Towards Single-Molecule Diagnostics Using Microfluidic Manipulation and Quantum Dot Nanosensors

In this report, we review several single-molecule detection (SMD) methods and newly developed nanocrystal-mediated single-fluorophore strategies for ultrasensitive and specific analysis of genomic sequences. These include techniques, such as quantum dot (QD)-mediated fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) technology and dual-color fluorescence coincidence and colocalization analysis, which allow separation-free detection of low-abundance DNA sequences and mutational analysis of oncogenes. Microfluidic approaches developed for use with single-molecule detection to achieve rapid, low-volume, and quantitative analysis of nucleic acids, such as electrokinetic manipulation of single molecules and confinement of sub-nanoliter samples using microfluidic networks integrated with valves, are also discussed.

Investigation of Three-Dimensional Flow in Microchannels With Patterned Surfaces

A three-dimensional numerical simulation of flow in patterned microchannel with alternate layers of hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces at the bottom wall is studied here. Surface characteristics of the microchannel are accounted by specifying the contact angle and the surface tension of the fluid. Meniscus profiles with varying amplitude and shapes are obtained under the different specified surface conditions. Flow instability increases as the fluid at the bottom wall traverses alternately from hydrophilic region to hydrophobic region. To understand the surface tension effect of the side walls, a two-dimensional numerical study has also been carried out for the microchannel and the results are compared with three-dimensional simulation. The surface tension effect of the side walls enhances the capillary effect for three-dimensional case.

Two-Phase Flow Characteristics in a Co-Flow Induced Microchannel With Microbubbles Generation

This paper presents a micro-fluidic device which generates micro-bubbles, ranging from 70μm to 160μm in diameter, and two-phase flow characteristics in the device were tested. The device is composed of three sub-channels: a centered gas channel (10μm×50μm) and two liquid channels (both with 85μm×50μm) on each side of the gas channel. Micro-bubbles are generated by co-flow of gas and liquid at the exit of the gas channel when the drag force becomes larger than the surface tension force as bubbles grow. Methanol and a gas mixture of CO2 and N2 were used as the working fluid. Since the flow rate of gas was very small, the gas momentum effect was considered negligible. Thus, in the present case, the controlling parameters were the liquid superficial velocity and the inlet pressure of the gas. A high speed camera was used to record two-phase flow patterns and micro-bubbles of the device. To confine the ranges of the micro-bubbles generation, two-phase flow patterns in the device is observed at first. Four different flow patterns were observed: annular, annular-slug, slug, and bubbly flow. In bubbly flows, uniform-sized micro-bubbles were generated, and the operating ranges of the liquid superficial velocity and the gas pressure were below 0.132 m/s and 0.7 bar, respectively. Diameters of the micro-bubbles appeared smaller with the higher superficial liquid velocity and/or with a lower gas pressure. Experimental results showed that, with the gas pressure lower than a certain level, the sizes of micro-bubbles were almost insensitive to the gas pressure. In such a ranges, the micro-bubble diameters could be estimated from a drag coefficient correlation, CDw = 31330/Re3, which is different from the correlations for macro-channels due to a larger wall effect with the micro-channels. In the latter part of the paper, as a potential of application of the micro-bubble generator to gas analysis, dissolution behavior of the gas components into the liquid flow was examined. The result shows that the micro-bubble generator can be adopted as a component of miniaturized gas analyzers if a proper improvement could be made in controlling the bubble sizes effectively.

Heat Transfer Model for Condensation in Non-Circular Microchannels

A model for predicting heat transfer during condensation of refrigerant R134a in horizontal noncircular microchannels is presented. The thermal amplification technique developed and reported in earlier work by the authors is used to measure condensation heat transfer coefficients for six non-circular microchannels (0.424 < Dh < 0.839 mm) of different shapes over the mass flux range 150 < G < 750 kg/m2-s. The channels included barrel-shaped, N-shaped, rectangular, square, and triangular extruded tubes, and a channel with a W-shaped corrugated insert that yielded triangular microchannels. Results from previous work by the authors on condensation flow mechanisms in microchannel geometries were used to interpret the results based on the applicable flow regimes. The effect of tube shape was also considered in deciding the applicable flow regime. A modified version of the annular flow based heat transfer model proposed recently by the authors for circular microchannels, with the required shear stress being calculated from a noncircular microchannel pressure drop model also reported earlier was found to best correlate the present data for square, rectangular and barrel-shaped microchannels. For the other microchannel shapes with sharp acute-angle corners, a mist flow based model from the literature on larger tubes was found to suffice for the prediction of the heat transfer data. These models predict the data significantly better than the other available correlations in the literature.

Temperature Dependence of Thermal Conductivity of Amorphous and Crystal Thin Film by Molecular Dynamics Simulation

For crystal materials, thermal conductivity (TC) is proportional to T3 at low temperatures and to T−1 at high temperatures. TCs of most amorphous materials decrease with the decreasing temperatures. If a material is thin film, boundary will influence the TC and then influence the temperature dependence. In this paper, we calculate the TC of crystal and amorphous SiO2 thin films, which is a commonly used material in micro devices and Integrated Circuits, by NEMD simulations. The calculation temperatures are from 100K to 700K and the thicknesses are from 2nm to 8nm. TCs of crystal thin films reach their peak values at different temperatures for different thicknesses. The smaller thickness the larger peak values obtained. But for amorphous thin films, the results show that the temperature dependence of thin films is the same as bulk materials and not relative to their thicknesses. The obtained temperature dependence of the thin films is consistent with some previous measurements and the theory predictions.

