MIT

3 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Engineering

Creating Sub-50 Nm Nanofluidic Junctions in PDMS Microfluidic Chip via Self-Assembly Process of Colloidal Particles

Xi Wei^1,2, Abeer Syed¹, Pan Mao³, Jongyoon Han⁴, Yong-Ak Song^1,2

¹Division of Engineering, New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), ²Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, ³Newomics, Inc., ⁴Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Biological Engineering, MIT

We propose a simple self-assembly technique of silica colloidal nanoparticles to create a nanofluidic junction between two microchannels in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Using this technique, a nanoporous bead membrane with a pore size down to ~45 nm was built inside a microchannel and applied to electrokinetic preconcentration of DNA samples.

Immunology and Infection

Label-free Neutrophil Enrichment from Patient-derived Airway Secretion Using Closed-loop Inertial Microfluidics

Hyunryul Ryu¹, Kyungyong Choi^1,2, Yanyan Qu³, Taehong Kwon^1,2, Janet S. Lee^3,5, Jongyoon Han^1,2,4

¹Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ²Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ³Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, ⁴Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ⁵Vascular Medicine Institute, University of Pittsburgh

In this research, we demonstrate a label-free neutrophil separation method from clinical airway secretions using closed-loop operation of spiral inertial microfluidics. The proposed method would expand the clinical in vitro assays for various respiratory diseases.

Engineering

Design and Fabrication of an Optical Fiber Made of Water

Mark L. Douvidzon¹, Shai Maayani², Leopoldo L. Martin³, Tal Carmon⁴

¹Department of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute (RBNI), Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, ²Department of Material Sciences and Engineering, MIT, ³Centro de Tecnologia Nanofotónica, Universitat Politècnica de València, ⁴Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

This protocol describes the design and manufacture of a water bridge and its activation as a water fiber. The experiment demonstrates that capillary resonances of the water fiber modulate its optical transmission.