Description
The student will gain understanding of the important physical chemistry underlying, as well as the basic concepts of design, fabrication, operation and control for microfluidic devices. Microfluidics is an emerging arena coupling several disciplines that has already delivered devices with unparalleled levels of microdispersions, microemulsions, cell disruption, liposomes and injectibles. The technology covers applications in chemical processing, food manufacturing and additives, pharmaceutical production and research, biotechnology and cosmetics. This module will give a survey of the theory of microfluidics: capillary forces, laminar flow and transport phenomena, microbubble and micro-droplet formation, electroosmosis, electrophoresis, fluidic network simulation, heat transfer, inertia effects, magnetic separation, mixing, and surface effects. The history and development of fluidics and microfluidics will be detailed. Specific applications of microfluidics will be presented: electrokinetic flow, flow measurement and micro-PIV, electrokinetic bioanalytical systems, and miniaturized capillary isoelectric focusing. The student will be educated in the analysis of microfluidic systems in the context of the principles of physicochemical hydrodynamics.
