StarPRJ_Detail_SC

Light-controlled Contamination-free Fluidic Processor - Gold Medal

Summary: This contamination-free fluidic processor resembles a “magic” optical hand that navigate, fuse, pinch, and cleave fluids in lossfree manner. The processor levitates a wide range of fluids, including water, oil, and alcohol, atop nanostructures and uses lights as wand to move or split fluids without physical touch.

Technology Benefits: The new processor is portable (with a thickness of ~2mm) and works for a wide spectrum of fluid and its maneuverable fluid volume can be as small as 0.001μl, about 0.02% of the volume of blood in a mosquito. Furthermore, the invention is contamination-free and can potentially replace disposable plastics and ease environmental strain. The costing is much lower (around US$50) compared with the traditional techniques

Technology Application: biomedical testing and diagnosis
DNA analysis, proteomics, cell assay and clinical diagnosis, chemical synthesis and drug discovery.

Detailed Technology Description: The invention is a light-controlled contamination-free fluidic processor which uses light as a stimulating force, allowing contactless manipulations in moving, merging, dispensing and splitting liquids, on a specifically designed photo-responsive platform. The platform is non-toxic and non-sticky to all fluids, making it an ideal contamination-free fluidic processor. The key technology of the light-controlled fluidic processor is a two-layer photo-responsive platform. With a thickness of only 2mm, it is portable and easy to handle. Its superomniphobic surface interfaces fluids in a frictionless manner, like dew drops rolling on a lotus leaf; and a photothermal pyroelectric layer, which senses the light stimuli and converts it into a force that move, split and dispense fluids.