Compact Model of Slug Flow in Microchannels

This paper presents a theoretical investigation of the movement of liquid droplets and slugs in hydrophobic microchannels and develops a compact model for this type of two-phase flow. This model is used in the prediction of pressure drop and liquid water coverage ratio, key parameters in the operation of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC), the primary motivation for this work. A semi-empirical, periodic-steady two-phase separated flow compact model is formulated to characterize the slug flow behavior. The momentum equation includes the effects of acceleration, friction and surface tension on the pressure drop. The model considers spatial changes in slug velocity through the use of a force balance formulation. The model uses a departure scheme that computes slug size and shape at entrainment. The steady state slug flow compact model is capable of predicting liquid water coverage ratio and pressure drop using liquid and gas flow rates and advancing/receding triple point contact angles as its only inputs. The results indicate that the pressure drop increases as the droplet formation frequency increases.

The Characteristics of CH4-Vapor Catalytic Reforming Reaction Considering CO2 and CH4 Reaction in the Micro-Chamber

Methane and vapor catalytic-reaction is a complex reaction system, and especially CH4/CO2 reaction has an important influence to the methane/vapor reforming reaction. In this paper, the reaction character for methane and vapor catalytic reforming reaction in the micro-chamber wall with Ni catalyst is numerically investigated. The results show that the CH4/CO2 reaction has a vital influence on reactive characteristics in the different H2O/CH4 mole ratio and the mass flow-rate. With increasing the H2O/CH4 mole ratio, the concentration of H2 and CO2 increases, the concentration of CO increases and then decreases, but if the H2O/CH4 mole ratio is more than 2.5, the result is different. The reaction efficiency will descend while the flow-rate increases. The results also display that the methane conversion ratio, the vapor conversion ratio, and the hydrogen concentrations can be up to 81.73%, 69.42%, and 4.29%, while the H2O/CH4 mole ratio, flow-rate and methane/vapor mass flow-rate ratio are 2.5, 7 g/h and 0.1 respectively.

Thermal Management of Low Profile Applications

There is an increasing need for low profile thermal management solutions for applications in the range of five to ten watts targeted at portable electronic devices. This need is emerging due to enhanced power dissipation levels in portable electronics. This work focuses upon the optimization of such a solution within certain constraints of profile and footprint area. A number of fan geometries have been investigated where both the inlet and exit rotor angles are varied relative to the heat conducting fins on a heat sink. The ratio of fan diameter to heat sink fin length was also varied. The objective was to determine the optimal solution from a thermal management perspective within defined constraints. The results show good thermal performance for low profile thermal management solutions, and highlight the need to develop the heat sink and fan as an integrated thermal solution rather than in isolation as is the traditional methodology. It is also found that while increasing pumping power generally improves the thermal performance, only small gains are achieved for relatively large pumping power increases. This is important in optimizing portable systems which are powered by limited battery life.

Numerical Simulation on Micromixer Based on Syntehtic Jet

This paper studied a concept of micromixer with a synthetic jet placed at the bottom of a rectangular channel. Due to periodic ejections from and suctions into the channel, the fluids are mixed effectively. To study the effects of the inlet velocity, the jet intensity and frequency, and the jet location on the mixing efficiency, 3-D numerical simulations of the micromixer have been carried out. It has been found that when the jet intensity and the frequency are fixed, the mixing efficiency increases when Re<50, and decreases when Re>50 with the best mixing efficiency achieved at Re=50. When the ratio of the jet velocity magnitude to the inlet velocity is taken as 10 and the jet frequency is 100Hz, the mixing index reaches the highest value. It has also been found that to get better mixing efficiency, the orifice of the synthetic jet should be asymmetrically located away from the channel’s centerline.

Microfluidic Control Using Vapor Based Valves

Microflow valving and regulating are two important functions for microfluidic systems for applications such as Lab-on-Chip. Although silicon based counterparts have been studied extensively, few good technologies exist for polymer based microvalves and regulators. In this paper, we present designs and methods for microvalve and microflow regulators that are readily integrated into polymer microfluidic devices. The technologies utilize “air-pocket” structures built into the sidewalls of the microchannels. When liquid is filled in such a channel, air is trapped in “air pocket” structures due to the hydrophobicity of the polymer. By creating a small thermal gradient between the fluid in the channel and the air in the pockets, one can controllably evaporate fluid into the air pocket where it condenses. This displaces air out of the pocket into the flow channel, increasing the resistance to flow. The air valve retreats to its original pocket when the temperature gradient is removed, thus allowing one to increase or decrease fluid flow at will. If the temperature gradient is maintained long enough, the air will completely block the channel, forming an irreversible valving of the flow. Therefore, the same device can be used as either a valve or flow-regulating device. Microfluidic prototypes were built and tested using this technology. The results show successful constant flow delivery as well as valve function. This novel vapor based microflow valve and regulator has advantages of low cost, simple design, and both ease of fabrication and integration.