Short Course Description

Microfluidics I/II

This course is an introduction to microfluidics and the application of this technology in the life sciences. It is designed to give a compact overview of the main important aspects of working with liquids in confined spaces as well as handling of minute amounts of chemicals, highlighting the essential differences between microfluidic-based approaches and more traditional biochemical analysis systems. The attendees will receive a broad "first glimpse" impression of all the different bits and pieces (technological, physical and chemical) that are necessary to arrive at functional lab-on-a-chip devices.

Who Should Attend

Anyone interested in getting a basic understanding of design, fabrication and workings of microfluidics-based devices for chemical and biomedical applications. Typical attendees include scientists, engineers, lab managers, and students.

How You'll Benefit From This Course

• Understand the basics of microfluidics
• Get insight into the advantages and challenges of microfabricated chemical systems
• Understand the considerations about design and choice of materials for those systems
• Develop an understanding for the cross-disciplinarity of this research field
• Get an overview of existing and envisioned applications for this technology
• Hear about the latest developments and trends

Course Topics

• Introductory Overview
• Fabrication Issues
• Basic Fluidic Handling
• Detection
• Separations
• Sample Handling and Preparation
• Flow Imaging Techniques
• Biological Applications
• Biomedical Applications
• Droplet-based Fluidics
• Trends

Course Fee: US $900/$1000*

Course Format: Computer

Class Limit: 40

Instructors:

Jörg P. Kutter, Ph.D. Dept. of Micro and Nanotechnology Technical University of Denmark Lyngby Denmark

Jörg P. Kutter received his B.S. in chemistry in 1991, and his Ph.D. in analytical chemistry in 1995, both from the University of Ulm, Germany. Both theses focused on chromatographic and electrophoretic separation techniques. After graduation, from January 1996 to May 1998, he worked with J. Michael Ramsey as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Laser Spectroscopy and Microinstrumentation Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Oak Ridge, TN, USA) developing microchip-based analytical tools. In June 1998 he joined the Bio/Chemical Microsystems Group at the Department of Micro and Nanotechnology (MIC) of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in Lyngby, Denmark. In January 2006 he was appointed professor in experimental lab-on-a-chip devices at DTU-Nanotech, where he is also group leader of the ChemLabChip group. His research interests include liquid phase separations and sample pretreatment techniques and the development of chemical analysis systems based on microfabricated structures, with emphasis on the integration of optical and fluidic elements.

Johan Nilsson, Ph.D. Department of Electrical Measurements Lund University Lund Sweden

Johan Nilsson obtained his Ph.D. in 1993 in Electrical Measurements on the topic Ink Jet and Droplet Technology at the Department of Electrical Measurements, Lund University, Sweden. Following the Ph.D., he got a post-doc employment at the same department where he headed the research in droplet formation characterizations and silicon nozzle development. He developed the concept of flow-through microdispensing together with Prof. Thomas Laurell. He currently holds a position as Associate Professor at the Department of Electrical Measurements. The topics for the research are microfluidics and microstructures with a focus on microsystems for protein analysis using mass spectrometry and particle handling using acoustic forces.

Sabeth Verpoorte, Ph.D. Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands

Sabeth Verpoorte is head of the Pharmaceutical Analysis Group, Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, University of Groningen. After obtaining her PhD in Analytical Chemistry in 1990 at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, Prof. Verpoorte spent 6 years in the Corporate Analytical Research Department of Ciba Ltd., Basel, Switzerland. It was here that she began working on the development of miniaturized total analysis systems (lab-on-a-chip), first as a postdoc, later as a staff research scientist, in one of the pioneering groups in this field. She assumed a position in July 1996 as team leader in the group of Prof. Nico F. de Rooij at the Institute of Microtechnology, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where her research interests concentrated in the area of for bioanalytical and environmental applications. In May 2003, Sabeth Verpoorte assumed the Chair of Analytical Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Analysis at the Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. A microfluidics research activity for bioanalytical and biomedical applications is now established, with the recent completion of a chip prototyping lab. Research activities focus on the development of advanced tools for cell biology and ADME-Tox screening, as well as innovative approaches for on-chip sample and liquid handling for proteomics, mass spectrometric analysis, and sample preparation. Sabeth Verpoorte has over 60 peer-reviewed papers, 2 book chapters, and 4 patents (1 awarded, 3 pending), and is involved in several international conference organizations and journal editorial boards.

* higher fee applies to those who are not ALA members