Yen-Heng Lin

Cesarean scar defect: correlation between Cesarean section number, defect size, clinical symptoms and uterine position

To determine the prevalence of clinical symptoms associated with Cesarean scar defects, and to determine the association between the size of these defects, clinical complaints, uterine position, and a history of multiple Cesarean sections.

Optically induced flow cytometry for continuous microparticle counting and sorting

This paper reports a new microfluidic device capable of performing optically induced flow cytometry (OIFC). This enables it to continuously count and to sort microparticles based on optically induced dielectrophoretic (ODEP) forces. Gravity was used to drive the particles instead of using syringe pumps. The particles were then focused inside a sample channel by the ODEP forces and then passed through a detection region. A pair of optical fibers were embedded into fiber channels to count the number of particles and analyze the particle size in real time. Using 20.9 and 9.7 microm polystyrene microparticles, the average light intensity were about 63.67 and 8.80 units, with a coefficient-of-variation (CV) of 7.46 and 25.57%, respectively. This demonstrated that these two particle sizes could be successfully distinguished. After detecting the number and size of the microparticles, an optically induced dynamic switch (ODS) was used to sort microparticles to downstream fluidic outlets. The ODS used ODEP forces generated by different illumination intensities or optical line widths. The ODS was composed of two virtual electrodes which controlled particle movement in two dimensions. The ODS can successfully sort microparticles with different sizes continuously. The development of the OIFC device is a major advancement in the design of microparticle counting and sorting devices. Applications in future biomedical applications for cell counting and manipulation are envisioned.

An optically induced cell lysis device using dielectrophoresis

This letter reports an optically induced cell lysis device that can selectively lyse a single cell within a group of cells, a function which cannot be performed using traditional tools. This chip-scale device was made of a photoconductive material, which can induce a nonuniform electric field at a specific position under illumination of a beam spot generating a transmembrane potential in the cell. With this approach, cell lysis can be performed using the optically induced electric field. Fibroblast cells and oral cancer cells were used to demonstrate the capability of the developed chip. In addition to lysing the whole cell, the developed method also allowed one to selectively disrupt the cell membrane without damaging the nucleus. Operating parameters such as illumination power density and beam spot diameter for cell lysis were systematically investigated.

Droplet Formation Utilizing Controllable Moving-Wall Structures for Double-Emulsion Applications

The formation of microscale single- and double-emulsion droplets with various sizes is crucial for a variety of industrial applications. In this paper, we report a new microfluidic device which can actively fine-tune the size of single- and double-emulsion droplets in liquids by utilizing controllable moving-wall structures. Moreover, various sizes of external and internal droplets for double emulsions are also successfully formed by using this device. Three pneumatic side chambers are placed at a T-junction and flow-focusing channels to construct the controllable moving-wall structures. When compressed air is applied to the pneumatic side chambers, the controllable moving-wall structures are activated, thus physically changing the width of the microchannels. The size of the internal droplets at the intersection of the T-junction channel is then fine-tuned due to the increase in the shear force. Then, the internal droplets are focused into a narrow stream hydrodynamically and finally chopped into double-emulsion droplets using another pair of moving-wall structures downstream. For single emulsions, oil-in-water droplets can be actively fine-tuned from 50.07 to 21.80 under applied air pressures from 10 to 25 psi with a variation of less than 3.53%. For a water-in-oil single emulsion, droplets range from 50.32 to 14.76 with a variation of less than 4.62% under the same applied air pressures. For double emulsions, the sizes of the external and internal droplets can be fine-tuned with external/internal droplet diameter ratios ranging from 1.69 to 2.75. The development of this microfluidic device is promising for a variety of applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food industries.

Integrating solid-state sensor and microfluidic devices for glucose, urea and creatinine detection based on enzyme-carrying alginate microbeads

A solid-state sensor embedded microfluidic chip is demonstrated for the detection of glucose, urea and creatinine in human serum. In the presented device, magnetic powder-containing enzyme-carrying alginate microbeads are immobilized on the surface of an electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) sensor by means of a step-like obstacle in the microchannel and an external magnetic force. The sample is injected into the microchannel and reacts with the enzyme contained within the alginate beads; prompting the release of hydrogen ions. The sample concentration is then evaluated by measuring the resulting change in the voltage signal of the EIS sensor. The reaction time and alginate bead size are optimized experimentally using a standard glucose solution. The experimental results show that the device has a detection range of 2-8mM, 1-16mM and 10(-2)-10mM for glucose, urea and creatinine, respectively. Furthermore, it is shown that the device is capable of sequentially measuring all three indicators in a human serum sample. Finally, it is shown that the measured values of the glucose, urea and creatinine concentrations obtained using the device deviate from those obtained using a commercial kit by just 5.17%, 6.22% and 13.53%, respectively. This method can be extended to sequentially measure multiple blood indicators in the sample chip by replacing different types of enzyme in alginate bead and can address the enzyme preservation issue in the microfluidic device. Overall, the results presented in this study indicate that the microfluidic chip has significant potential for blood monitoring in point-of-care applications.

