Author Archive

Submicron particle focussing, 3D capillary networks & monitoring cell signalling in Issue 16

We’ve got some great artwork on the covers of Issue 16,  on topics from particle focusing to creating 3D capillary networks and cell signalling.

Lateral migration and focusing of colloidal particles and DNA molecules under viscoelastic flowOn the outside front cover we have a HOT article from Ju Min Kim et al who have achieved viscoelasticity-driven focusing of particles as small as 200 nm – a technique which had previously only been achieved with micron-sized particles.  The team also showed that DNA focusing is significantly enhanced by medium viscoelasticity and that the focussing of both the colloidal particles and DNA is dependant on length.

Lateral migration and focusing of colloidal particles and DNA molecules under viscoelastic flow
Jae Young Kim, Sung Won Ahn, Sung Sik Lee and Ju Min Kim
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40147A

In vitro formation and characterization of a perfusable three-dimensional tubular capillary network in microfluidic devicesOn the inside front cover is another HOT article from Noo Li Jeon and colleagues at Seoul University who have designed a 3D array of perfusable capillaries from HUVECs.  The the capillary network can be grown on the microfluidic device in 3-4 days and the authors hope will not only be useful for basic angiogenesis research but also drug screening applications.

In vitro formation and characterization of a perfusable three-dimensional tubular capillary network in microfluidic devices
Ju Hun Yeon, Hyun Ryul Ryu, Minhwan Chung, Qing Ping Hu and Noo Li Jeon
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40131B

Microfluidically-unified cell culture, sample preparation, imaging and flow cytometry for measurement of cell signaling pathways with single cell resolutionLast but not least, on the back cover is research from Anup Singh and colleagues at Sandia National Laboratory who have developed a chip that enables dynamic monitoring of an entire cell signalling pathway in a single experiment, by combining cell culture, stimulation, and preparation for analysis by multicolor flow cytometry and fluorescence imaging in one device.

Microfluidically-unified cell culture, sample preparation, imaging and flow cytometry for measurement of cell signaling pathways with single cell resolution
Meiye Wu, Thomas D. Perroud, Nimisha Srivastava, Catherine S. Branda, Kenneth L. Sale, Bryan D. Carson, Kamlesh D. Patel, Steven S. Branda and Anup K. Singh
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40344G

As with all our cover articles these are free to access for 6 weeks (following a simple registration for an RSC Publishing account).

For more exciting miniaturisation research take a look at the rest of the issue

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III International Workshop on Analytical Miniaturization and NANOtechnologies

LOC recently published a themed issue on nanomaterials and technologies for lab on a chip applications in collaboration with WAM-NANO2012 – the III International Workshop on Analytical Miniaturization and NANOtechnologies.

The conference was held last month in Barcelona, and below Arben Merkoçi provides a short summary of the meeting:

III International Workshop on Analytical Miniaturization and NANOtechnologiesThe “III International Workshop on Analytical Miniaturization and NANOtechnologies (WAM-NANO2012)” was held in Barcelona, Spain on 11 and 12 June 2012. The event, organised by the Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology (ICN), highlighted the latest international developments in the use of nanotechnologies and nanomaterials for the design and applications of lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems and other miniaturised analytical (bio)systems. The workshop, together with a themed issue of Lab-on-a-Chip, entitled “Nanotechnologies and nanomaterials in lab-on-a-chip”, reported on the most important achievements in analytical miniaturisation, where nanotechnology is positioned to enable great advances.

WAM-NANO2012 drew 85 participants from a dozen countries and featured 19 talks by invited speakers, 42 posters, and exhibits by three companies in the field (Fluigent, MicruX Technologies and Invenios). The event began with an opening presentation by Workshop Director Prof Arben Merkoçi, who heads the Nanobioelectronics and Biosensors Group at ICN.

Invited speakers at WAM-NANO2012:

Yoshinobu Baba (Dept. Applied Chemistry, Nagoya University, Japan)
Nanobiodevice-based single biomolecule and cell analysis for cancer diagnosis and stem cell therapy

Emanuel Carrilho (Bioanalytical, Microfabrication and Separations Group, Instituto de Química de Sao Carlos/ Universidade de Sao Paulo, Instituto Nacional de Ciencia e Tecnologia de Bioanalitica, Sao Carlos Brasil)
New strategies for contactless conductivity detection in microfluidic systems and electrophoresis

Agustín Costa García (University of Oviedo, Spain)
Nanotechnological approaches for improvement of microchip electrophoresis devices

