Another from C&EN

my current understanding of microfluidics

Microfluidic devices are systems for manipulating fluids in very small scale channels and wells. Scientists struggle to study cells and tissues outside the body, because the Petri dish environment is unlike the natural environment in which they exist, microfluidics have enabled scientists to mimic specific properties of biological systems and show us completely new ideas. The microfluidic devices depend on existing technology from the making of computer chips and similar products. Microfluidics can function in a way similar to the small capillaries of the circulatory system and lungs, and are useful in other ways because “a lot of our body is microfluidic, little tubes and ducts and blood vessels.” The devices will enable studies from the body in a controlled test tube, laboratory environment; in vitro. The controlled part of the environment is derived from the type of flows possible in the microfluidic devices. Laminar flow, where fluids flow side by side without mixing, is more prominent than convective flow, which is temperature driven and mostly affects the Petri dish type set up.
There are a few systems for which this technology shows exceptional promise; they include stem cells, neural system, vascular system, and cancerous tissues. One example of research done was studying blood clotting. The scientist Ismagilov used the microfluidic systems to show that clotting occurs based not only on the size of the patch of clot activating factors, but also its shape. For many of the studies the ability to recreate these small systems, allows for proper testing and screening of drugs. Having fluid mechanics similar to that of the lung allows for greater research on diseases like cystic fibrosis, asthma and pneumonia. In tissue engineering the scientists can study how cells communicate during the formation of breast cancer tumors. In flowing systems, and in conventional culture systems, they cannot look at signals in such detail. The technology is not perfect completely, as engineers worry that the biologists will not be able to use this as a tool in labs without great accommodations, like how we can use pipettes relatively easily.
The use of semiconductor technology is wonderful, in part because it has existed for decades, and so is as inexpensive as one could hope. That this technology “makes intuitive sense” is notable to me because intuitive reasoning is part of what we discussed in class as a characteristic of a good scientist. Also because we are using existing ideas, it is more likely that scientists adapt on it and expand the concept even further. Often when asked if they are interested in lab research, people will say that the lab research isn’t interesting or is less scientific because it was performed on test subjects not identical to the final patient. In developing these ideas scientists often devote resources to things which are at first not the obvious answer. Because our neurons are not identical to rat neurons there is sometimes dissatisfaction in the mass population when we use them in tests. There is also so much power in the ability to control flow through vessels and ducts, because this includes both hormones and enzymes. Using microfluidics allows for more efficient testing of the effects and causes of many diseases.

(also in response to reading C&EN)