Research Naiwen Cui A mix-and-read drop-based in vitro two-hybrid method for screening high-affinity peptide binders Drop-based microfluidics have recently become a novel tool by providing a stable linkage between phenotype and genotype for high throughput screening. However, use of drop-based microfluidics for screening high-affinity peptide binders has not been demonstrated due to the lack of…
Research Julie Brouchon Microfluidic-based technology to isolate B cells secreting functional monoclonal antibodies from human samples We are developing a microfluidic technology enabling high-throughput identification and isolation of individual cells that secrete desired antibodies, followed by rapid identification of the paired heavy- and light-chain sequences encoding these antibodies of interest. This powerful technology can be…
Research Ye Tao Droplet Barcoding Test for Prenatal Diagnosis and MSI Cancer Analysis Rare DNA molecules are very difficult to identify but they usually play a very important role in many diagnoses. For example, the fetus’s DNA only takes up a very low percentage in a pregnant mother’s blood. However, if we can identify these…
Research Yamei Cai Ultra-sensitive protein detection using droplet digital ELISA Proteins are important biomarkers for disease detection, monitoring, and treatment. Many proteins are present at low levels in biological samples and therefore techniques for ultra-sensitive protein detection are necessary. To overcome limitations in analytical sensitivity, David Walt’s lab at BWH previously developed a single molecule…
Research Perry Ellis A high-throughput approach to detect pathogenic bacteria Identifying pathogenic bacteria (bacteria that cause diseases in humans) in natural samples has important consequences for human health. For example, 80% of foodborne illness comes from “unknown origin” — there are either too few pathogenic bacteria in the sample to detect, or there does not…
Research Gao Xiao Droplets act as individual reactors, is widely used in high-throughput applications, including dPCR, single-Cell sequencing and drug screening. Traditionally, the formation and stability of droplets usually require a fluorinated surfactant. However, this type of surfactant has some limitations: first, the synthesis and purification tend to be complicated and costly. Second, the reverse…
Research Kota Shiba Microfluidic synthesis of functional nanomaterials for artificial olfactory sensing Biological sensory perception happens as a result of processing various stimuli that are detected at a specific sensory body depending on a type of stimuli. Such processing through the sensory bodies is categorized into five “senses” which are well-known as the sense of…
Research Lin Wang Bioinspired three-dimensional network hydrogel based on polysaccharides Hydrogels are hydrophilic colloids with a three-dimensional network. Hydrogels can change their morphology under external stimulation, so they have broad application prospects in the fields of sustained-release drugs, flexible devices and sensors. Inspired by mussel chemistry, the dopamine oxidation self-polymerization reaction was used to solve…
Research Weixia Zhang Fabrication of functional materials using microfluidics Materials at microscale have many advantages in biological and biomedical applications, due to their unique size compatibility with cells. My research focuses on using glass capillary microfluidic devices to fabricate various functional materials for bio-applications. By precisely manipulating the fluids using microfluidic technology, I can produce…
Research Brendan Deveney “Velcro” Surfactant for Biological Assays Performed in Droplets Microfluidic droplets are widely used as small containers for biological tests. Single cells or molecules can be isolated within droplets and individually studied, allowing for investigations of gene expression levels, environmental testing, cancer biomarker and pathogen detection, and quantitative analysis of rare genetic species….