Emmanuel Delamarche (IBM Zurich Research Laboratory, Switzerland)
Miniaturized assays using capillary-driven microfluidics

Tatsuro Endo (Analytical Chemistry research Group, Department of Applied Chemistry, Osaka Prefecture University, Japan)
Printed two dimensional photonic crystal for single step label-free biosensor

Alberto Escarpa (University of Alcalà, Spain)
High NIR-purity index single-walled carbon nanotubes for electrochemical sensing in microfluidic chips

Carlos García (University of Texas at San Antonio, USA)
Microchips, robots, and nanomaterials: novel strategies for the analysis of biologically active compounds

Akihide Hibara (Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan)
Chemistry and physics of liquid interfaces in microfluidic devices

Alexander Kuhn (ENSCBP, University of Bordeaux, France)
Bipolar electrochemistry in microfluidic channels

Jörg P. Kutter (DTU Nanotech, Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark)
Carbon nanotubes for applications in miniaturized separation systems

Laura Lechuga (Centre d’Investigacions en Nanociencia i Nanotecnologia, CIN2 (CSIC-ICN), Barcelona, Spain)
Photonic lab-on-a-chip platforms including novel bimodal interferometers, microfluidics and grating couplers

Arben Merkoçi (Institut Català de Nanotecnologia, ICN, Barcelona, Spain)
Nanoparticles based microfluidics (bio)sensing

Bradley J. Nelson (Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, Switzerland)
Fabrication and magnetic actuation of polymer helical microswimmers coated with a soft magnetic film

Mar Puyol (Dept. Chemistry, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain)
Microfluidic platforms for nanoparticles synthesis and bioanalytical sensing

Johan Roeraade (Dept. Analytical Chemistry, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden)
New miniaturized technologies for mass spectrometry of biomolecules

Oliver Schmidt (Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW) Dresden, Germany)
Rolled-up nanotech for lab-in-a-tube systems and microjet engines

Albert Van der Berg (University of Twente, Twente, The Netherlands)
Labs on a chip for medical applications

Jean-Louis Viovy (Macromolecules and microsystems in biology and medicine (MMBM), Institute Curie, Paris, France)
Neuron arrays on chip to study neurodegenrative diseases

Joseph Wang (Dept. Nanoengineering, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), USA)
Nanomotor-based biosensing: towards nanomachine-based lab-on-chips

View the whole issue here

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Have you seen the best of LOC?

The Editors at Lab on a Chip have been busy picking out the top 10% from all our high quality papers to bring you a collection of recent articles that we think will be of exceptional significance for the miniaturisation community.

Papers in this category will have received excellent reports during peer review, and demonstrate a breakthrough in device technology, methodology or demonstrate important new results for chemistry, physics, biology or bioengineering enabled by miniaturisation.

Here are the papers that have caught our eye so far:

Frontier
Microengineered physiological biomimicry: Organs-on-Chips
Dongeun Huh, Yu-suke Torisawa, Geraldine A. Hamilton, Hyun Jung Kim and Donald E. Ingber
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40089H

Focus
Education: a microfluidic platform for university-level analytical chemistry laboratories
Jesse Greener, Ethan Tumarkin, Michael Debono, Andrew P. Dicks and Eugenia Kumacheva
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC20951A

Tutorial Review
Brain slice on a chip: opportunities and challenges of applying microfluidic technology to intact tissues
Yu Huang, Justin C. Williams and Stephen M. Johnson
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21142D

Critical Review
Engineers are from PDMS-land, Biologists are from Polystyrenia
Erwin Berthier, Edmond W. K. Young and David Beebe
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC20982A

Communications
“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

Sorting cells by size, shape and deformability
Jason P. Beech, Stefan H. Holm, Karl Adolfsson and Jonas O. Tegenfeldt
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21083E

Papers
High throughput automated chromatin immunoprecipitation as a platform for drug screening and antibody validation
Angela R. Wu, Tiara L.A. Kawahara, Nicole A. Rapicavoli, Jan van Riggelen, Emelyn H. Shroff, Liwen Xu, Dean W. Felsher, Howard Y. Chang and Stephen R. Quake
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21290K

A microfluidic device for whole-animal drug screening using electrophysiological measures in the nematode C. elegans
Shawn R. Lockery, S. Elizabeth Hulme, William M. Roberts, Kristin J. Robinson, Anna Laromaine, Theodore H. Lindsay, George M. Whitesides and Janis C. Weeks
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC00001F

Ion diode logics for pH control
Erik O. Gabrielsson, Klas Tybrandt and Magnus Berggren
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40093F

