Development of biofactory-on-a-chip technology

Xiao-Feng Zhou; Julian P.H. Burt; Mark S. Talary; Andrew D. Goater; Ron Pethig

doi:10.1117/12.395666

Translator Disclaimer

18 August 2000 Development of biofactory-on-a-chip technology

Xiao-Feng Zhou, Julian P.H. Burt, Mark S. Talary, Andrew D. Goater, Ron Pethig

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4177, Microfluidic Devices and Systems III; (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.395666
Event: Micromachining and Microfabrication, 2000, Santa Clara, CA, United States

Abstract

The miniaturised Biofactory-on-a-Chip devices described here are integrated systems capable of the rapid analysis of small volume particulate samples and have applications in areas such as medical and biological cell diagnostics, chemical detection and water quality control. The devices use the A.C. electrokinetic phenomena of dielectrophoresis, travelling wave dielectrophoresis and electrorotation to manipulate, separate and characterise particle systems by exploiting their dielectric properties. Biofactory fabrication makes use of conventional photolithographic processes along with precision excimer laser ablation based micromachining. Using this combination of technologies, a wide range of manufacturing issues have been addressed and are discussed here. For instance, reliable interconnection of multilayer electrodes has been achieved using laser machining of via- holes between lithographically produced electrodues. Also, accurate fluidic microchannel systems with varying curved cross-sections that allow the smooth transport of a sample through the device whilst eliminating problems of particle trapping have been developed using excimer laser machining. Although the biofactory devices presented here have been applied to the fractionation of micro-organisms such as E. coli from red blood cells, the flexibility of design allows these devices to perform a wide range of complex bioprocessing function in a single, low-cost and miniaturised package.

Citation Download Citation

Xiao-Feng Zhou, Julian P.H. Burt, Mark S. Talary, Andrew D. Goater, and Ron Pethig "Development of biofactory-on-a-chip technology", Proc. SPIE 4177, Microfluidic Devices and Systems III, (18 August 2000); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.395666

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE