers will also be invited for a Special Issue of Lab on a Chip.

Abstract Topic Categories (http://www.optofluidics.cn/Authors.html) :

Topic 1: Liquid waveguides and new optical devices/systems
Topic 2: Optical manipulation, trapping and sorting
Topic 3: Microfluidic optical sensing
Topic 4: Optofluidic imaging, microscopy and display
Topic 5: Optofluidic light sources
Topic 6: Optofludics for water, energy and environment
Topic 7: Fabrication technologies and materials
Topic 8: Others

Optofluidics is a vibrant new research field that combines optics, fluidics and micro/nano technologies for advanced functionalities. Following the successful conferences in Xi’an and Suzhou in last two years, Optofluidics 2013 will be held in Hong Kong in 15 – 17 August 2013, jointly organized by Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Jinan University and Lab on a Chip. This annual conference provides a unique forum for leading scientists and researchers to present the latest progress in the fields of optofluidics and related research.

Please help promote this conference and encourage your colleagues and research staff to attend this event. Here are some highlights of this conference:

− More than 20 plenary/invited speakers from the top scientists in optofluidics and related fields

− Selected papers will be invited for a special issue of Lab on a Chip (subjected to peer review).

− 5 Best Paper Awards sponsored by Lab on a Chip and Lin’s Foundation

We greatly value your participation and sincerely hope to meet you at the conference.

Best regards,

Local organizers:

Dr Xuming Zhang, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Professor Baiou Guan, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China

Point-of-care DVD HIV diagnostic device

Helen Bache, Development Editor — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:50:43 +0000

Development of a point-of-care DVD HIV diagnostic device published in Lab on a Chip has been featured on The Guardian’s Global Development Network.

The team led by Aman Russom at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden present a new lab on a DVD for rapid, cheap HIV diagnosis. They modify a commercial DVD drive for this purpose, giving a laser scanning microscope termed DVD-LSM.

A multi-layer disc is combined with the modified DVD reader that allows temperature control. A fluidic polymer disc bonded to the DVD enables sample processing. Fluid propulsion is incorporated, a photodiode array is present for detection and all of the software for processing is driven by a PC. The system enables imaging of biomolecules to 1 μm resolution.

A low level of CD4+ cells is the marker used to decide upon HIV treatment. The surface of the disc is functionalised with anti-CD4 antibodies to allow the system to detect and count stained CD4+ cells.

The combination of robust fluidic sample handling, detection capability and sub-micron resolution imaging means this fully integrated device is a hugely important step towards practical point-of-care Lab-on-DVD diagnostics. The team aim to reduce the sample preparation steps to simplify the procedure.

You can read the Guardian Global Development Network article here or skip straight to the full fascinating and clearly written Lab on a Chip article.

Lab-on-DVD: standard DVD drives as a novel laser scanning microscope for image based point of care diagnostics
Harisha Ramachandraiah, Mary Amasia, Jackie Cole, Paul Sheard, Simon Pickhaver, Chris Walker, Valtteri Wirta, Preben Lexow, Richard Lione and Aman Russom
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC41360H

LOC Issue 11 online! 3D etching, digital microfluidics, lens-free microscopy

Helen Bache, Development Editor — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:56:21 +0000

Issue 11’s significant front cover article from Ikuro Suzuki et al. at Tokyo University of Technology, Japan, describes the development of a new 3D etching method. An infrared laser allows tight control over the area of cell adhesion, selecting cell number and cell type, as a small area of the collagen gel substrate can be targeted. The researchers can guide neural network formation using this tool. 3D networks are created upon which neurons survived longer than on 2D substrates.

Control of neural network patterning using collagen gel photothermal etching
Aoi Odawara, Masao Gotoh and Ikuro Suzuki
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC00036B

Work from Jeoren Lammertyn et al. is featured on the inside front cover. The team from University of Leuven, Belgium, use digital microfluidics to facilitate single-molecule detection for the first time. They are able to print and seal thousands of femtolitre droplets in microwells in each step. Single paramagnetic beads can be loaded into the microwells with high capacity.

Digital microfluidics-enabled single-molecule detection by printing and sealing single magnetic beads in femtoliter droplets
Daan Witters, Karel Knez, Frederik Ceyssens, Robert Puers and Jeroen Lammertyn
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC50119A

A Frontier article from Aydogan Ozcan et al. at University of California, Los Angeles, USA, discusses progress in computational lens-free microscopy on-chip and how such technology is taking over conventional bulky optical microscopes. This article, which is also featured on the back cover, includes a discussion of the applications this new technology opens up.