Human gut-on-a-chip inhabited by microbial flora that experiences intestinal peristalsis-like motions and flow
Hyun Jung Kim, Dongeun Huh, Geraldine Hamilton and Donald E. Ingber
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40074J

A multifunctional pipette
Alar Ainla, Gavin D. M. Jeffries, Ralf Brune, Owe Orwar and Aldo Jesorka
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC20906C

Visualization of microscale particle focusing in diluted and whole blood using particle trajectory analysis
Eugene J. Lim, Thomas J. Ober, Jon F. Edd, Gareth H. McKinley and Mehmet Toner
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21100A

DNA electrophoresis in a nanofence array
Sung-Gyu Park, Daniel W. Olson and Kevin D. Dorfman
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC00016D

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

Rapid screening of antibiotic toxicity in an automated microdroplet system
Krzysztof Churski, Tomasz S. Kaminski, Slawomir Jakiela, Wojciech Kamysz, Wioletta Baranska-Rybak, Douglas B. Weibel and Piotr Garstecki
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21284F

Dual-electrode microfluidic cell for characterizing electrocatalysts
Ioana Dumitrescu, David F. Yancey and Richard M. Crooks
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21181E

Rapid, sensitive, and multiplexed on-chip optical sensors for micro-gas chromatography
Karthik Reddy, Yunbo Guo, Jing Liu, Wonsuk Lee, Maung Kyaw Khaing Oo and Xudong Fan
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC20922E

A silicone-based stretchable micropost array membrane for monitoring live-cell subcellular cytoskeletal response
Jennifer M. Mann, Raymond H. W. Lam, Shinuo Weng, Yubing Sun and Jianping Fu
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC20896B

Batch fabrication of disposable screen printed SERS arrays
Lu-Lu Qu, Da-Wei Li, Jin-Qun Xue, Wen-Lei Zhai, John S. Fossey and Yi-Tao Long
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC20926H

Bubbles no more: in-plane trapping and removal of bubbles in microfluidic devices
Conrad Lochovsky, Sanjesh Yasotharan and Axel Günther
DOI: 10.1039/C1LC20817A

A digital microfluidic method for multiplexed cell-based apoptosis assays
Dario Bogojevic, M. Dean Chamberlain, Irena Barbulovic-Nad and Aaron R. Wheeler
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC20893H

Technical Innovation
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

We will be adding to this collection throughout the year so keep checking back for more outstanding articles!

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A microfluidic ‘baby-machine’ and nanochannels to allow efficient fluorescent analysis of proteins

Scott Manalis and coworkers at MIT have developed a microfluidic version of the “baby-machine”, a device used to synchronize eukaryotic cells at a specific point in the cell cycle for study of cellular and molecular processes.

The original method which was developed in the 1960s chemically bound cells to a membrane. As they divide one cell remains attached to the membrane and the ‘newborn’ cell is eluted, producing a synchronised population of cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle.  However, the method of chemically attaching cells to the membrane is not suitable for all cell types.  Manalis et al have modified this procedure to attach cells by applying pressure differences to capture cells on their microfluidic device, thereby avoiding the use of chemicals that can make cells non-viable.

Read more…
A microfluidic “baby machine” for cell synchronization
Josephine Shaw, Kristofor Payer, Sungmin Son, William H. Grover and Scott R. Manalis
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40277G


Xing-Hua Xia and colleagues at Nanjing University have recently improved on the fluorescent analysis of proteins by utilising the confines of a nanochannel in a microfluidic device.  The nanochannel allows the efficient concentration of proteins and separates labelled proteins from unreacted fluorescent labels due to size.  This removes the need for purification to remove the unreacted dye on an external chromatographic instrument and allows protein concentration, labelling, and purification in continuous manner in one device.

Read more…
Rapid protein concentration, efficient fluorescence labeling and purification on a micro/nanofluidics chip
Chen Wang, Jun Ouyang, De-Kai Ye, Jing-Juan Xu, Hong-Yuan Chen and Xing-Hua Xia
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC20977B

These latest two HOT articles are free to access for 4 weeks following a simple registration for individual users

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Superelastic microsprings & electrical fingerprinting to detect circulating tumor cells in Issue 13

Superelastic metal microsprings as fluidic sensors and actuatorsWork from Yongfeng Mei, Fudan University, and colleagues on developing superelastic microsprings features on the front cover of Issue 13.  The rolled Ti nanomembranes stretch predictably and proportionally due to the drag force in flowing water, and so are potentially useful as sensors in micro-/nano-electromechanical systems.

