Glass is one of the most convenient materials for the development of microfluidic devices. However, most fabrication protocols require long processing times and expensive facilities. As a convenient alternative, polymeric materials have been extensively used due their lower cost and versatility. Although CO2 laser ablation has been used for fast prototyping on polymeric materials, it cannot be ...

An innovative method for fabricating the reference cell for a Rubidium (Rb) integrated atomic clock is presented. This method uses low-temperature solder sealing technique for producing mini-cells of the size of 14 x 10 x 3 mm, suitable for Rb miniature atomic clocks. Top and bottom of the cell consists of two glass slides. An LTCC (Low-Temperature Cofired Ceramic) module of 2 mm thickness, equ...

Previous reports have suggested that platelets from patients with Bernard-Soulier's syndrome (BSS) are not giant cells. Rather, they are normal-sized in suspension, but spread out on glass slides more readily than control cells, yielding the impression of being giant. The present study has used cell sizing techniques, electron microscopy, and micropipette aspiration to evaluate platelets from t...

We investigated the mechanical strength of adhesion and the dynamics of unbinding of red blood cells to solid surfaces. Two different situations were tested: 1), native red blood cells nonspecifically adhered to glass surfaces coated with positively charged polymers and 2), biotinylated red blood cells specifically adhered to glass surfaces decorated with streptavidin, which has a high binding ...

Small airway epithelial cells form a continuous sheet lining the conducting airways, which serves many functions including a physical barrier to protect the underlying tissue. In asthma, injury to epithelial cells can occur during bronchoconstriction, which may exacerbate airway hyperreactivity. To investigate the role of epithelial cell rupture in airway constriction, laser ablation was used t...

The Cover Feature depicts the schematic of micropipette apparatus along with electrolytically induced facilitated ion transfer process as well an example differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). This is overlaid onto a photo Newfoundland coast at sunset. More information can be found in Aricle by Q. Jiang et al.

We present a simple cell docking method induced by receding meniscus to capture non-adherent yeast cells onto microwells inside a microfluidic channel. Microwells were fabricated either by capillary moulding of UV curable polyurethane acrylate (PUA) onto glass substrate or direct replica moulding of poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS). A cell suspension of the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae...

The fabrication of glass capillary microfluidic devices is technically challenging, often hampering use of the design. We describe a new technique, based on commercially available components, for assembling flow focusing capillary devices that can readily be taken apart and cleaned between uses. This design strategy allows for generation of both water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions in the sa...

We studied spontaneous formation of an internal meniscus by dipping glass capillaries of 25 μm to 350 μm radii into low volatile hexadecane and tributyl phosphate. X-ray phase contrast and high speed optical microscopy imaging were employed. We showed that the meniscus completes its formation when the liquid column is still shorter than the capillary radius. After that, the meniscus travels abo...

Capillary forces have been measured by atomic force microscopy in the plate-sphere setup between gold, borosilicate glass, GeSbTe, titanium, and UV-irradiated amorphous titanium-dioxide surfaces. The force measurements were performed as a function contact time and surface roughness in the range 0.2-15 nm rms and relative humidity ranging between 2% and 40%. It is found that even for the lowest ...