Lab on a Chip Blog

These HOT articles were recommended by our referees and are free to access for 4 weeks*

Antimicrobial susceptibility assays in paper-based portable culture devices
Frédérique Deiss, Maribel E. Funes-Huacca, Jasmin Bal, Katrina F. Tjhung and Ratmir Derda  
Lab Chip, 2014,14, 167-171
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC50887K, Communication

Cell force measurements in 3D microfabricated environments based on compliant cantilevers
Mattia Marelli, Neha Gadhari, Giovanni Boero, Matthias Chiquet and Jürgen Brugger  
Lab Chip, 2014,14, 286-293
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51021B, Paper

A differential dielectric affinity glucose sensor
Xian Huang, Charles Leduc, Yann Ravussin, Siqi Li, Erin Davis, Bing Song, Dachao Li, Kexin Xu, Domenico Accili, Qian Wang, Rudolph Leibel and Qiao Lin  
Lab Chip, 2014,14, 294-301
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51026C, Paper

Microfluidic transwell inserts for generation of tissue culture-friendly gradients in well plates
Christopher G. Sip, Nirveek Bhattacharjee and Albert Folch  
Lab Chip, 2014,14, 302-314
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51052B, Paper
From themed collection Lab on a Chip Top 10%

Gradient static-strain stimulation in a microfluidic chip for 3D cellular alignment
Hsin-Yi Hsieh, Gulden Camci-Unal, Tsu-Wei Huang, Ronglih Liao, Tsung-Ju Chen, Arghya Paul, Fan-Gang Tseng and Ali Khademhosseini  
Lab Chip, 2014,14, 482-493
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC50884F, Paper

Biosensor design based on Marangoni flow in an evaporating drop
Joshua R. Trantum, Mark L. Baglia, Zachary E. Eagleton, Raymond L. Mernaugh and Frederick R. Haselton  
Lab Chip, 2014,14, 315-324
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC50991E, Paper
From themed collection Lab on a Chip Top 10%

Flow of suspensions of carbon nanotubes carrying phase change materials through microchannels and heat transfer enhancement
Sumit Sinha-Ray, Suman Sinha-Ray, Hari Sriram and Alexander L. Yarin  
Lab Chip, 2014,14, 494-508
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC50949D, Paper

Micro-scaffold array chip for upgrading cell-based high-throughput drug testing to 3D using benchtop equipment
Xiaokang Li, Xinyong Zhang, Shan Zhao, Jingyu Wang, Gang Liu and Yanan Du  
Lab Chip, 2014,14, 471-481
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51103K, Paper

Synchronized reinjection and coalescence of droplets in microfluidics
Manhee Lee, Jesse W. Collins, Donald M. Aubrecht, Ralph A. Sperling, Laura Solomon, Jong-Wook Ha, Gi-Ra Yi, David A. Weitz and Vinothan N. Manoharan  
Lab Chip, 2014,14, 509-513
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51214B, Paper

A microfluidic reciprocating intracochlear drug delivery system with reservoir and active dose control
Ernest S. Kim, Erich Gustenhoven, Mark J. Mescher, Erin E. Leary Pararas, Kim A. Smith, Abigail J. Spencer, Vishal Tandon, Jeffrey T. Borenstein and Jason Fiering  
Lab Chip, 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51105G, Paper
From themed collection Lab on a Chip Top 10%

Impedance matched channel walls in acoustofluidic systems
Ivo Leibacher, Sebastian Schatzer and Jürg Dual  
Lab Chip, 2014,14, 463-470
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51109J, Paper

Magnetoactive sponges for dynamic control of microfluidic flow patterns in microphysiological systems
Sungmin Hong, Youngmee Jung, Ringo Yen, Hon Fai Chan, Kam W. Leong, George A. Truskey and Xuanhe Zhao  
Lab Chip, 2014,14, 514-521
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51076J, Paper
From themed collection Lab on a Chip Top 10%

