The objective of this program is to construct a system-on-a-chip that integrates a digital microcontroller together with fluid handling elements such as valves, pumps, and mixers on a single monolithic device. The key advance will be the development of a digital logic microcontroller that is built entirely out of microfluidic valves and channels rather than electronics. Microfluidic computing obviates the need for transduction between the electrical and fluidic domains, enabling all components to be fabricated in parallel in a single process that is amenable to low-cost manufacturing techniques such as injection molding. Specifically, a finite-state-machine controller will autonomously drive fluid-handling operations such as metering, mixing, and timed incubation, relying simply on a moderate pressure differential for power.
ii. Intellectual Merit The intellectual merit is the pressing need to reduce the complexity, cost, size, and power consumption of integrated microfluidic systems. This will enable the widespread deployment of lab-on-a-chip systems, transforming the landscape of medical diagnostics as well as laboratory research. While there have been previous examples of microfluidic digital logic, an autonomous microcontroller has yet to be reported, thus this project also represents an important advance in unconventional computing.
iii. Broader Impacts The broader impacts are the potential for drastically improved access to medical diagnostics and the consequent advances in public health in both developed and developing countries. Furthermore, this program will train scientists at the important interface between computer engineering and life sciences.
