Ekinci Lab
Kamil Ekinci is a professor at Boston University. He received his masters and PhD in Physics from Brown University.
The Ekinci Lab mainly focuses on physical phenomena at length scales smaller than roughly one micrometer. As an experimentalist, Ekinci specializes in measuring small mechanical signals and fluctuations. Using these measurements, he has studied nanoscale confinement in fluids, rarefied gas dynamics, and turbulence.
Participants
Projects
Design and Fabrication of a Microfluidic Stretcher for Engineered Microtissues (2021)
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The student will design and fabricate a microfluidic stretcher to enable the application of pressure driven mechanical forces to the engineered microtissues. Our lab recently developed a proof of concept microfluidic platform with mechanically active cell culture wells with tunable strains. During the project, the undergraduate student will optimize the design and scale up this concept, potentially making the platform compatible with conventional cell culture plates. Through this process REU students learn to create 3D CAD designs using Solidworks, 3D print, and study the fabrication of a microfluidic chips and plasma cleaning and bonding. The specific research goals were to:
1. Design and fabricate a 3D mold with up to 24 mechanically active cell culture wells.
2. Optimize the microfluidic circuit to individually address cell culture wells.
3. Evaluate the platform with simulations and experiments.
LABORATORY MENTOR
M. Cagatay Karakan
Electrical Evaluation of a Microfluidic Filter (2019)
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The student will fabricate a microfluidic device to act as a filter for polymer beads in the micrometer range. The efficiency of the filter will then be evaluated based on electrical resistance changes when a bead passes through the device. The use of an electrical detection method allows for real-time evaluation of filter performance without the need for a complex optical setup for observation. The student will learn the following skills: creating CAD designs, molding microfluidic structures into silicone, cleaning samples through sonication, plasma bonding, and soldering. They will also learn how to integrate their microfluidic device into the measurement setup, as well as how to conduct sensitive electrical measurements. The specific research goals were to study how the pore size of the designed filter will be verified by using beads of different sizes. A calibration curve between bead size and electrical signal will be established. Furthermore, the minimum detectable particle size will be determined.
LABORATORY MENTOR
Hagen Gress
Microhydraulic actuation of PDMS microchannels (2018)
ABSTRACT
The demand for Lab on a Chip (LoC) devices has driven microfluidic research and technology. 7 microfluidic chips were created, each with an open channel and an actuator whose distance from the channel is varied from 20-40 µm. COMSOL Multiphysics simulations were implemented in order to see the deflection of the deformable Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) due to the hydraulic pressure of an actuator. Results have shown the linearly proportional relationship between the deflection and the membrane length. A non linear relationship was also seen between the deflection and the pressure. In the future, when the chip is constructed, biocompatible 3D structures will be created within the open channel in order for cardiomyocyte bundles to bond to channel and mature quickly. Force sensing can be also integrated in this platform by measuring the deformation on the channel optically or electrically.
CONCLUSION
After the fabrication of the microfluidic chip, initial tests using the ElveFlow microfluidic flow controller were done. Leakage and other errors were present in initial testing… In the future, 3D structures will be printed in the open microfluidic channel. The growth and development of cardiomyocyte bundles will be monitored based on this platform. Further research on the 3D structures and the force sensing of cells can occur.