Tomoaki Kurakazu

Generation of lipid vesicles using microfluidic T-junctions with pneumatic valves

We describe a method for generating giant (micro sized) lipid vesicles using pneumatic valves and microfluidic T-junction. Water, oil containing lipids, and water were sequentially infused into the microfluidic channel to form bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) on chambers (Fig. 1). Valves on the back of the chambers were driven pneumatically and pushed the water out of the chamber; consequently the BLMs were blown into giant lipid vesicles that encapsulate materials containing in the first water phase. Since this method is simple enough, it will be useful for the rapid and efficient encapsulation within the lipid vesicles.

A selective release method using electrolytically generated bubbles for cell array applications

This paper describes a method of selective release of particles/cells by bubbles generated by electrolysis. The particles/cells trapped into microchambers that were produced with SU-8 on the top of an electrode of indium tin oxide (ITO) patterned on glass. The bubbles of oxygen and chlorine (or hydrogen) were selectively generated in a target chamber by applying voltage through the electrodes. We successfully released a microbead (100 µm in diameter) confined in the microchamber. Since this method is gentle enough to maintain the cellular activity, we believe that this method will be useful for quantitative analysis of cells in a microarray.