Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
(
)
−
E k T
/
N
N
g e
g e
i
B
i
=
i
(
)
−
E k T
/
∑
i
B
i
i
where
k
B
is the Boltzmann constant,
g
i
is the number of levels having energy
E
i
, and
T
is the temperature of the system. When applied to the distribution of velocities of gas
particles, it is known as the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution.
bovine serum albumin (BSA):
Albumin is the most abundant protein in blood plasma. Bovine
serum albumin is obtained from the serum of domestic cows for a large variety of bio-
technology and biochemical applications such as ELISA and immunocytochemistry
assays. In BioMEMS, it is mostly used to block background protein adsorption.
Boyden chamber:
Passive device invented in 1962 by Stephen Boyden of the Australian National
University (Canberra, Australia) to study chemotaxis. he device consists of a top
chamber separated from a bottom chamber by a porous membrane (with a pore size
smaller than the cells but that still allows cell migration through the pores). he test
chemoattractant is dispensed into the bottom chamber and the cells are seeded on the
top chamber. Ater a certain period of time, the experiment is stopped and the amount
of cells that have transmigrated to the bottom side of the membrane is counted to pro-
vide a measurement of the relative eicacy of the chemoattractant.
BSA:
See
bovine serum albumin.
bulk micromachining:
Micromachining of a wafer by additive or subtractive processes that
afect the majority of its thickness;
see
micromachining.
Butterly efect:
Difusive broadening of the concentration proile in a T- or Y-mixer of rectan-
gular cross-section under pressure-driven low. his efect is a special manifestation of
the Taylor dispersion.
C
C. elegans:
See
Caenorhabditis elegans.
C2C12 cells:
C2C12 is a mouse myoblast cell line capable of diferentiation into myotubes.
cadherins:
Class of transmembrane proteins that play a role in cell-cell adhesion. hey are
named ater their calcium-dependent adhesion properties.
Caenorhabditis elegans:
A transparent 1-mm-long roundworm that lives in soil and is used
extensively as a model organism in molecular and developmental biology.
capillarity pump:
Pump that relies on capillary action to move the luid forward.
capillary action:
Ability of a luid to spontaneously wet or wick into a small conduit (a “capillary”)
such as a narrow tube or a porous material such as paper or sand, even against gravity.
capillary burst microvalve:
A microvalve that consists of a microchannel constriction that is
too hydrophobic for the luid low to overcome unless extra pressure is used to pass (or
“burst”) the constriction.
capillary electrophoresis:
Technique for separating ionic species in an electrolyte-illed glass
capillary based on the size-to-charge ratio of the analytes; an electric ield causes the
migration of the analytes (which are detected near the outlet) by electro-osmotic low.
See electro-osmotic low.
CE:
See
capillary electrophoresis.
cellular traction:
Force produced by a cell during cell migration.
centrifugal microvalves:
Microvalves that can be opened or closed by the action of centrifugal
force; centrifugal microvalves require spinning platforms that are generically termed
“Lab-CD.”
check microvalve:
Type of microvalve whose mechanical design allows luid to low in only one
direction (i.e., they close with reverse low).
