Chapter 8. DIY Paper Microfluidics
Microfluidics, the practice of manipulating microliter volumes of liquids, is a hot topic in research at the moment, and for good reason. The ability to deal with tiny quantities of analyte opens up a whole new realm of possibilities: from the study of individual cells to the Wyss Institute’s “organ-on-a-chip” devices, which promise a way of studying the function of human organs in vitro.
Despite the relative simplicity of these devices, they require a range of equipment to run, from pumps and control instruments to microscopy equipment. On top of this, the manufacturing of these devices is fairly complex and requires specialist equipment. All of this puts microfluidics devices out of range for the average DIY biologist.
Paper microfluidics devices offer a more promising solution in this regard: although the same degree of control of fluid flow cannot be achieved (as flow is simply governed by the capillary action in the paper), these devices can be manufactured with no specialist equipment and with minimal cost. Despite their simplicity, paper microfluidics hold great potential for various applications, perhaps most notably for field diagnostics. A paper-based Ebola sensor has been developed at the Wyss Institute and works by embedding an RNA-based genetic circuit directly into the paper itself.1 Applications of paper microfluidics reach beyond just sensors: they have been used to separate plasma in blood samples2 and as a substrate ...
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