Microfluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip: Basic Principles and Practical Applications

Held in conjunction with Lab-on-a-Chip, Microfluidics & Microarray World Congress

17 Sep 2014, at 13:00-16:00 in San Diego, California, USA

Microfluidics is rapidly becoming an enabling tool for a variety of applications like medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, DNA sequencing, proteomics and drug discovery to name a few. Indeed, microfluidics has been deployed in a number of high profile commercial products such as Illumina (HiSeq instrument flow cell for DNA sequencing), Fluidigm (digital PCR), Fluxion (circulating tumor cell isolation), RainDance Technologies (droplet microfluidics) and Advanced Liquid Logic (digital microfluidics for sample preparation). In this tutorial, a brief overview of fabrication technologies for microfluidic chips fabricated in glass, PDMS and thermoplastics (PMMA) will be discussed with a comparison made between these microfluidic platforms in terms of their fabrication modalities, surface chemistry, electrical behavior, optical detection and solvent compatibility. Information will also be provided on different types of microfluidic operational modes including centripetal, digital and droplet microfluidics and conventional flow-based microfluidics. A survey of different applications enabled by microfluidics will be presented as well. Some examples include microfluidic devices for the solid-phase extraction and purification of targets from biological samples (isolation of RNA/DNA from clinical samples), PCR amplifications, electrophoresis for DNA fragment sizing, isolation of rare cells (circulating tumor cells), fluidic interfacing between micro-scale separations and mass spectrometry and integrated systems for carrying out point-of-care diagnostics. Special attention to scaling effects (what does miniaturization offer) and fabrication/material selection on device performance will be offered. Finally, a brief introduction to nanofluidics and its future applications will be provided.

Learning Objectives

• Introduction to Microfluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip (LOAC)
  
• Methodologies for the Construction of LOAC Devices
• Review of Fabrication Technologies for Microfluidics Devices
• Applications of Microfluidics/LOAC Devices for Research, Clinical Diagnostics, Point-of-Care Diagnostics
• Specific Examples of Microfluidics/LOAC for Nucleic Acid Purification, CTC Isolation, DNA Analysis

Who Should Attend

• Academic Researchers Seeking a Comprehensive Overview of the Microfluidics/LOAC Field
• Industry Participants Seeking to Understand the Applications of Microfluidics/LOAC for Research Product Development, Diagnostics Development
• Business Development and Technology Officers Seeking to Get Up-to-Date Information and Analysis of the Microfluidics/LOAC Spaces, Technologies, and Applications and Benchmark Various Technologies for Infectious Disease and Cancer Diagnostics

All course delegates receive electronic copies of the presentation slides as well as a CD loaded with publications and reviews on microfluidics/LOAC--an excellent resource for R&D presentations and business/R&D plans.