Lab on a Chip Blog

Gabriel Loget and Alexander Kuhn report for the first time the vertical propulsion of conducting beads in liquid filled capillaries by bipolar electrochemistry. Using a conical capillary a Yo-Yo type motion can be induced, making the concept then useful for cargo-lifting and of potential interest for microfluidic applications in lab-on-a-chip devices.

Bipolar electrochemistry for cargo-lifting in fluid channels
Gabriel Loget and Alexander Kuhn
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21301J

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Philip LeDuc and colleagues from Carnegie Mellon University report the development of a minimal-profile, three-dimensional (MP3D) experimental microdevice which confines cells to a single focal plane, allowing observation with conventional epifluorescent microscopy.

Three-dimensional microfiber devices that mimic physiological environments to probe cell mechanics and signaling
Warren C. Ruder, Erica D. Pratt, Sasha Bakhru, Metin Sitti, Stefan Zappe, Chao-Min Cheng, James F. Antaki and Philip R. LeDuc
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21117C

Scott Phillips and colleagues at Pennsylvania State University describe the first paper-based microfluidic device that is capable of generating its own power when a sample is added to the device. The microfluidic device contains galvanic cells (“fluidic batteries”) integrated directly into the microfluidic channels.

“Fluidic batteries” as low-cost sources of power in paper-based microfluidic devices
Nicole K. Thom, Kimy Yeung, Marley B. Pillion and Scott T. Phillips
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40126F

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