Integration of microwave technology to microfluidic systems for high throughput combinatorial tests and lab-on-a-chip applications

The high throughput combinatorial testing for pharmaceutical applications requires fast methods for manipulating droplets in microfluidic systems. In this project, a microwave platform will be designed and employed for fast droplet heating, identification and detection. The use of extremely confined microwave energy makes heating, detecting, and identifying droplets possible. With the new platform it will be possible to control the temperature of each droplet separately. In addition, since microwaves heat water much more that other materials present in a typical microfluidic system, such as oil and polydimethylsiloxane, microwave heating can heat droplets much faster compared to resistive heating, which is the most common technique used in microfluidic systems. In addition to the heating applications, microwave non-invasive detection techniques will be employed for droplet detection and identification of the droplet contents.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Carolyn Ren

Student:

Muhammed Said Boybay

Partner:

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Pharmaceuticals

University:

University of Waterloo

Program: