Digital microfluidics for bioassays and drug delivery.

This presentation will focus on the development of microscale and nanoscale platform technologies for the interrogation and manipulation of biological and physiological activities. One platform we are developing can generate micro and nanoscale droplets/particles/vesicles by controlling amphiphilic interfaces in microfluidic devices. I utilize self-assembly forces in nature to design nanoscale structures that interface biological components with physical transducers that interrogate their activities or allow external manipulation. Through the design of microfluidic channel networks, droplet arrays present a novel method for controlling biochemistry and self-assembly at picoliter to femtoliter volumes, approaching the level of cellular activities. Nanoscale features can be designed into these vesicles that mimic biological functions such as molecular recognition, protein synthesis, and molecular transport. Based on the materials delivered, droplets can then form polymer nanoparticles (e.g. photopolymerization), lipid bilayer vesicles, and multilayer drug particles. Applications that we are pursuing include smart vesicles for targeted imaging and therapeutics for cardiovascular diseases, synthetic antibodies by molecular imprint polymer nanoparticles, protein crystallization, quantum dot synthesis in droplet microreactors, combinatorial cell-based assays, and cell-encapsulation for combinatorial assays and tissue engineering.