University System of Maryland

Other

Donald Lad DeVoe

Eric L Kendall

Alex Sposito

Renee Hood

Chien-Fu Chen

Lung-Wen Tsai

Cheng Sheng Lee

Omid Rahmanian

Jung Yeon Han

Chia-Wen Tsao

In an embodiment, a microfluidic chip includes a capillary is disposed between upper and lower substrates, where the capillary includes a porous monolithic structure disposed within the capillary, and a clamp structure is defined within the channel and engages with the capillary. The clamp structure comprises a thermoplastic material that, when heated to a selected temperature, deforms around the capillary to secure the capillary in alignment with the channel. In another embodiment, a microfluidic chip includes a porous monolithic brick disposed between first and second substrates, where each of the first and second substrates includes a channel extending through the substrate to the brick structure to provide a fluid flow path through the each of the first substrate, the second substrate and the brick structure.

Integration of porous monolithic structures within microfluidic systems

The present invention relates to a microfluidic system including a temperature controller and a thermoplastic microfluidic chip that enables rapid PCR in a PCR chamber of the microfluidic chip. Thermal control of the PCR chamber is achieved by applying voltage to heater electrodes patterned directly onto one layer of the microfluidic chip. The temperature controller adjusts the voltage applied to the heater electrodes by changing temperature controller parameters selected to minimize duration of each PCR cycle. Furthermore, simple operation of the microfluidic chip is provided through using an integrated passive capillary valve, requiring minimum operator intervention and eliminating the need for fluidic interfacing, pumping, or metering during chip loading.

Integrated thermoplastic chip for rapid PCR and HRMA

Microfluidic methods and systems are provided for continuous flow synthesis and active loading of liposomes, which include a liposome formation region configured to form a population of liposomes and a microdialysis region downstream from the liposome formation region and configured to form a transmembrane gradient for active drug loading of the liposomes. Microfluidic methods and systems for high throughput production of liposomes are also provided featuring high aspect ratio microchannels.

Microfluidic liposome synthesis, purification and active drug loading

A new process enabling rapid and efficient desktop manufacturing of microfluidic devices fabricated from thermoplastic substrates utilizing the selective irreversible swelling of thermoplastic polymer when exposed to suitable solvent makes it possible to produce micro- or nano-fluidic devices with outstanding bonding and collapse free micro- or nano-structures.

Method for fabricating thermoplastic fluidic devices by orogenic growth and fluidic devices manufactured thereby

The present invention relates to a method for bonding two surfaces to one another. The invention particularly pertains to the use of such method in which one of the surfaces is a polymeric plastic (and more preferably a polymeric thermoplastic (especially poly-(methyl methacrylate) ('PMMA') or cyclic olefin copolymer ('COC')). More particularly, the invention relates to treating at least one of the contacting surfaces with UV in the presence of oxygen to thereby generate ozone (O) and atomic oxygen under conditions of temperature below that of the glass transition temperature of the polymeric plastic. The UV/O-mediated bonding results in high bond strength and zero-deformation method. This bonding method can be applied to micro/nano-scale polymer devices, and particularly to microfluidic devices, for a low cost, high throughput, high yield advantage.

Low temperature polymer bonding using UV/ozone surface treatment

One embodiment of the invention relates to a microfluidic apparatus for performing two dimensional biomolecular separations. According to one aspect of the invention, after a first dimension separation in a first microchannel, the sample material is electrokinetically and simultaneously transferred to an array of microchannels in the second dimension (e.g., by changing the electric potentials at the reservoirs connected to the microchannels). Preferably any separation accomplished in the first dimension is completely retained upon transfer to the second dimension. According to another aspect of the invention, the separation in the second dimension is performed using a temperature gradient (e.g., a spatial or temporal temperature gradient). According to one embodiment of the invention, the biomolecular material comprises DNA and the first dimension separation is a sized-based separation and the second dimension separation is a sequence-based separation.

Two dimensional microfluidic gene scanner

This invention provides a fabrication process for manufacturing of truly 3-dimensional micromechanisms which takes advantages of SOI (silicon-on-insulator) wafers each of which is processed to create a respective structural element of the 3-dimensional micromechanisms by DRIE (deep reactive ion etching) of the wafer and thermal oxidation of the trenches opened during the DRIE etching. The wafers are sequentially bonded into a multistack structure from which the 3-D micromechanism. is released by XeF etching. Thermally grown SiO is used as structural material for the 3-D micromechanism.

Growing community of inventors

Bethesda, MD, United States of America

Donald Lad DeVoe