Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Paper microfluidics
Jell-O
microfluidics
a
c
f
d
b
g
~2 min later . . .
e
FIGURE A.7
Microluidics.outreach..(a.and.b).The.paper.channels.are.cut.with.scissors..Within.sec-
onds.of.contacting.the.droplets,.fast.laminar.low.is.established.within.the.pores.of.the.paper..Figure.
contributed.by.the.author..(c-g).For.the.
Jell-O
.process,.a.negative.mold.is.prepared.using.foam.
plates,.wooden.coffee.stirrers,.and.double-sided.tape..A.
Jell-O
/gelatin.liquid.mixture.is.then.poured.
onto.the.mold.and.left.to.cure.in.a.4
°
C.refrigerator..The.solidiied.chips.are.peeled.off.and.placed.
on.aluminum.pans.for.experiments.at.room.temperature..(From.Yang,.C..W..T.,.E..Ouellet,.and.E. T..
Lagally,.“Using.inexpensive.
Jell-O
.chips.for.hands-on.microluidics.education,”.
Anal. Chem.,
.82,.
5408-5414,.2010..Figure.contributed.by.Eric.Lagally.)
A.11 A Quick (and Personal) Overview of BioMEMS History
Writing this textbook has been a lot of fun. Now that I'm done, I can indulge myself in one last
amusement: pick those articles that would be essential for a 5-minute summary (or 1-hour lecture)
of the ield. his is an exercise I have already been through for all the articles that are featured in
this textbook (and many excellent ones that had to be let out due to space constraints, unfortu-
nately), so it's not a very mind-struggling exercise at this point. I have organized them in a table
below, chronologically, stating the year and the month (if known) of the manuscript acceptance or
publication date (whichever was earlier), the merit that deserves them to be featured in the table,
the citation, and a representative visual by which they can be easily remembered.
his table should not be regarded as a “BioMEMS Hall of Fame” or “Best 60 BioMEMS
articles.” It is rather a very personal look at BioMEMS history, and even so, with a clear bias
for technical breakthroughs (rather than the scientiic breakthroughs that the technology has
enabled). I'm saying this before my many dear colleagues are ofended because their work is
not included in here. Great laboratories that do not waste time developing gadgets and instead
advance science with well-established microtechnology are not even represented in this table
but have my highest esteem. (If you look for thoroughness, please refer to the textbook.) he
table could have been made longer and longer—everyone is “irst” at something, as long as
you include the whole title of the manuscript. It is with this spirit that I included, somewhat
humorously, some of my own minor (but still cherished) work in this table—it is indeed a very
personal glance at history. In any case, the table (or a modiied version of it) should be useful to
the BioMEMS educator to provide an end-of-the-year overview of the ield.
I have decided to include this table because, despite the subjective lens with which it has been
created, it does give a powerful instant view of BioMEMS history. Note that, as stated in the text,
Carter should be credited as the irst author of a BioMEMS article, despite earlier microluidics
