Microfluidics has been studied and applied in many topical fields in chemistry including analytical and bioanalytical chemistry. While the field was not accessible to many chemists initially, some microfluidic technologies have now become widespread tools through the availability of commercial instruments. Teaching the underlying principles of microfluidic technologies in the analytical curriculum has thus become an important aspect of our teaching efforts. For the advanced analytical laboratory classes, we developed a module in which students get hands on experience with a commercially available instrument. It involves the extraction and amplification of specific genomic DNA, which students analyze by microchip capillary electrophoresis with the Agilent Bioanalyzer instrument. Principles of capillary electrophoresis and microfluidics are taught in this lab module. Moreover, we have gained experience in teaching microfluidic concepts including diffusion on the microscale with modular microfluidic equipment. High school students can experience the fabrication basics necessary to build a microfluidic device and get hands on experience in handling fluids and analytes in these devices. We emphasize on the diffusion characteristics of analytes of interest in this module, which is also related to our ongoing research activities in crystallization of membrane proteins in microfluidic devices. Our experiences with this outreach program will also be shared.

Integrating microfluidic concepts in the undergraduate analytical curriculum and for high school student outreach projects

248th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.