Intro to Lab-on-a-Chip
ENGR 1182.03
Pre Lab
Lab-on-a-Chip
 Small scale chemical lab in a portable and disposable format.
 Require smaller amounts of reagents
 Disposable/Recyclable
DNA analysis
 Manufactured with inexpensive materials
OSU
Research
Biomedical Lab-on-a-Chip
 A type of Lab-on-a Chip used for Biomedical diagnostic tests specifically
 Biomedical Lab-on-a-Chip is also called a “Point of care” device
 Point of care:
 is defined as medical testing at or near the site of patient care
 makes the test available to the patient immediately and conveniently
 Therefore, physician receives the results quicker and can make
immediate clinical decisions
 Examples for “point of care” devices


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Screening for infectious diseases in the emergency room
Forensic analysis at crime scenes
At home screening for HIV, Diabetes, or even Cancer
1182.03 Lab-on-a-Chip
 Sample delivery/collection
 Targeted compound- Fluorescein *
 Fluidics - Fluidic channels in the chip
 Detection interface - Detection Alignment Device *
 Analysis - Electric circuit to interpret
detected data
 Readout/Display - Flashing LEDs*
* - These are specific to our Lab-on-a-Chip project.
Micro vs. Nano
 Our chip is based on micro-fluidics and thus has micron size
channels.
 Our chip has channel widths of 300-400 microns and a depth of
200 microns.
 There are no nano-fluidic devices yet on the market.
 If we could manufacture nano-fluidic devices we might be able to:
 Use extremely small amount of samples.
 Control the flow of individual DNA or other biomolecules on the chip.
Our Lab-on-a-chip project
 You will create 2 lab-on-a-chip designs that can detect
and measure the concentration of fluorescein.
 What is fluorescein?
Fluorescein
 Fluorescein in solution emits a “green” light
when stimulated with “blue” light. This is called
fluorescence.
 Since it isn’t toxic it can be used to track fluid
flows and flow rates in the body.
One Fluorescein Use
A type of dye that is used in the study of the blood vessels in the eye. The test
provides information about the circulatory system and the condition of the
retina.
Leakage
between
vessels
Under
Ultraviolet
Light
Retinal photograph of a patient
complaining of decreased vision. Looks
normal.
Fluorescein angiogram indicating fluid
leakage within the retina
Dry Eye detection
 Fluorescein is also used to determine tear flow rate in the
eyes as a diagnostic tool for dry eye syndrome.
 After putting fluorescein in the eye, tears coming into the eye
will reduce the fluorescein concentration over time.
 The rate of concentration change can be used to determine
tear flow rate.
Objective of Our Chip
 After fluorescein put in the eyes, tear samples are taken at
intervals and the concentration must be determined for
each sample.
 Our chips must be able to reliably measure the
concentration of multiple sequential samples of fluorescein.
Read Project Description Document in the class materials
for more details!
Learning Objectives of Lab
 Understand and experiment with the generic
lab-on-a-chip design.
 Test channels and overall chip design and
functionality using colored tap water, generic
PDMS chip and minimal tools and equipment.
 Gain insights on design for better chip
performance and understand the importance
of proper procedures and equipment.