Superelastic metal microsprings as fluidic sensors and actuators
Weiming Li, Gaoshan Huang, Jiao Wang, Ying Yu, Xiaojing Wu, Xugao Cui and Yongfeng Mei
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 2322-2328
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40151G

The back cover is courtesy of Samir M. Iqbal and coworkers, who have developed a solid micropore device to detect tumour cells.  By pushing cells through the single micropore one at a time cells can be differentiated based on size, elasticity, viscosity and stiffness.

Electrical fingerprinting, 3D profiling and detection of tumor cells with solid-state micropores
Waseem Asghar, Yuan Wan, Azhar Ilyas, Robert Bachoo, Young-tae Kim and Samir M. Iqbal
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 2345-2352
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21012F

Also in this issue we have another of our acoustofluidics series which looks at perturbation methods for analysing acoustic streaming and the latest Research highlights article from Ali Khademhosseini.

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Abstract deadline for Optofluidics 2012 approaching

2nd International Conference on Optofluidics 2012The 2nd International Conference on Optofluidics will be held later this year in Dushu Lake Hotel, Suzhou, China between September 13-14, and the submission deadline for abstracts is fast approaching.

The conference will cover the fundamentals of optofluidics, through to fabrication and applications of optofluidic micro- and nano-devices.

Important dates for your diary:

Abstract deadline July 1 2012

Early-bird registration deadline August 31 2012

Lab on a Chip will be publishing a themed issue on optofluidics to coincide with the conference, from papers presented at last year’s conference.

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Our latest themed issue: Focus on USA

Lab on a Chip: Focus on the USAWe’ve just published another themed issue, this time looking at some of the exciting work from labs in the USA.  The issue was partly inspired by the Wyss Institute Symposium on “Microfluidics and Medicine: Accelerating the Flow from Lab to the Clinic“, which focused on work in the microfluidics field that promises to have a transformative impact on medicine and clinical care.

Guest Editors Don Ingber and George Whitesides introduce the issue and discuss the impact of microfluidics on biological advances in their Editorial.

View the issue for HOT papers on high throughput drug screening, isolating rare circulating tumour cells, a microfluidic device that can screen whole worms and lots of organs on chips articles: brain slice on a chip and gut on a chip.

Remember, these articles are free to access for 4 weeks with an RSC Publishing account.

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Themed issue on analytical miniaturization and nanotechnologies just published

Cover for Analytical miniaturization and nanotechnologiesLab on a Chip is delighted to announce the publication of a themed issue dedicated to Analytical miniaturization and nanotechnologies, published in collaboration with the III International Workshop on Analytical Miniaturization and NANOtechnologies to be held next month in Barcelona. The issue was guest edited by Arben Merkoçi and Jörg P. Kutter, who introduce the issue in an editorial on the use of nanotechnologies and nanomaterials for the design and applications of lab-on-a-chip and other miniaturized analytical systems

We hope you will enjoy reading this collection of articles.

Tutorial Review


Lab-in-a-tube: ultracompact components for on-chip capture and detection of individual micro-/nanoorganisms
Elliot J. Smith, Wang Xi, Denys Makarov, Ingolf Mönch, Stefan Harazim, Vladimir A. Bolaños Quiñones, Christine K. Schmidt, Yongfeng Mei, Samuel Sanchez and Oliver G. Schmidt
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1917-1931
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21175K

Critical Reviews


Nanomaterials and lab-on-a-chip technologies
Mariana Medina-Sánchez, Sandrine Miserere and Arben Merkoçi
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1932-1943
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40063D

Cargo-towing synthetic nanomachines: Towards active transport in microchip devices
Joseph Wang
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1944-1950
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC00003B

Carbon nanotube based stationary phases for microchip chromatography
Klaus B. Mogensen and Jörg P. Kutter
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1951-1958
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40102A

Communications


Glass/PDMS hybrid microfluidic device integrating vertically aligned SWCNTs to ultrasensitive electrochemical determinations
Fernando Cruz Moraes, Renato Sousa Lima, Thiago Pinotti Segato, Ivana Cesarino, Jhanisus Leonel Melendez Cetino, Sergio Antonio Spinola Machado, Frank Gomez and Emanuel Carrilho
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1959-1962
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40141J

Contactless conductivity biosensor in microchip containing folic acid as bioreceptor
Renato S. Lima, Maria H. O. Piazzetta, Angelo L. Gobbi, Ubirajara P. Rodrigues-Filho, Pedro A. P. Nascente, Wendell K. T. Coltro and Emanuel Carrilho
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1963-1966
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40157F