Toward giga-pixel nanoscopy on a chip: a computational wide-field look at the nano-scale without the use of lenses
Euan McLeod, Wei Luo, Onur Mudanyali, Alon Greenbaum and Aydogan Ozcan
DOI: 10.1039/ c3lc50222h

For more critical reviews, HOT primary research as recommended by referees and Technical Innovations, take a look at the full issue now

HOT articles and technical innovations in point-of-care flow cytometry

Helen Bache, Development Editor — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:58:32 +0000

A team from Caltech and MIT, USA, and LeukoDx, Israel, have combined a microflow cytometer and fluorescent dye to produce a portable suitcase-sized point-of-care test for leukocyte count – one of the most common clinical tests. The test can identify four different types of leukocyte using only a small blood sample.

This article was featured on the bright cover of Issue 7!

Four-part leukocyte differential count based on sheathless microflow cytometer and fluorescent dye assay
Wendian Shi, Luke Guo, Harvey Kasdan and Yu-Chong Tai
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC41059E

A technical innovation from Oliver Hayden and Michael Helou et al. in Germany featured on the outside front cover of Issue 6 also concentrates on flow cytometry for point-of-care testing. This vastly different technique uses magnetophoresis instead of fluorescence to detect specific cancer cells in whole blood. Cell diameters are measured from time of flight information. The device integrates sample preparation for ease of point-of-care applications. The can perform cell enrichment, cell focusing and background elimination in situ.

Time-of-flight magnetic flow cytometry in whole blood with integrated sample preparation
Michael Helou, Mathias Reisbeck, Sandro F. Tedde, Lukas Richter, Ludwig Bär, Jacobus J. Bosch, Roland H. Stauber, Eckhard Quandt and Oliver Hayden
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC41310A

Remember all of our HOT articles are made free to access for 4 weeks*!

*Free access to individuals is provided through an RSC Publishing personal account. Registration is quick, free and simple

Trio of HOT articles! Reversible phase transitions, super-strong adhesive and flow-switching for programmable gradients

Helen Bache, Development Editor — Fri, 03 May 2013 09:04:35 +0000

With the Introducing series and other exciting news on the blog in the last couple of weeks, we’ve had no time for HOT articles. Here are three in brief all at once and all free to access for 4 weeks*!

1. A team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and The University of Tennessee, USA, led by Patrick Collier, generate femtolitre aqueous two-phase droplets in a microfluidic oil channel and demonstrate that a single droplet can be isolated, monitored and transformed reversibly. This is part of recent research efforts to mimic the phase separation that naturally occurs to create the microcompartments inside a cell’s cytoplasm. This device does not require continuous jets or high-frequency droplet formation to create the compartments of differing compositions. The researchers instead concentrated on using the tension between the oil and aqueous phases. They can reversibly generate core–shell microbeads, which could be of interest in controlled drug release.

Aqueous two-phase microdroplets with reversible phase transitions
Jonathan B. Boreyko, Prahya Mruetusatorn, Scott T. Retterer and C. Patrick Collier
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC41122B

2. As featured on the colourful back cover of Issue 7, Sung Gap Im’s group at KAIST, South Korea, have developed a doubly cross-linked nano-adhesive system (DCNA). The aim was a super-strong adhesive system resistant to tough chemical and thermal conditions. They use initiated chemical vapour deposition (iCVD) to demonstrate their new secure sealing technique in the fabrication of microfluidic devices with flexible and rigid substrates with high strength and stability. This is doubly cross-linked due to the epoxy groups on both sides of the substrates, giving strong adhesion.

A doubly cross-linked nano-adhesive for the reliable sealing of flexible microfluidic devices
Jae Bem You, Kyoung-Ik Min, Bora Lee, Dong-Pyo Kim and Sung Gap Im
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC41266G

3. The third and final HOT article featured on the inside back cover of Issue 7 comes from Savaş Tay and Tino Frank at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. The cell culture platform in this HOT article is able to support a programmable diffusion-based gradient generator. Long-term experiments with 30 different gradients could be done in parallel. The microfluidic chip uses membrane valves and automation to reduce error and increase simplicity. A wide variety of cell types can be cultured in this total analysis system in flow-free conditions.

