CMOS Circuits and Systems for Lab‐on‐a‐Chip Applications

Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology allows the functional integration of sensors, signal conditioning, processing circuits and development of fully electronic integrated lab‐on‐a‐chip. On the other hand, lab‐on‐a‐chip is a technology which changed the traditional way by which biological samples are inspected and tested in laboratories. A lab‐on‐a‐chip consists of four main parts: sensing, actuation, readout circuit and microfluidic chamber. Lab‐on‐a‐chip gives the promise of many advantages including better and improved performance, reliability, portability and cost reduction. This chapter reviews the currently used lab‐on‐a‐chips based on CMOS technology. Also, this chapter presents and discusses the features of the existing CMOS based lab‐on‐a‐chips and their applications at the cell level

Integration of capillary and EWOD technologies for autonomous and low-power consumption micro-analytical systems

This work presents a miniaturized system combining, on the same microfluidic chip, capillarity and electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) techniques for movement and control of fluids. The change in hydrophobicity occurring at the edge between a capillary channel and a hydrophobic layer is successfully exploited as a stop-and-go valve, whose operation is electronically controlled through the EWOD electrodes. Taking into account the variety of microfluidic operation resulting from the combination of the two handling techniques and their characteristic features, this work prompts the development of autonomous, compact and low-power consumption lab-on-chip systems

Desktop tomography system using planar ECT device

Miniaturized planar electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) device is fabricated using microfabrication method to accommodate eight planar electrodes to carry out electrical capacitance measurement using tomography technique. Fluids within the detection chamber are detected by the difference of the permittivity parameters. Stagnant and hydrodynamic multiphase samples such as liquid-gas and liquid-liquid are tested. The eight-electrode planar array is fabricated on the copper plated printed circuit board (PCB) and the chamber is fabricated using polymer poly(dimethyl-siloxane) (PDMS). The images of the multiphase sample are reconstructing using Linear Back Projection algorithm (LBP). Computer interface software is developed to display the images of the fluid online. Experimental results show that the reconstructed images closely resemble with the composition of the multiphase sample within the detection chamber

Miniaturized planar tomography for multiphase stagnant sample detection

Miniaturized device offers portability, high throughput and faster time response compared to macroscale devices. In microdevices, most of the application utilizes planar electrode for microanalysis process as it is inexpensive, highly controllable system and easy for installation. In addition, miniaturized planar sensor offers great potential for microscale medical diagnosis, chemical analysis, environmental analysis, cell culture application and single cell measurement using tomography measurement. In this project, a miniaturized planar tomography system is developed for multiphase sample detection such as liquid-solid and liquid-liquid. Eight-electrode device was fabricated on the copper plated printed circuit board (PCB) using the commercial fabrication technique. The ability of the proposed device in reconstructing images of a multiphase sample using Linear Back Projection algorithm is tested. Experimental results show that the reconstructed images closely resemble with the cross-section of the stagnant multiphase sample

Laboratoire sur puce pour la séparation et détection des particules à base de diélectrophorèse à basse tension

