Lab on a Chip Blog

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:

The “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

The 2^nd 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.

Joong Yull Park, Sang-Hoon Lee and Shuichi Takayama

The International Symposium on Microchemistry and Microsystems 2011 (ISMM 2011), the Asian region forum on Micro Total Analysis Systems (μTAS), was held at a quiet hotel located in the southern part of Seoul, Korea, on June 2-4. Over 400 scientists and professionals arrived from diverse countries not only in Asia, but also from the U.S., the E.U., and beyond bringing with them their recent research advances and visions about the conference theme of: The Future of Miniaturized Systems.

Figure 1. Nanocoral probes docking on a cancer-cell membrane. The highly roughened gold region of the nanocoral increases the molecular adsorption capacity and causes a strong surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy signal.

The symposium opened with a plenary lecture from Professor Luke P. Lee, UC Berkely. Starting with a history of how stock market price increases paralleled commercialization of key technological breakthroughs, he predicted the future of miniaturized systems in terms of not only technology but potential financial impact as well. He emphasized the increasing need for quantitative biology and medicine and that harnessing micro/nano technology will be key. Considering that several decades were spent to move from vacuum tubes to microscale electronic components embedded in computers, he called upon both patience and hope for biochip and nanotechnology development. Specific research advances presented included Nano Satellites (Figure 1), an exciting concept for using nanoplasmonic particles to explore and visualize the inner space of living cells similar (both in concept and in terms of visual images obtained) to how macro-satellites help explore outer space.¹ Combining the phenomenon of plasmon resonance, which is the collective resonant oscillation of electrons in a metal, with nanostructured particles, nanoplasmonic satellites focus and amplify light to nanometer-sized regions to shed new light on signaling pathways and cellular dynamics.

Figure 2. Size-dependent separation of spherical particles and possible rotation behaviors of spherical and nonspherical particles at the branch point.

The other plenary talks on this first day was given by Professor Minoru Seki, Chiba University, who introduced Pinched Flow Fractionation (PFF) and Hydrodynamic Filtration (HDF), a robust method to sort cells and particles by size in milliseconds (Figure 2).² His presentation also covered calcium alginate gel fibers, anisotropic fibers, droplet-embedded fibers, and sandwich-type fibers generated in microfluidic chips. The anisotropic cross-sectional morphologies of the fibers are promising for guided growth of multiple cell types and thus for 2D/3D cell assembly which is required for tissue regeneration. His contributions are timely given the accelerating growth of cell-based therapies and associated increasing needs for cell sorting and analysis. Professor Bingcheng Lin, Chinese Academy of Sciences, proclaimed that we are ready for the future, to move microfluidics research to the next stage with increased applications, solving real-world problems, and realizing more commercialization. In the invited session, gold and silver nanoparticle-based colorimetric assay for protein and nucleic acids was presented by Professor Xiaodi Su, Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, Singarpore. The method utilizes metal nanoparticles’ unique optical properties and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) for highly sensitive and lable-free detection.

Figure 3. Left: ‘Suspended’ nanofibers connect six carbon posts. Right: Dilution module consists of input channel, dilution chamber, pillars, side channel, and output channel. Blue arrows indicate the flow direction, the dashed orange arrows the recirculatory mixing. Output droplets define a digital concentration gradient.

Plenary talks for the 2nd day were given by Professor Marc Madou, UC Irvine, and Andrew J. deMello, Imperial College London. Professor Madou introduced a way to combine photolithography, near-field electrospinning, and carbonization to pattern suspended carbon nanowire structures over incredible distances (left, Figure 3).³ These C-MEMS and C-NEMS structure were used for interdigitated electrode sensors, glucose sensors, bio-fuel cells and smart batteries. Keywords that describe Professor deMello’s lecture include ‘controlled droplet fusion’, ‘serial dilution on the microscale’, and ‘compartmentalization of single cell’. He showed a dilution module for high-throughput screening using droplet-based microfluidics (right, Figure 3), and demonstrated a homogeneous DNA-binding assay using this system. This digital concentration gradient.⁴ Other invited speakers included Professor Kahp-Yang Suh, Seoul National University, who introduced research opportunities in the area of ‘Body on a Chip’. One target organ he introduced was a kidney-on-a-chip. By combining microfluidics, advanced patterning technology called CFL (capillary force lithography), and multi-layer microfluidic device (MMD), a microfluidic bio-artificial kidney system was realized.⁵ The shear stress generated by flow in microfluidic channels is a necessary physiological stimulus for kidney cells along with hormonal stimulation. The biophysical and biochemical stimuli work synergetically to induce proper functioning of kidney cells in vitro. In other presentations, Professor Danny van Noort from the National University of Singapore, gave an aptly titled talk right before lunch about ‘Fish & Chips’. His micro fish tank array system (microaquarium) was cleverly designed to efficiently study fish embryo on a chip.

