THESIS
2011
xxvii, 162 p. : ill. ; 30 cm
Abstract
Microfluidics, as a new interdisciplinary field, holds the promise to offer better solutions
for analytical chemistry, bioscience, and material science etc. However, microfluidics is still
in its infancy and there remain many challenges in the field. On-chip extraction of physical
and chemical information from the extremely small volume in a microfluidic channel and
finding “killer” applications are two of challenges in microfluidic field. This PhD thesis
focuses on these two problems. There are six projects in the thesis, which can be classified
into two parts.
In the first part, we integrate several traditional analytical techniques on chips. We measure
the temperature on-chip and rates of flow using highly fluorescent ZnO quantum dots-poly(dimethylsiloxane) nanocomposite an...[
Read more ]
Microfluidics, as a new interdisciplinary field, holds the promise to offer better solutions
for analytical chemistry, bioscience, and material science etc. However, microfluidics is still
in its infancy and there remain many challenges in the field. On-chip extraction of physical
and chemical information from the extremely small volume in a microfluidic channel and
finding “killer” applications are two of challenges in microfluidic field. This PhD thesis
focuses on these two problems. There are six projects in the thesis, which can be classified
into two parts.
In the first part, we integrate several traditional analytical techniques on chips. We measure
the temperature on-chip and rates of flow using highly fluorescent ZnO quantum dots-poly(dimethylsiloxane) nanocomposite and electrochemical methods, respectively; we
also analyze ions or organic molecules in microchannels using a micro-electrochemical
station, on-chip capillary electrophoresis combined with fluorescence microscopy, and
surface enhanced micro-Raman spectrometry. With these sensing, imaging, and detection
methods, we expect to perform experiments with better control and higher sensitivity for
chemical analysis on chips, compared to traditional analysis in bench mode.
In the second part, we explore the application of microfluidics in material science. We
screen the optimized experimental conditions for the synthesis of nanomaterials on-chip. The
key component of our approach is an array of reactors containing solutions with a one- or
two-dimensional gradient of reagent concentration, pH value, or reaction temperature. In the
proof-of-concept experiments, we quickly identified the parameters (e.g., reaction
concentration and temperature) needed for the production of Au and Pd nanostructures with
specific morphologies, including Au wavy nanowires, Au nanobelts, and Pd multipods that
have not been observed previously in the products of conventional batch syntheses before.
Post a Comment