Résumé Notre recherche est construite autour de la volonté de développer et d'élargir l'utilisation des laboratoires sur puce (LsP), d'y intégrer de nouvelles fonctions et de proposer des approches de modélisation plus rigoureuses. En effet, les travaux de pointe montrent que pour réaliser des modèles mimant le plus fidèlement possible les systèmes vivants, les LsP doivent évoluer des simples supports fonctionnalisés que sont les puces d'analyse et de séparation de l'ADN vers des systèmes intégrant davantage de fonctions. Pour ce faire, nous proposons tout d'abord un premier prototype d'un LsP comprenant des modules microélectroniques, microfluidiques, de communication radio fréquence et d'alimentation intégrée, pour la séparation des particules avec des validations in-vitro. Cette plateforme a pour objectif d'observer le comportement des particules face à une variation de la fréquence, de la phase ou de l'amplitude du champ électrique avec différentes architectures d'électrodes. De plus, étant programmable et reconfigurable, elle nous a permis de valider plusieurs concepts, notamment l'identification fréquentielle des micro et nanoparticules. Cette dernière représente notre principale contribution qui pourrait, éventuellement, ouvrir la porte à plusieurs recherches notamment celles portant sur l'identification des maladies neurodégénératives. Notre but étant d’offrir une grande flexibilité dans la modélisation, nous présentons une nouvelle approche pour modéliser les LsP dans laquelle le comportement des particules est modélisé en tenant compte de l'architecture des électrodes, des signaux appliqués et des propriétés biologiques du milieu. Cette première modélisation en son genre est une approche hybride combinant une modélisation par éléments finis à l’aide d’ANSYS et une implémentation d’un algorithme sur Matlab. Elle permet de calculer la position d'une particule dans un microcanal en se basant sur les résultats fournis par ANSYS. Cette modélisation présente de nombreux avantages dont notamment, la possibilité d’identifier l’emplacement d'une particule avec précision en 3D, en plus de valider la séparation des particules à travers toute la profondeur du microcanal, ce qui n'est pas possible en se basant uniquement sur les résultats expérimentaux. De plus, nous avons fabriqué le système complet avec une architecture 3D de 5 PCB, une plateforme microfluidique, un contrôle sans fil par Bluetooth et un bloc d'alimentation programmable et intégré dans un même microsystème. Toute la partie microélectronique du LsP a été implémentée sur une puce microélectronique fabriquée avec la technologie CMOS 0.18 um de TSMC. Quant à l'architecture microfluidique, elle a été fabriquée avec les procédé Sensonit et Lionix.----------Abstract Our research project is devoted to develop and extend the use of laboratories on chip (LoC), and to add to them new functions and more rigorous modeling techniques. Without a doubt, the state of art shows that, in order to create models that reflect living organisms best, LoCs need be more evolved systems that serve more functions than simple and limited-function DNA chips. To do so, we propose a first prototype of a Lab on Chip with microelectronic and microfluidic modules, and integrated radio-frequency communication and power supply to separate the different particles in the cerebrospinal fluid with validations done in vitro. The purpose of this platform is to observe the particles' behaviour when facing a change in the electric field's, frequency, phase, or amplitude, all this using different architectures of electrodes. Moreover, the platform is programmable and reconfigurable, which is important as it allows the validation of many concepts, such as the frequency separation of micro and nanoparticles. This platform actually represents our main focus in this research. We believe that it will eventually lead to many other research and medical advancements, such as identifying the source of many degenerative neurological disorders. We also came up with an innovative approach to give a greater flexibility to the modeling of LoCs. This approach consists of modeling the behaviour of particles based on the architectural design of the electrodes, the applied signals, and the biological properties of the medium. This first type of modeling is based on a hybrid approach between a Finete element modeling using ANSYS, and an algorithmic implementation on Matlab that makes it possible to calculate each particle's position in a micro canal based on the results provided by ANSYS. Such modeling has many advantages; for example, it can precisely identify the location of a particle in 3D, as well as separate the particles throughout the whole micro canal, all of which is not possible based on experimental results. Also, we built this system entirely with a 3D architecture of PCB, a microfluidic platform, a Bluetooth wireless controller, and a source of power supply integrated all in one microsystem. The whole microelectronic part of the LoC is put on a microelectronic chip made with the CMOS 0.18 um TSMC technology. As for the microfluidic architecture, it was fabricated using both the Sensonit and Lionix processes

Hybrid modeling method for a DEP based particle manipulation

In this paper, a new modeling approach for Dielectrophoresis (DEP) based particle manipulation is presented. The proposed method fulfills missing links in finite element modeling between the multiphysic simulation and the biological behavior. This technique is amongst the first steps to develop a more complex platform covering several types of manipulations such as magnetophoresis and optics. The modeling approach is based on a hybrid interface using both ANSYS and MATLAB to link the propagation of the electrical field in the micro-channel to the particle motion. ANSYS is used to simulate the electrical propagation while MATLAB interprets the results to calculate cell displacement and send the new information to ANSYS for another turn. The beta version of the proposed technique takes into account particle shape, weight and its electrical properties. First obtained results are coherent with experimental results

Microelectronics-Based Biosensors Dedicated to the Detection of Neurotransmitters: A Review

Dysregulation of neurotransmitters (NTs) in the human body are related to diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The mechanisms of several neurological disorders, such as epilepsy, have been linked to NTs. Because the number of diagnosed cases is increasing, the diagnosis and treatment of such diseases are important. To detect biomolecules including NTs, microtechnology, micro and nanoelectronics have become popular in the form of the miniaturization of medical and clinical devices. They offer high-performance features in terms of sensitivity, as well as low-background noise. In this paper, we review various devices and circuit techniques used for monitoring NTs in vitro and in vivo and compare various methods described in recent publications