Microfluidics News and Research

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Tiny micro-incubator to culture living cells for lab tests

Integrating silicon microchip technology with a network of tiny fluid channels, some thinner than a human hair, researchers at The Johns Hopkins University have developed a thumb-size micro-incubator to culture living cells for lab tests.

3 Oct 2007

Sandia develops portable microfluidic platform to detect biotoxins

Of all the threat scenarios facing emergency responders around the country, the release and spread of a dangerous biotoxin in a large public space is one of the most troubling.

27 Sep 2007

When biological molecules kiss, a new kind of biosensor can tell

A new and deceptively simple technique has been developed by chemists at Vanderbilt University that can measure the interactions between free-floating, unlabeled biological molecules including proteins, sugars, antibodies, DNA and RNA.

21 Sep 2007

Rapid testing for pre-natal detection of Down syndrome

Scientists in California are reporting an advance toward rapid testing for pre-natal detection of Down syndrome and other birth defects that involve an abnormal number of chromosomes.

18 Sep 2007

Cell-based sensor for analysis of EGFR biomarker expression in oral cancer

Using a microfluidic device designed to capture and enrich cells from biological samples, a research team at The University of Texas at Austin has developed a test that can detect an important early marker for oral squamous cell carcinoma, which accounts for more than 90 percent of oral cancers. Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and is difficult to detect early enough to treat successfully.

22 Aug 2007

Microchip Biotechnologies secures patent rights from Pathwork Diagnostics

Microchip Biotechnologies, Inc. has announced that it has secured key patent rights from Pathwork Diagnostics for sample injection structures in microfluidic separations.

12 Jul 2007

New minimally invasive method of treating cancer

A team of biomedical engineers at Virginia Tech and the University of California at Berkeley has developed a new minimally invasive method of treating cancer, and they anticipate clinical trials on individuals with prostate cancer will begin soon.

9 Jul 2007

Microfluidic chip for cancer diagnosis

For the first time an important diagnostic test for cancer has been miniaturized and automated onto a microfluidic chip by a team of University of Alberta researchers in Edmonton, Canada.

20 Jun 2007

Lab-on-a-chip speeds proteomics research

In recent years, the science of biology has been dominated by genomics, the study of genes and their functions.

4 May 2007

BioForce Nanosciences sells Nano Enabler to Louisiana Tech

BioForce Nanosciences has announced the March sale of the Nano eNabler molecular printer to Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana.

24 Apr 2007

Precise and low-cost submicron fabrication technique for manufacturing human spare parts

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Tampere University of Technology and Nanofoot Finland Oy have developed a direct-write three-dimensional forming method of biomaterials.

11 Apr 2007

Handheld instrument assesses dental disease in minutes

Who would have guessed that when the Star Trek medical diagnostic tool known as the tricorder makes its appearance in real life, the first user might be . . . your dentist.

5 Apr 2007

Scientists take a close look at early events in immune response

A Sandia National Laboratories research team led by Anup Singh is taking a new approach to studying how immune cells respond to pathogens in the first few minutes and hours of exposure.

4 Apr 2007

Biochip allows genes to express themselves

Biochip platforms that work as artificial cells are attractive for medical diagnostics, interrogation of biological processes, and for the production of important biomolecules.

13 Feb 2007

DNA-encoded antibody libraries

During the past several years, breakthroughs in genomic and proteomic technologies have enabled researchers to more clearly identify the biochemical networks that malfunction when a healthy cell becomes malignant.

12 Feb 2007

Microfluidics gives boost to protein crystallization

Proteins produced by cancer cells are among the common targets for anticancer agents, and thanks to efforts in proteomics and cancer genomics, the number of potential protein targets is increasing exponentially.

16 Jan 2007

A fully integrated microfluidic genetic analysis system with sample-in-answer-out capability

In an accomplishment that represents a significant step toward an era of rapid, inexpensive, bedside testing for cancer, researchers at the University of Virginia have developed a microfluidic device that can process human blood samples and yield diagnostic results within an hour.

8 Jan 2007

Nonlithographic fabrication of microfluidic devices

Typically, researchers create microfluidic devices using the same lithographic techniques and tools used to fabricate computer chips. Lithography is expensive and slow, factors that could limit the ultimate utility of microfluidic devices in clinical applications.

4 Dec 2006

Low-field magnetic separation of monodisperse Fe3O4 nanocrystals

Whether the goal is to separate different types of cells or molecules, methods that rely on the age-old principle of magnetism are a staple among researchers.

20 Nov 2006

Watching a tumor cell migrate

Using a microfluidics device designed to reproduce the physical microenvironment of small blood vessels and the spaces between cells, researchers at the National University of Singapore have imaged single tumor cells deforming as they migrate through the device.

20 Nov 2006