micromixers are one of the most crucial components of lab-on-a-chip devices with the intention of mixing and dispersion of reagents like small molecules and particles. the challenge facing micromixers is typically insufficient mixing efficiency in basic designs, which results in longer microchannels. therefore, it is desirable to increase mixing efficiency, in order to decrease mixing length, w...

Biomolecular detection systems based on microfluidics are often called lab-on-chip systems. To fully benefit from the miniaturization resulting from microfluidics, one aims to develop 'from sample-to-answer' analytical systems, in which the input is a raw or minimally processed biological, food/feed or environmental sample and the output is a quantitative or qualitative assessment of one or mor...

■ Ultimately, consumers could have labs-on-chips in their home for fast diagnosis of common illnesses. —The Editors Imagine shrinking the beakers, eyedroppers, chemicals and heaters of a chemistry lab onto a little microchip that could dangle from a key chain. A growing number of companies and universities are claiming to have devised such marvels, ready to perform vital analyses from detecting...

Mechanotransduction has been a topic of considerable interest since early studies demonstrated a link between mechanical force and biological response. Until recently, studies of fundamental phenomena were based either on in vivo experiments with limited control or direct access, or on large-scale in vitro studies lacking many of the potentially important physiological factors. With the advent ...

Molecular computation on DNA performs calculations using nanotechnology means during chemical reactions. With the help of silicon industry microfluidic processors were invented utilizing nano membrane valves, pumps and microreactors. These so called lab-on-a-chips combined together with molecular computing create molecular-systems-on-a-chips. This work presents an approach to implementation of ...

At the heart of the laboratory on a chip are chemical or biochemical probes designed to detect specific molecules or reaction products. For these probes to perform their function, a microfluidic "plumbing system" is needed to accept samples, then manipulate, dispense, and distribute tiny liquid volumes on the chip. The most promising mechanisms for handling such small quantities of liquid -from...

H.A. Stone,1 A.D. Stroock,2 and A. Ajdari3 1Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138; email: [email protected] 2School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853; email: [email protected] 3Physico-Chimie Théorique, UMR CNRS-ESPCI 7083, ESPCI, 10 rue Vauquelin, 75005 Paris, France; email: armand@...

Optical methods are the preferred measurement techniques for biosensors and lab-on-chip applications. Their key properties are sensitivity, selectivity and robustness. To simplify the systems and their operation, it is desirable to employ label-free optical methods, requiring the functionalization of interfaces. Evanescent electromagnetic waves are probing the optical properties near the interf...

Here we describe the first example of using self-propelled antibody-functionalized synthetic catalytic microengines for capturing and transporting target proteins between the different reservoirs of a lab-on-a-chip (LOC) device. A new catalytic polymer/Ni/Pt microtube engine, containing carboxy moieties on its mixed poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)/COOH-PEDOT polymeric outermost layer, ...