John Oakey

Microfluidic sorting system based on optical waveguide integration and diode laser bar trapping

Effective methods for manipulating, isolating and sorting cells and particles are essential for the development of microfluidic-based life science research and diagnostic platforms. We demonstrate an integrated optical platform for cell and particle sorting in microfluidic structures. Fluorescent-dyed particles are excited using an integrated optical waveguide network within micro-channels. A diode-bar optical trapping scheme guides the particles across the waveguide/micro-channel structures and selectively sorts particles based upon their fluorescent signature. This integrated detection and separation approach streamlines microfluidic cell sorting and minimizes the optical and feedback complexity commonly associated with extant platforms.

Optical trapping, manipulation, and sorting of cells and colloids in microfluidic systems with diode laser bars.

We demonstrate a new technique for trapping, sorting, and manipulating cells and micrometer-sized particles within microfluidic systems, using a diode laser bar.

Fabrication of linear colloidal structures for microfluidic applications

In this letter, an optical microfabrication and actuation method for the creation of microfluidic structures is described. In this approach, an optical trap is used to position and polymerize colloidal microspheres into linear structures to create particle or cell directing devices within microfluidic channel networks. To demonstrate the utility of these structures, two microscale particulate valves are shown, a passive design that restricts particulate flow in one direction and another design that directs particulate flow to one of two exit channels.

Laminar‐Flow‐Based Separations at the Microscale

The natural separation maintained by microfluidic flows is employed as the basis of a particle/cell sorting device. This method of separating particulate suspensions exploits the inherent laminar nature of microscale fluid dynamics and incorporates applied fields and image cytometry to enable sorting based upon any visually identifiable difference between colloid‐sized cells or particles. This technique may be used to easily isolate, separate, sort, or enrich virtually any suspension of microscale biological or colloidal particles within a microfluidic system. The entire footprint of the device described here is less than 0.01 mm2, allowing it to be readily incorporated within highly integrated micro total analysis systems (μTAS).

Flow control for capillary-pumped microfluidic systems

Advantages of performing analytical and diagnostic tasks in microfluidic-based systems include small sample volume requirements, rapid transport times and the promise of compact, portable instrumentation. The application of such systems in home and point-of-care situations has been limited, however, because these devices typically require significant associated hardware to initiate and control fluid flow. Capillary-based pumping can address many of these deficiencies by taking advantage of surface tension to pull fluid through devices. The development of practical instrumentation however will rely upon the development of precision control schemes to complement capillary pumping. Here, we introduce a straightforward, robust approach that allows for reconfigurable fluid guidance through otherwise fixed capillary networks. This technique is based on the opening and closing of microfluidic channels cast in a flexible elastomer via automated or even manual mechanical actuation. This straightforward approach can completely and precisely control flows such as samples of complex fluids, including whole blood, at very high resolutions according to real-time user feedback. These results demonstrate the suitability of this technique for portable, microfluidic instruments in laboratory, field or clinical diagnostic applications.

Optical waveguides via viscosity-mismatched microfluidic flows

This letter describes all-liquid optical waveguiding within microfluidic channels that employs viscosity-mismatched core and cladding fluids. Efficient optical coupling is achieved through superior control of fluid flow profiles obtained via hydrodynamic focusing and models describing the control of the viscosity-mismatched, graded index fluid waveguides are presented. As a demonstration of this approach, a fluorescence quantification assay is performed using dyed colloidal particles.

Two-photon absorption fluorescence imaging to characterize microfluidic device performance

Two-photon absorption fluorescence imaging is used to quantitatively measure 3D flow and mixing in microfluidics. This is an important characterization tool for developing optimal microfluidic devices for use in the study of biological molecular dynamics.

Compact, rapid cell deformability measurements using diode laser bar optical trapping in microfluidics

We present a simple, compact, microfluidic system that easily facilitates diode laser bar optical trapping for cell stretching measurements and particle sorting within flowing microfluidic systems for the first time.

Optical trapping for complex fluid microfluidics

Many proposed applications of microfluidics involve the manipulation of complex fluid mixtures such as blood or bacterial suspensions. To sort and handle the constituent particles within these suspensions, we have developed a miniaturized automated cell sorter using optical traps. This microfluidic cell sorter offers the potential to perform chip-top microbiology more rapidly and with less associated hardware and preparation time than other techniques currently available. To realize the potential of this technology in practical clinical and consumer lab-on-a-chip devices however, microscale control of not only particulates but also the fluid phase must be achieved. To address this, we have developed a mechanical fluid control scheme that integrates well with our optical separations approach. We demonstrate here a combined technique, one that employs both mechanical actuation and optical trapping for the precise control of complex suspensions. This approach enables both cell and particle separations as well as the subsequent fluid control required for the completion of complex analyses.