Lab on a Chip

Or: The Incredible Shrinking Science Experiment!

Or: APOIBE!
Dr. Eric Lagally
lagally@msl.ubc.ca

Credits: Mathies Lab, UC-Berkeley

Quake Lab, Stanford
Agilent, Inc.
Lab on a Chip?
 Microfluidics
Microfluidics: The use of microfabrication techniques
from the IC industry to fabricate channels, chambers,
reactors, and active components on the size scale of the
width of a human hair or smaller

Credit: Dr. Karen Cheung, UBC ECE

 Why use microfluidics?

Credit: Dr. Karen Cheung, UBC ECE

1 molecule in 1 µ L = 1.6 x 10-18 M
1 molecule in 1 nL = 1.6 x 10-15 M
1 molecule in 1 pL = 1.6 x 10-12 M
 Why use microfluidics?

• Sample savings – nL of enzyme, not µ L

• Faster analyses – can heat, cool small volumes
quickly
• Integration – combine lots of steps onto a single
device
• Novel physics – diffusion, surface tension, and
surface effects dominate
– This can actually lead to faster reactions!
 Some interesting LOC applications

• Genetic analysis
– Portable devices for pathogen detection
– High-throughput biology
• Chemical synthesis
• Metabolite analysis
• Drug delivery systems

Courtesy of Dr. Boris Stoeber

Genetic analysis microsystems
 Bacterial Pathogens
Food poisoning Wound infections Lung Disease

Dr. Sharon Peacock, University of Oxford

Biowarfare Food poisoning:

Pathogenic E. coli: >1 in 10,000 in Canada
Salmonella spp.: as high as 1 in 50 eggs

Wound infections:
Antibiotic-resistant S. aureus: as high as 50%

Lung Disease:
Pseudomonas spp.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Biowarfare:
Anthrax, plague, smallpox
Methods for Genetic Detection of Pathogens
OLD WAY: NEW WAY:
Develop bacterial pathogen detectors that are:

Rapid (< 1 hour)

General (many different types of pathogens)

Sensitive (detect a single cell)

Genetically Specific

Field-portable
PCR-CE Microsystem Fabrication
Portable System for Infectious Disease Detection
System measures 8 x 10 x 12 inches

• Complete fluorescence detection including

488-nm solid-state laser, PMT, optics,
and detection electronics
• Heater and RTD electronics
• 4 high-voltage CE power supplies
• PDMS microvalve hardware
• Simple PC interface
 Thermal Cycling Characteristics
Temperature (°C)

Time (seconds)

Time (seconds)

> 5X faster than conventional thermal cyclers

 Application: Tuberculosis (TB) detection

Disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis

9 million new cases of active TB every year worldwide

2 million TB deaths every year

450,000 new cases of multi-drug resistant TB / yr

10% of TB cases in South Africa are XDR TB strains,

resistant to first- and second-line antibiotics

Doctors Without Borders:

 Current TB detection methods

1. Fixation and staining with acid-fast stains

Ziehl-Neelsen or auramine stains)

2. Optical or fluorescence microscope

examination ( ≥ 10,000 organisms/mL)

3. Culture in biosafety level 3 containment

acility

In select cases, molecular detection is

used to verify diagnosis

"That TB destroys millions of lives around the world every year shows that the
current approach is just not working…The tools we have to treat and diagnose TB are
woefully inadequate and outdated, and we're not seeing the necessary
urgency to tackle the disease."
Dr. Tido von Schoen-Angerer,
Director, DWB’s Campaign for the Access to Essential Medicines
The Not-so-Distant Future

2008
PDA

2308??

Paramount