Francis Lin Health Logic Professor in Chip Innovation Professor, Dep. of Physics & Astronomy University of Manitoba CANADA

Toward Automated Passive Flow Microfluidics for Biomedical Applications

Passive flow microfluidic devices are widely applied for biological and biomedical applications owing to highly controlled fluidic manipulations at the micrometer scale. However, its practical use is often hindered by the requirement of specialized external pressure equipment and operation skills. As one easily adaptable approach, we integrated microfluidic circuit and oil coverage to enable accurate control of all-on-chip passive flow mixing. We employed this method for motility studies of various biological cells and point-of-care chronic disease diagnosis. The standalone and simple operation features of this method suggested its potential for fully automated “run by itself” research and healthcare applications.