Microfluidic chips have been in development for more than a decade now for use in, among other things, medical diagnostics. They involve micrometer-sized channels cut into plastic membranes and function as miniature laboratories. One issue that has been a challenge for microfluidics developers, though, is interfacing it with the world. It’s a challenge faced in nanotechnology as well. Biomedical engineers at UC Davis think they’ve found an answer. And it’s as simple as a device you might have on your keychain right now–a USB drive.
UC Davis filed a provisional patent on the invention Nov. 1. A paper describing the devices was published online Nov. 25 by the journal Lab on a Chip.
“We think there is a huge need for an interface to bridge microfluidics to electronic devices,” said Tingrui Pan, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at UC Davis. Pan and graduate student Arnold Chen–invented the chip and co-authored the paper.
Pan believes that “fit-to-flow” connectors can be integrated with a standard peripheral component interconnect device commonly used in consumer electronics, while an embedded micropump can provide on-demand, self-propelled microfluidic operations.
Similar Posts:
- Electronic Cigarettes – Good For You
- Learn How to Use the EMR Software
- Researchers retract last year’s discovery of longevity genes
- Scientists glimpse dance of skeletons inside neurons
- Innovation: Portable Breast Scanners