Papers


Bipolar electrochemistry for cargo-lifting in fluid channels
Gabriel Loget and Alexander Kuhn
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1967-1971
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC21301J

Capillary soft valves for microfluidics
Martina Hitzbleck, Laetitia Avrain, Valerie Smekens, Robert D. Lovchik, Pascal Mertens and Emmanuel Delamarche
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1972-1978
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC00015F

Microreactor with integrated temperature control for the synthesis of CdSe nanocrystals
Sara Gómez-de Pedro, Cynthia S. Martínez-Cisneros, Mar Puyol and Julián Alonso-Chamarro
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1979-1986
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC00011C

Nanophotonic lab-on-a-chip platforms including novel bimodal interferometers, microfluidics and grating couplers
Daphné Duval, Ana Belén González-Guerrero, Stefania Dante, Johann Osmond, Rosa Monge, Luis J. Fernández, Kirill E. Zinoviev, Carlos Domínguez and Laura M. Lechuga
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1987-1994
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40054E

Printed two-dimensional photonic crystals for single-step label-free biosensing of insulin under wet conditions
Tatsuro Endo, Masaya Sato, Hiroshi Kajita, Norimichi Okuda, Satoru Tanaka and Hideaki Hisamoto
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 1995-1999
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40066A

On-chip electrochemical detection of CdS quantum dots using normal and multiple recycling flow through modes
Mariana Medina-Sánchez, Sandrine Miserere, Sergio Marín, Gemma Aragay and Arben Merkoçi
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 2000-2005
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC00007E

High NIR-purity index single-walled carbon nanotubes for electrochemical sensing in microfluidic chips
Diana Vilela, Alejandro Ansón-Casaos, María Teresa Martínez, María Cristina González and Alberto Escarpa
Lab Chip, 2012, 12, 2006-2014
DOI: 0.1039/C2LC40099E

Do you work at forefront of nanotechnology for miniaturisation?

Submit your next piece of exciting research to Lab on a Chip.

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HOT articles: A new assay to assess drug permeability of cells and new measure for acoustic energy density

Macroporous silicon chips for laterally resolved, multi-parametric analysis of epithelial barrier functionMeasuring the ability of compounds to cross various tissue barriers is of critical importance during drug development, as most drugs will have to cross at least one tissue barrier to reach their target.  Various assays already exist to assess this process, but have shortcomings such as being prone to artefacts or failing to provide information on permeation pathway. Now Joachim Wegener and colleagues have devised a new silicon chip to visualise permeability, with the ability to see defects within the cell layer and details about the permeation route. Read more…

Macroporous silicon chips for laterally resolved, multi-parametric analysis of epithelial barrier function
Stefanie Michaelis,  Christina E. Rommel,  Jan Endell,  Petra Göring,  Ralf Wehrspohn,  Claudia Steinem,  Andreas Janshoff,  Hans-Joachim Galla and Joachim Wegener
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC00026A

On a completely different topic the next HOT article is on acoustofluidics.  Henrik Bruus et al present a simple method based on measuring light intensity to determine the acoustic energy density in microchannel.  This parameter can be used as a measure of acoustophoretic performance, but is typically tricky to measure.  Read how they achieved it:

Measuring acoustic energy density in microchannel acoustophoresis using a simple and rapid light-intensity method
Rune Barnkob,  Ida Iranmanesh,  Martin Wiklund and Henrik Bruus
DOI: 10.1039/C2LC40120G

Remember – these articles are  free (if you have an RSC Publishing account) for the next four weeks!

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Creating chaos – converting laminar flow to oscillatory flow in microfluidic devices

Converting steady laminar flow to oscillatory flow through a hydroelasticity approach at microscalesAn article recently published in Lab on a Chip has been featured on ScienceDaily and PhysOrg.com.

The paper from Huanming Xia and colleagues at the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology reports the development of a microfluidic oscillator that converts otherwise steady laminar flow to oscillatory flow to enhance mixing in microfluidic devices.  The key is an elastic diaphragm embedded inside a stepped cavity, perpendicular to the fluid channel.  When fluid flows over the membrane it depresses and then bounces back due to the elasticity of the silicone membrane, creating oscillatory flow.

Read about how the membrane can also act as a valve in this Communication article:

Converting steady laminar flow to oscillatory flow through a hydroelasticity approach at microscales
H. M. Xia ,  Z. P. Wang ,  W. Fan ,  A. Wijaya ,  W. Wang and Z. F. Wang
DOI: 10.1039/C1LC20667B

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