The microfluidic post-array device: high throughput production of single emulsion drops
E. Amstad, S. S. Datta and D. A. Weitz  
Lab Chip, 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51213D, Paper
From themed collection Lab on a Chip Top 10%

Interdroplet bilayer arrays in millifluidic droplet traps from 3D-printed moulds
Philip H. King, Gareth Jones, Hywel Morgan, Maurits R. R. de Planque and Klaus-Peter Zauner  
Lab Chip, 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51072G, Paper

A 1024-sample serum analyzer chip for cancer diagnostics
Jose L. Garcia-Cordero and Sebastian J. Maerkl  
Lab Chip, 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51153G, Paper
From themed collection Lab on a Chip Top 10%

Utilization and control of bioactuators across multiple length scales
Vincent Chan, H. Harry Asada and Rashid Bashir  
Lab Chip, 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC50989C, Critical Review

Microfabricated perfusable cardiac biowire: a platform that mimics native cardiac bundle
Yun Xiao, Boyang Zhang, Haijiao Liu, Jason W. Miklas, Mark Gagliardi, Aric Pahnke, Nimalan Thavandiran, Yu Sun, Craig Simmons, Gordon Keller and Milica Radisic  
Lab Chip, 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51123E, Paper
From themed collection Lab on a Chip Top 10%

Radiolabelling diverse positron emission tomography (PET) tracers using a single digital microfluidic reactor chip
Supin Chen, Muhammad Rashed Javed, Hee-Kwon Kim, Jack Lei, Mark Lazari, Gaurav J. Shah, R. Michael van Dam, Pei-Yuin Keng and Chang-Jin “CJ” Kim  
Lab Chip, 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51195B, Paper

Non-destructive handling of individual chromatin fibers isolated from single cells in a microfluidic device utilizing an optically driven microtool
Hidehiro Oana, Kaori Nishikawa, Hirotada Matsuhara, Ayumu Yamamoto, Takaharu G. Yamamoto, Tokuko Haraguchi, Yasushi Hiraoka and Masao Washizu  
Lab Chip, 2014, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C3LC51111A, Paper

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Researchers from the University of Tokyo and the CEA-Leti research institute in France have designed a platform that allows channels to be written and rewritten at will in a fluid layer atop a grid of electrodes.

In their recent cover article in Lab on a Chip, Raphael Renaudot and colleagues describe this novel device, which is based on the Electrowetting on Dielectric (EWOD) and Liquid Dielectrophoresis (LDEP) phenomena¹. Their goal was to create a flexible, reusable platform that would enable the creation of microfluidic devices without the use of expensive microfabrication techniques. The fluid layer of the device is filled with liquid paraffin, which can easily be solidified and re-melted via thermoelectric cooling and heating (its melting temperature is 35° C.) Water is injected into the paraffin layer, and its flow path is controlled via the underlying electrode layer, which is made up of a grid of 83 electrodes (the small squares seen in the figure). By tuning the interfacial tension between the water and the surface of each electrode via the independently controlled electrode voltages, it is possible to guide a channel (or “finger”) of water along the desired path on the grid (see figure).

After the water is guided into the desired path, the device is cooled, solidifying the paraffin and setting the channels in place. Later, the device can be reheated to erase the existing channels, and a new design can be drawn. The chip can be reused multiple times, reducing waste and making it very useful for prototype testing and low-cost applications. The authors demonstrated two chip designs using the reconfigurable platform: a droplet generator and a device for E. coli confinement within a fluidic cavity.

A water channel is drawn through a paraffin matrix via control of an underlying grid of electrodes (from Figure 2b)

Read this HOT article in Lab on a Chip today!

A Programmable and Reconfigurable Microfluidic Chip, Raphael Renaudot, Vincent Agache, Yves Fouillet, Guillaume Laffite, Emilie Bisceglia, Laurent Jalabert, Momoko Kumemura, Dominique Collard and Hiroyuki Fujita. DOI: 10.1039/c3lc50850a

References:

1. T. B. Jones and K. L. Wang, Langmuir 2004, 20 (7), 2813–2818.