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Mechanical
Engineering
Prashanta Dutta
Microfluidic Technology
The
emerging “lab-on-a-chip” microfluidic technology
has opened a new era in laboratory experiments by potentially
bringing all functionalities of regular diagnosis to
a small hand-held device. These microfluidic devices
handle nano to pico liter volume of fluids and have enormous
potential in the chemical, biological, and bio-analytical
fields, such as DNA analysis and sequencing, protein
separation and synthesis, drug delivery, etc. In the
WSU Micro Scale Thermo Fluid (MSTF) group, Dr. Dutta
and his colleagues are developing novel micro/nano fluidic
components for “lab-on-a-chip” devices utilizing
various polymeric materials. They are particularly focused
on integrating various functionalities, such as power
supply, optical detection, environmental sensing, etc.,
in a single micro device.
Dr. Dutta’s research interests include:
- Design,
fabrication, and characterization of micro/nano-fluidic
devices;
- Integration
of complex functionalities in a single micro device;
- Development
of detection systems to probe proteins and macromolecules;
- Testing
of integrated devices utilizing nano liter volume of
reagents/chemicals;
- Hybrid
modeling and analysis of flow behavior in micro/nano-fluidic
devices.
Since
applications of most “lab-on-a-chip” devices
far exceed the departmental boundary, one of the ongoing
collaborative projects is the development of an integrated
microfluidic chip for multi-stage high resolution iso-electric
focusing (IEF). In this study, a complex functional microchip
will be developed for sample loading, transportation,
and separation where IEF can be staged by first focusing
proteins in a narrow channel using broad-range ampholytes
and then refocusing segments of that first channel into
secondary channels that branch out from the first one.
These inexpensive microdevices could be utilized in the
separation of proteins and peptides with very high resolution.
This project will impact the field of proteomics in several
ways: (1) by moving IEF from gels to polymer chips, (2)
by removing 2D-PAGE as a bottleneck and (3) by adapting
the concept of staging to chip-scale fractionations.
In
another collaborative work, this research group is developing
a micro bioreactor on a chip to synthesize pheromones
for insects. Pheromones are generally formed by reacting
several (2 to 6) different chemical components in a prescribed
ratio. Performance of pheromones depends on the quality
of the synthesis, which in turn depends on the proper
metering of individual components. Good quality pheromones
require a very tiny supply of every ingredient (less
than 1 microliter/min). The MSTF group is working on
a bioreactor/micro synthesizer by precisely dispensing
an exact amount of ingredients and by synthesizing them
at the point of delivery.
This
group is not only developing a multi-functional micro/nano-fluidic
chip, but also working on the innovative detection system
needed for these miniature devices. Since the typical
component dimension of most microfluidic devices is 30
microns (wide) x 2 microns (thick), detection systems
for these kind of devices are more challenging. For micron-size
channel dimensions, the group is working on a laser-induced
fluorescence (LIF) and ultra-violet (UV) detection system
for fluorescently and nonfluorescently tagged proteins,
respectively. On the other hand, for sub-micron size
channels, they have been collaborating with Pacific Northwest
National Lab (PNNL) to develop an ultrasound based universal
detection technology for any type of device material.
Contact
Information
Prashanta Dutta, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Mechanical
and Materials Engineering
Washington State University
PO Box 642920
Pullman, WA 99164-2920
Telephone:
509-335-7989
Fax: 509-335-4662
E-mail: dutta@mail.wsu.edu
Web: www.mstf.wsu.edu
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