The last day of ISMM 2011 was opened by Professor Dong-Pyo Kim’s (Chungnam National University) plenary talk. He highlighted the importance of materials science and development. Despite the broad use of PDMS, particularly in academia, there is a critical need for alternate materials. For example, Professor Kim introduced various solvent resistant microreactors. He microfabricated PDMS, polyimid film and functional inorganic polymers by various lithographic techniques. The burgeoning field of microreactor technology is already starting to make a significant impact for industrial as well as benchside use, said Professor Kim.

Figure 4. A single-molecule DNA translocates through a nanopore where a pair of nanoelectrodes fabricated to scan the tunnelling current across each nucleotide for label-free base sequence read-out.

Other highlights included description of the latest in single molecule DNA manipulation and sequencing technologies by Professors Kyubong Jo, Steven Soper and Tomoji Kawai. Professor Kawai, Osaka University, specifically introduced the next generation of DNA sequencing technology that utilizes gating nanopores. Two configurable nanoelectrodes enables the electrical detection of single nucleotides (Figure 4).⁶ Electron transport through single nucleotides occurs not by changes in the ionic current flowing parallel to the nanopore but by changes in the electric current flowing between the nanogap electrodes.

ISMM 2011 was organized in conjunction with the KBCS (Korea BioChip Society) with Professor Sang-Hoon Lee, Korea University serving as the general chair. The successful three days symposium closed on 4th June 2011. A cultural highlight of ISMM 2011 was a traditional Korean performance called Sa-mul-no-ri (Figure 5). ‘Sa-mul’ means ‘four objects’ (four traditional drums that represent thunder, wind, cloud, and rain) and ‘no-ri’ means ‘play’. The rapid and powerful drumbeat not only coordinated the dancing performers but also got the audience moving their bodies. This exciting and interactive performance of traditional music and dance symbolized well the vibrant field of miniaturized systems that we experienced at ISMM 2011 with fast-paced discoveries, cross-disciplinary interactions, and increasing collaboration with ‘audiences’ outside the micro/nanotechnology ‘performers’ including industry. It also felt like the rumblings of the exciting future where ‘play’ between the ‘four objects/subjects’ of medicine, chemistry, biology, and engineering opens unprecedented opportunities.

Figure 5. Dancing to the rhythm of Korean drums at ISMM 2011.

References
1 L. Y. Wu, B. M. Ross, S. Hong and L. P. Lee, Small, 2010, 6, 503-507.
2 S. Sugaya, M. Yamada and M. Seki, Biomicrofluidics, 2011, 5, 24103.
3 G. S. Bisht, G. Canton, A. Mirsepassi, L. Kulinsky, S. Oh, D. Dunn-Rankin and M. J. Madou, Nano Lett, 2011, 11, 1831-1837.
4 X. Niu, F. Gielen, J. B. Edel and A. J. deMello, Nat. Chem., 2011, 3, 437-442.
5 K. J. Jang and K. Y. Suh, Lab Chip, 2010, 10, 36-42.
6 M. Tsutsui, M. Taniguchi, K. Yokota and T. Kawai, Nat. Nanotechnol., 2010, 5, 286-290.

The 2nd Korea – EU Workshop on Microfluidic Technology for Chemical, Biological and Medical Applications will be held later this year at KIST Europe.

The purpose of this international workshop is to bring together researchers, technologists, entrepreneurs and funding bodies to interact in the multidisciplinary field of “Lab on Chip”, specifically aimed at biological and medical applications. All speakers are by invitation only. Ample opportunity for informal talks will also be provided, as delegates will stay at a centralised venue, and contributed posters can be presented. This workshop will focus on the following leading areas of “Lab on Chip” for bio applications:

http://www.kist-europe.com/Conferences/LOC.html