The development of microfluidic devices for heavy metal extraction is presented in this dissertation. Various research areas, covering subjects from photochromic compound syntheses to microchip fabrication techniques are explored to develop microfluidic devices capable of extracting heavy metal ions from drinking water. Through integration of the beneficial characteristics of both...
In this paper we present a novel fabrication technique that utilizes polycaprolactone (PCL) as bonding media due to its low melting temperature property. PCL is biodegradable polyester with a melting point of 60°C, and a glass transition temperature of -60°C [1-10]. It is employed as a rapid bonding technique in...
A system of Photoactuated Droplet Microfluidics (PDM), in which a droplet of
fluid is moved by way of the manipulation of the wettability of a spiropyran
functionalized surface via irradiation with ultraviolet and visible light, was proposed. The
photochromic behaviors of several species of spiropyran were studied and a procedure...
A system to reversibly extract Pb²⁺ ions from aqueous solutions using spiropyran functionalized nanofibers was proposed. Spiropyrans are photochromic compounds which undergo a conformational change that alters their physical properties and makes Pb²⁺ binding possible upon irradiation with UV light (365 nm). Irradiation with green light (525 nm) reverses this...
Gene synthesis is an important tool in molecular biology. However, the current
bench-top method of gene synthesis is a costly, time-intensive and reagent-consuming
process. Lab-on-chip technology has many benefits over current bench top methods.
Microchips consume smaller reagent volumes, are reusable and less expensive to make.
This thesis explores the...
Miniaturized and portable microfluidic analytical platforms have been widely explored in the broad field of chemical analysis. The concept of microfluidics offer a number of important advantages, including low reagent consumption, low-cost detection, high sample throughput, and shorter analysis time. Semiconductor nanocrystals or quantum dots have been extensively utilized in...
Analytical chemistry is an area of chemistry primarily focused on the study and use of instruments for separation, identification, and quantification of an analyte of interest. Specifically, separation science within analytical chemistry often refers to the process of dividing mixtures into their small component parts based on differences in their...
The concept of reducing laboratory operations in scale such that they fit on a microfluidic chip has been met with great enthusiasm. Lab-on-a-chip devices promise to be cost effective to operate due to reduced reagent consumption, have the potential to offer shorter analysis times due to their short path lengths,...
There has been a tremendous growth in interest in carbon nanodots (C-dots) in the past several years. As a nascent nanomaterial, C-dots have shown great promise in applications that benefit from their superior water dispersibility, low toxicity, non-blinking fluorescent output, chemical and biological compatibility, ease of functionalization and resistance to...
The development of micro total analysis systems (µTAS), also called “lab-on-a-chip”, or microfluidic analysis systems, is presented in this dissertation. Various research areas, covering subjects from magnetic particles synthesis to novel microchip fabrication techniques, are explored to develop a lab-on-a-chip system capable of performing magnetic bead-based bioassays. These devices are...