Microfluidics

Three 3D-printed pumps next to a dime for size comparison

3D printing a miniature magnetic pump

Design is the first demonstration of a magnetic, multi-material pump 3D printed all in one piece.

September 9, 2020

A glimpse into the microscale world in the ocean: marine bacteria (green and cyan) feed on nutrients exuding from a genetically modified phytoplankton (orange). These bacteria release a substance called DMS that contributes to cloud formation.

Researchers explore ocean microbes’ role in climate effects

When they encounter nutrient oases in the marine desert, marine bacteria release a gas involved in climate regulation.

April 23, 2020

MIT engineers have devised a new approach to studying complex diseases such as ulcerative colitis, which causes inflammation of the intestines.

Using “organs-on-a-chip” to model complicated diseases

A new approach reveals how different tissues contribute to inflammatory diseases such as ulcerative colitis.

March 18, 2020

MIT researchers have discovered a method to predict and control the length of tunnels in solid germanium by laterally growing it over silicon oxide strips (shown in yellow) on top of silicon (green), depicted from left to right. Germanium, shown in purple, smoothly covers the silicon but forms voids and tunnels (lighter shade of purple) where germanium and silicon oxide meet. The voids and tunnels...

A new facet for germanium

MIT researchers grow perfectly shaped germanium tunnels on silicon oxide with controllable length.

January 31, 2020

“The major research directions and technology platforms that [my] lab is known for today came out of this process where the students or I had a crazy idea, and then the lab executed on it, with all the twists and turns along the way,” says Paul Blainey, associate professor of biological engineering.

Biological engineer Paul Blainey creates new tools to advance biomedical research

His technology platforms have benefited genomics, diagnostics, and drug screening.

October 19, 2019

Microfluidic devices, like those shown here, could be 3-D printed in space and used to construct DNA for insertion into bacteria, reprogramming them to make specific products.

Scientists look to synthetic biology and 3-D printing for life support in space

Do-it-yourself bio and maker communities can help NASA meet needs of long-distance missions.

July 26, 2019

An MIT-invented microfluidics device could help doctors diagnose sepsis, a leading cause of death in U.S. hospitals, by automatically detecting elevated levels of a sepsis biomarker in about 25 minutes, using less than a finger prick of blood.

Microfluidics device helps diagnose sepsis in minutes

When time matters in hospitals, automated system can detect an early biomarker for the potentially life-threatening condition.

July 23, 2019

MIT researchers’ new platform detects and extracts rare circulating tumor cells from live mouse models using a combination of laser excitation and a microfluidic chip.

From microfluidics to metastasis

New platform enables longitudinal studies of circulating tumor cells in mouse models of cancer.

January 21, 2019

A microfluidic technique quickly sorts bacteria based on their capability to generate electricity.

Technique identifies electricity-producing bacteria

Microbes screened with a new microfluidic process might be used in power generation or environmental cleanup.

January 11, 2019

MIT researchers have 3-D printed a novel microfluidic device that simulates cancer treatments on biopsied tumor tissue — and keeps the tissue alive for days — so clinicians can better examine how individual patients will respond to different therapeutics.

To guide cancer therapy, device quickly tests drugs on tumor tissue

Inexpensive 3-D-printed microfluidics device could be used to personalize cancer treatment.

December 12, 2018

Water droplets are inserted into the microhydraulic actuator, which rotates when voltage is applied to electrodes that pull the droplets in one direction. This disc-shaped actuator's inner diameter is 5 millimeters.

Using electricity and water, a new kind of motor can slide microrobots into motion

Microhydraulic actuators, thinner than one-third the width of human hair, are proving to be the most powerful and efficient motors at the microscale.

November 19, 2018

MIT engineers have designed a microfluidic platform that connects engineered tissue from up to 10 organs, allowing them to replicate human-organ interactions.

“Body on a chip” could improve drug evaluation

Human tissue samples linked by microfluidic channels replicate interactions of multiple organs.

March 14, 2018

Graduate student James Hermus demonstrates a production robot based on the original MIT-MANUS design in the Eric P. and Evelyn E. Newman Laboratory for Biomechanics and Human Rehabilitation. The robot, which helps stroke victims recover and regain mobility, represents one of the many ways MIT's mechanical engineering researchers are working to improve health care.

Understanding and treating disease

Mechanical engineering researchers are developing new and innovative ways to improve health care.

February 2, 2018

MIT researchers have developed a new platform for microfluidics, using LEGO bricks. Shown here, fluid flows through tiny channels milled into the side walls of LEGO bricks.

Microfluidics from LEGO bricks

MIT engineers make microfluidics modular using the popular interlocking blocks.

January 30, 2018

MIT researchers have developed hardware that uses electric fields to move droplets of chemical or biological solutions around a surface, mixing them in ways that could be used to test thousands of reactions in parallel.

Programmable droplets

Using electric fields to manipulate droplets on a surface could enable high-volume, low-cost biology experiments.

January 19, 2018

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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