Digital microfluidics for bioassays and drug delivery

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science and Nanotechnology
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Interrogation and manipulation of biological activities require advanced platform technologies.
• Microfluidic devices offer precise control over fluid interfaces at the micro and nanoscale.
• Self-assembly principles can be leveraged to create functional nanoscale structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop microscale and nanoscale platform technologies for biological and physiological activity analysis.
• To engineer micro/nanoscale droplets, particles, and vesicles using controlled amphiphilic interfaces.
• To design nanoscale structures that interface biological components with physical transducers.

Main Methods:

• Utilized microfluidic devices to control amphiphilic interfaces for droplet/particle/vesicle generation.
• Employed self-assembly forces to design nanoscale structures for biological interfacing.
• Designed microfluidic channel networks for droplet arrays controlling biochemistry and self-assembly at picoliter to femtoliter volumes.

Main Results:

• Successfully generated micro and nanoscale droplets/particles/vesicles with controlled interfaces.
• Engineered nanoscale features mimicking biological functions like molecular recognition and transport.
• Demonstrated droplet capabilities for forming polymer nanoparticles, lipid vesicles, and drug particles.

Conclusions:

• Microfluidic-based platforms enable precise control over micro/nanoscale structures for biological applications.
• Developed platforms can create functional vesicles and particles for targeted imaging, therapeutics, and diagnostics.
• Potential applications include synthetic antibodies, protein crystallization, quantum dot synthesis, and cell encapsulation.