Flow-switching allows independently programmable, extremely stable, high-throughput diffusion-based gradients
Tino Frank and Savaş Tay
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC41076E

*Free access to individuals is provided through an RSC Publishing personal account. Registration is quick, free and simple

Introducing Editorial Board member Mark Gilligan

Helen Bache, Development Editor — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:59:42 +0000

We’re very happy to welcome new Editorial Board member Mark Gilligan in this week’s Introducing series post. He describes his unusual path from aerospace engineering to commercial successes in developing microfluidics for an ever-increasing range of applications:

Mark studied Aerospace engineering at Cranfield, and after that worked in both Formula 1 for Benetton and Aerospace for BAe Commercial aircraft. Mark then went on to work for Pitney Bowes in the US developing franking machines and Philips in the Netherlands developing the first DVD drives. Then in 1997 Mark moved to work for a technology consulting consultancy called The Technology Partnership (TTP) and started working on the interfaces between Engineering and Life Sciences. One major project at TTP was called Myriad, and involved working in conjunction with seven pharmaceutical companies to develop highly automated robotic systems for parallel chemistry to make potential drug candidates. The outcome of this project was sold to Mettler Toledo and a new business unit was formed and built with Mark leading the R&D of that new company. Once this company was built in 2000, Mark moved into New Ventures for Mettler, investigating and acquiring businesses in automated chemistry.

In 2001 Mark left Mettler Toledo to found Syrris, which has now grown to be a world leader in cutting edge tools and technologies for synthetic chemistry, including microreactors. As Syrris grew, a number of multipurpose microfluidics technologies were developed and an increasingly diverse range of partners sought to access them. This lead to the formation of Dolomite Microfluidics in 2005, which then won a large UK government grant to create a Microfluidic Application Centre. This trend of starting new brands has carried on and now Mark is the CEO of the Blacktrace Group of companies which includes Syrris, Dolomite and a number of other brands which are all collectively focussed on Productisation of Science.

PRACTICAL MICROFLUIDICS: Mark’s interests specifically in microfluidics are around generating practical real world solutions to make microfluidics become an increasingly commercially successful technology. This is about spotting the common issues across multiple application areas and developing underlying technology and componentry to solve these issues. Together with this component focus, Mark is interested in standards around formats and interconnectivity. Mark is application area agnostic, however, microdroplets are currently a strong theme across a number of areas from molecular biology to food and drug delivery. Mark is focussed on providing workable solutions by designing, developing and arranging manufacture, marketing and sales. However, although Dolomite has its own clean rooms for prototyping of devices, Mark’s team works with many other companies for volume manufacture of microfluidic devices.

Overall, Mark is passionate about getting new capabilities in science and technology to be used by wider and wider audiences by a focus on practical easy to use development into commercially viable products.

Research Highlights writer wins CRS Young Investigator Award!

Helen Bache, Development Editor — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:02:49 +0000

We’re extremely pleased to report that Ali Khademhosseini, the writer of Research Highlights articles in Lab on a Chip, has been awarded the Young Investigator Award from the Controlled Release Society.

The award is for a young CRS member who has made an outstanding contribution to the science of controlled release and drug delivery. Ali will be presented with the award in July at the annual CRS meeting in Hawaii.

View some of his most recent Research Highlights articles here:

Research highlights
Imee G. Arcibal, Donald M. Cropek, Mehmet R. Dokmeci and Ali Khademhosseini
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC90037A

Research highlights
João Ribas, Mark W. Tibbitt, Mehmet R. Dokmeci and Ali Khademhosseini
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC90032K

Research highlights
Šeila Selimović, Mehmet R. Dokmeci and Ali Khademhosseini
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC90025H

Research highlights
Šeila Selimović, Mark W. Tibbitt, Mehmet R. Dokmeci and Ali Khademhosseini
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC90018E

NMC 2013: 10th International Workshop on Nanomechanical Sensing

Helen Bache, Development Editor — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:05:36 +0000

The 10^th International Workshop on Nanomechanical Sensing will be taking place from next Wednesday 1^st May until 3^rd May in Stanford, California USA.

This year the workshop is focused on interdisciplinary research on and with nanoscale sensors.

NMC started in 2004 as the “nano mechanical cantilever” meeting but has grown along with innovations in nanomechanics and probing at the nanoscale. NMC focuses on new developments, investigations, applications of cantilever-based sensors, cantilever systems engineering and the mission has expanded to all modes of nanomechanical sensing to include applications such as chemical sensing, biosensing, scanning probes and metrologies, optomechanics, nanomechanics, resonant sensing, and the associated modeling and experiments, etc.

NMC brings together companies and academia to present their latest results in a lively and personal atmosphere. NMC2013 will provide a single session technical program with the latest research on nanosensing including renowned invited speakers, contributed oral and poster presentations, and excellent networking opportunities.

http://www.nmc2013.org/