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IBEC Seminar: Jaap den Toonder
Wednesday, October 11, 2023 @ 11:00 am–1:00 pm
Microfluidic technology enabling biomedical applications
Jaap den Toonder, Microsystems Research Section, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology.
Currently, visiting professor at IBEC, Barcelona
Microfluidics is the science and technology of manipulating and analyzing fluid flow at small scales, typically from millimeters down to micrometers. At these scales, fluid flow is almost always laminar which enables excellent control over the flow. Microfluidic devices can be made using a range of microfabrication approaches and materials, and these enable to integrate tailored electronic or mechanical functions. These unique properties of microfluidic technologies, and the ongoing further development of the technology, enable a range of new biomedical applications, including diagnostic and monitoring devices, medical implants, and organ-on-chip.
In this lecture, I will present recent developments within three research lines of our lab. (1) Bio-inspired microfluidics: A novel microfluidic flow generation concept inspired by nature, which is based on magnetic nano- and micro-actuators we call “artificial cilia”; integrated in microfluidic devices, these can be used to induce flow, to manipulate particles, and as actuators in cellular mechano-transduction research. (2) Microfluidic devices for health: Examples of microfluidic devices for health applications, specifically a sweat sensing device for non-invasive semi-continuous monitoring of hospitalized patients, and a smart eye implant to control eye pressure in glaucoma patients after surgery. (3) Organ-on-chip: A game-changing technology in which human cells are cultured in microfluidic chips simulating and predicting the response of healthy and diseased human tissues. I will focus on cancer-on-chip approaches to understand initial stages of cancer metastasis, and on our lumen-based organ-on-chip models that are enabled by a 3D sugar printing technique we developed.
