Microfluidic mixing on microstructured leaf surfaces
Mentor 1
Dr. Woo-Jin Chang
Location
Union Wisconsin Room
Start Date
24-4-2015 10:30 AM
End Date
24-4-2015 11:45 AM
Description
Research in mechanical engineering has been conducted for many years, but as technology advances and grows ever smaller we need to develop new ways to experiment and analyze. Fluid mechanics is of high interest because of the commercial and scientific applicability in modern nanotechnologies and exceedingly relevant overlap in many fields of study such as biology, medicine, material science etc. The goals of this experiment are rooted deep in biotechnology and chemistry, however much of the research conducted extends from a source in physics and deals with vector fields and the analysis of fluid bodies. As the core of micro mixing experimentation is of a physical nature it is imperative that naturally occurring geometry is incorporated. Using several different microstructured leaf surfaces and a broad spectrum of analysis, the intent is to find a naturally occurring microsurface capable of creating turbulent flow on such a small scale. / On researching microstructured leaf surfaces using microfluidic devices for essential subscale interaction. Multiple numbers of the treatments, such as pre-concentration, reaction, and separation, are essential in the detection and quantitation of specific chemicals and biomolecules. A microfluidic device, which can conduct multiple treatments in less than a nanoliter of confined volumes, enables low-cost and rapid quantitation of the target molecules. However, mixing is an important issue in this miniaturized device, because of the laminar flow in such a small dimension microchannel. In this project, we will develop effective passive mixer by mimicking structures already exist in nature, such as leaf. The passive mixer will be easily fabricated by photo-lithography, which is the standard method of printing circuit board (PCB) and microprocessor fabrication. The process uses light to make the conductive paths of a PCB layer and the paths and electronic components in the silicon wafer of microprocessors. / To accomplish the research, notes are taken regularly in a scientific journal to ensure organized thoughts and processes. The journal will include all the details of the experimental procedures, preliminary data and pictures obtained, analyzed data, as well as future plan for each surface. Many tasks must be completed related to the preparation of plant surface microstructure molds prior to surface analysis. This includes collecting specimen, preparing copy molds, coating molds, bonding microfluidic device, microscope observation, casting molds, slide construction, microfluidic pump operation, fluid mechanics/vector analysis background and analysis of collected images and data. The behavior of the fluids effected from the microscopic geometry on the molds surface will be recorded and analyzed. All of this is organized and complied to create the foundation of a microsurface database that shall act as an encyclopedia of mechanical properties of organic microsurfaces. /
Microfluidic mixing on microstructured leaf surfaces
Union Wisconsin Room
Research in mechanical engineering has been conducted for many years, but as technology advances and grows ever smaller we need to develop new ways to experiment and analyze. Fluid mechanics is of high interest because of the commercial and scientific applicability in modern nanotechnologies and exceedingly relevant overlap in many fields of study such as biology, medicine, material science etc. The goals of this experiment are rooted deep in biotechnology and chemistry, however much of the research conducted extends from a source in physics and deals with vector fields and the analysis of fluid bodies. As the core of micro mixing experimentation is of a physical nature it is imperative that naturally occurring geometry is incorporated. Using several different microstructured leaf surfaces and a broad spectrum of analysis, the intent is to find a naturally occurring microsurface capable of creating turbulent flow on such a small scale. / On researching microstructured leaf surfaces using microfluidic devices for essential subscale interaction. Multiple numbers of the treatments, such as pre-concentration, reaction, and separation, are essential in the detection and quantitation of specific chemicals and biomolecules. A microfluidic device, which can conduct multiple treatments in less than a nanoliter of confined volumes, enables low-cost and rapid quantitation of the target molecules. However, mixing is an important issue in this miniaturized device, because of the laminar flow in such a small dimension microchannel. In this project, we will develop effective passive mixer by mimicking structures already exist in nature, such as leaf. The passive mixer will be easily fabricated by photo-lithography, which is the standard method of printing circuit board (PCB) and microprocessor fabrication. The process uses light to make the conductive paths of a PCB layer and the paths and electronic components in the silicon wafer of microprocessors. / To accomplish the research, notes are taken regularly in a scientific journal to ensure organized thoughts and processes. The journal will include all the details of the experimental procedures, preliminary data and pictures obtained, analyzed data, as well as future plan for each surface. Many tasks must be completed related to the preparation of plant surface microstructure molds prior to surface analysis. This includes collecting specimen, preparing copy molds, coating molds, bonding microfluidic device, microscope observation, casting molds, slide construction, microfluidic pump operation, fluid mechanics/vector analysis background and analysis of collected images and data. The behavior of the fluids effected from the microscopic geometry on the molds surface will be recorded and analyzed. All of this is organized and complied to create the foundation of a microsurface database that shall act as an encyclopedia of mechanical properties of organic microsurfaces. /