Manipulation of single DNA molecules by using optically projected images

A new platform is presented that is capable of manipulating a single DNA molecule based on optically-induced dielectrophoretic forces. The ends of a single DNA molecule are bound with a micro-bead, which is then manipulated by interactions with optical images projected from a commercially available projector. Thus a single DNA molecule is indirectly manipulated by a projected animation pre-programmed using simple computer software. Real-time observation of the manipulation process is made possible by using a fluorescent dye and an oxygen scavenging buffer. Two types of DNA manipulation modes, specifically DNA elongation and rotation, are successfully demonstrated and are characterized. The maximum stretching force can be as high as 61.3 pN for a 10.1 microm bead. Experimental data show that the force-extension curve measured using this platform fits reasonably with the worm-like chain model. The developed platform can be a promising and flexible tool for further applications requiring single molecule manipulation.

A microfluidic platform for manipulation and separation of oil-in-water emulsion droplets using optically induced dielectrophoresis*

A microfluidic platform for manipulation and separation of oil-in-water emulsion droplets by using optically induced dielectrophoresis (ODEP) is reported in this study. By utilizing different scanning speeds of a moving light beam, the oil-in-water emulsion droplets can be moved and separated with a high separation resolution. A first demonstration of this platform is pre-separation and fine separation of emulsion droplets. Three groups of droplets with different sizes (40–43, 20–30 and 2–8 µm) can be roughly separated first. The fine separation of emulsion droplets with a radius difference of 2.5 µm can be performed using a moving light beam with a gradual gradient of moving speeds. To avoid the collision and overlapping of the droplets, a new approach to assign individual moving track for each droplet was adopted by using well-defined moving light patterns. Accordingly, droplets with five different sizes (30, 20, 10, 7.5 and 5 µm) can be successfully separated. The second demonstration is to separate satellite and master emulsion droplets generated from microfluidic emulsion chips. The developed platform has a great potential to control the quality of emulsion droplets.

GaN Thin Film Based Light Addressable Potentiometric Sensor for pH Sensing Application

Gallium nitride (GaN) is a material with remarkable properties, including wide band gap, direct light emission and excellent chemical stability. In this study, a GaN-based light addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS) with Si3N4 ~50 nm as a sensing membrane is fabricated. By modulated optical excitation from an ultraviolet 365 nm light-emitting diode, the photoresponse characteristic and related pH sensitivity of the fabricated GaN-based LAPS is investigated. A Nernstian-like pH response with pH sensitivity of 52.29 mV/pH and linearity of 99.13% is obtained. These results of the GaN-based LAPS show great promise and it could be used as a single chemical sensor or integrated optoelectronic chemical sensor array for biomedical research with high spatial resolution.

Bulk-heterojunction polymers in optically-induced dielectrophoretic devices for the manipulation of microparticles

This paper presents a decent polymer material for fabricating optically-induced dielectrophoretic (ODEP) devices, which can manipulate microparticles or cells by using moving light patterns. A thin film of a bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) polymer, a mixture of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) and [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester, is used as a light-activated layer. When illuminated by a projected light beam, the photo-induced charge carriers created by the electron transfer of excitons at a donor/acceptor interface in the BHJ layer, disturbs the uniformly-distributed electric field applied on the ODEP devices. A negative DEP force is then generated by virtual electrodes defined by the optical images from a computer-programmable projector to manipulate microparticles, thus providing a functionalized platform for particle manipulation. The effect of the polymer thickness and composition on the magnitude of the generated DEP force has been extensively investigated. The maximum particle drag velocity and the force applied on 20.0 mum diameter polystyrene beads are measured to be approximately 202.2 mum/s and 38.2 pN, respectively, for a device with a 497.3-nm thick BHJ layer. The lifetime of the developed device is also explored (~5 hours), which is sufficient for applications of disposable ODEP devices. Therefore, the BHJ polymer may provide a promising candidate for future ODEP devices capable of nanoparticle and cell manipulation.

Selective manipulation of microparticles using polymer-based optically induced dielectrophoretic devices

This manuscript presents an approach for selective manipulation of microparticles using polymer-based optically induced dielectrophoretic (ODEP) devices. A thin film of a bulk-heterojunction polymer [a mixture of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)] is used as a light active layer. The ODEP force is generated by “virtual” electrodes (the optical images) created from a computer-programmable projector to manipulate polystyrene particles. The magnitude of the ODEP force is found to be dependant on the color of illumination light, due to the variation of the absorption coefficient in the P3HT:PCBM film. A noncontact approach is then demonstrated to separate or collect the polymer particles by shrinking one of the two light rings with different colors and diameters. The development of this promising platform may provide a cost-effective approach for ODEP applications.