Lab tour

Lab Impressions

Our studies combine microsystems technology, (cell) biological or chemical assays, and microscopy. See below photographs of the instruments and infrastructure available in the laboratory.

Photographs of the cleanroom and a wafer

Several materials are employed for chip fabrication. For preparation of polymer chips made of poly(dimethylsiloxane, PDMS), we use a two-step process. First, master forms are prepared by optical lithography done in the FIRST clean room facility. Second, the final chips are made in PDMS by casting, a process referred to as soft lithography. Valves and pumps are integrated, when two layers are used: a fluid and a control layer. Electrodes can be integrated on a glass support.

We combine microfluidics with routine optical and fluorescence microscopy as well as specialized fluorescence-based techniques, such as total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM), laser scanning microscopy (LSM) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS).

We use droplet microfluidics for encapsulation of analytes or cells. The droplets are analyzed on-chip by fluorescence spectroscopy, or spotted on a plate for analysis by fluorescence spectroscopy or MS.

Enlarged view: Vesicles electroformation

We use hydration and extrusion methods to form small vesicles in the range of a few hundred nanometers. Larger vesicles, comparable to the size of cells or organelles, are prepared by electroformation or the droplet-transfer method.

We have basic equipment for culturing mammalian cells or growing yeast or bacteria. Standard instruments for molecular biology are available as well.