Electroactive micro and nanowells for optofluidic storage

This paper reports an optofluidic architecture which enables reversible trapping, detection and long term storage of spectrally multiplexed semiconductor quantum dot cocktails in electrokinetically active wells ranging in size from 200nm to 5μm. Here we describe the microfluidic delivery of these cocktails, fabrication method and principal of operation for the wells, and characterize the readout capabilities, storage and erasure speeds, internal spatial signal uniformity and potential storage density of the devices. We report storage and erase speeds of less than 153ms and 30ms respectively and the ability to provide 6-bit storage in a single 200nm well through spectral and intensity multiplexing. Furthermore, we present a novel method for enabling passive long term storage of the quantum dots in the wells by transporting them through an agarose gel matrix. We envision that this technique could find eventual application in fluidic memory or display devices

Microfluidics of binary liquid mixtures with temperature-dependent miscibility

Liquid–liquid microfluidic systems rely on the intricate control over the fluid properties of either miscible or immiscible mixtures. Herein, we report on the use of partially miscible binary liquid mixtures that lend their microfluidic properties from a highly temperature-sensitive mixing and phase separation behaviour. For a blend composed of the thermotropic liquid crystal 4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) and methanol, mixing at temperatures above the upper critical solution temperature (UCST; 24.4 °C) leads to a uniform single phase while partial mixing can be achieved at temperatures below the UCST. Thermally-driven phase separation inside the microfluidic channels results in the spontaneous formation of very regular phase arrangements, namely in droplets, plug, slug and annular flow. We map different flow regimes and relate findings to the role of interfacial tension and viscosity and their temperature dependence. Importantly, different flow regimes can be achieved at constant channel architecture and flow rate by varying the temperature of the blend. A consistent behaviour is observed for a binary liquid mixture with lower critical solution temperature, namely 2,6-lutidine and water. This temperature-responsive approach to microfluidics is an interesting candidate for multi-stage processes, selective extraction and sensing applications

Numerical and experimental characterization of a novel modular passive micromixer

This paper reports a new low-cost passive microfluidic mixer design, based on a replication of identical mixing units composed of microchannels with variable curvature (clothoid) geometry. The micromixer presents a compact and modular architecture that can be easily fabricated using a simple and reliable fabrication process. The particular clothoid-based geometry enhances the mixing by inducing transversal secondary flows and recirculation effects. The role of the relevant fluid mechanics mechanisms promoting the mixing in this geometry were analysed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for Reynolds numbers ranging from 1 to 110. A measure of mixing potency was quantitatively evaluated by calculating mixing efficiency, while a measure of particle dispersion was assessed through the lacunarity index. The results show that the secondary flow arrangement and recirculation effects are able to provide a mixing efficiency equal to 80 % at Reynolds number above 70. In addition, the analysis of particles distribution promotes the lacunarity as powerful tool to quantify the dispersion of fluid particles and, in turn, the overall mixing. On fabricated micromixer prototypes the microscopic-Laser-Induced-Fluorescence (μLIF) technique was applied to characterize mixing. The experimental results confirmed the mixing potency of the microdevice

Hydrogel-based logic circuits for planar microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip automation

The transport of vital nutrient supply in fluids as well as the exchange of specific chemical signals from cell to cell has been optimized over billion years of natural evolution. This model from nature is a driving factor in the field of microfluidics, which investigates the manipulation of the smallest amounts of fluid with the aim of applying these effects in fluidic microsystems for technical solutions. Currently, microfluidic systems are receiving attention, especially in diagnostics, \textit{e.g.} as SARS-CoV-2 antigen tests, or in the field of high-throughput analysis, \textit{e.g.} for cancer research. Either simple-to-use or large-scale integrated microfluidic systems that perform biological and chemical laboratory investigations on a so called Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC) provide fast analysis, high functionality, outstanding reproducibility at low cost per sample, and small demand of reagents due to system miniaturization. Despite the great progress of different LoC technology platforms in the last 30 years, there is still a lack of standardized microfluidic components, as well as a high-performance, fully integrated on-chip automation. Quite promising for the microfluidic system design is the similarity of the Kirchhoff's laws from electronics to predict pressure and flow rate in microchannel structures. One specific LoC platform technology approach controls fluids by active polymers which respond to specific physical and chemical signals in the fluid. Analogue to (micro-)electronics, these active polymer materials can be realized by various photolithographic and micro patterning methods to generate functional elements at high scalability. The so called chemofluidic circuits have a high-functional potential and provide “real” on-chip automation, but are complex in system design. In this work, an advanced circuit concept for the planar microfluidic chip architecture, originating from the early era of the semiconductor-based resistor-transistor-logic (RTL) will be presented. Beginning with the state of the art of microfluidic technologies, materials, and methods of this work will be further described. Then the preferred fabrication technology is evaluated and various microfluidic components are discussed in function and design. The most important component to be characterized is the hydrogel-based chemical volume phase transition transistor (CVPT) which is the key to approach microfluidic logic gate operations. This circuit concept (CVPT-RTL) is robust and simple in design, feasible with common materials and manufacturing techniques. Finally, application scenarios for the CVPT-RTL concept are presented and further development recommendations are proposed.:1 The transistor: invention of the 20th century 2 Introduction to fluidic microsystems and the theoretical basics 2.1 Fluidic systems at the microscale 2.2 Overview of microfluidic chip fabrication 2.2.1 Common substrate materials for fluidic microsystems 2.2.2 Structuring polymer substrates for microfluidics 2.2.3 Polymer chip bonding technologies 2.3 Fundamentals and microfluidic transport processes 2.3.1 Fluid dynamics in miniaturized systems 2.3.2 Hagen-Poiseuille law: the fluidic resistance 2.3.3 Electronic and microfluidic circuit model analogy 2.3.4 Limits of the electro-fluidic analogy 2.4 Active components for microfluidic control 2.4.1 Fluid transport by integrated micropumps 2.4.2 Controlling fluids by on-chip microvalves 2.4.3 Hydrogel-based microvalve archetypes 2.5 LoC technologies: lost in translation? 2.6 Microfluidic platforms providing logic operations 2.6.1 Hybrids: MEMS-based logic concepts 2.6.2 Intrinsic logic operators for microfluidic circuits 2.7 Research objective: microfluidic hydrogel-based logic circuits 3 Stimuli-responsive polymers for microfluidics 3.1 Introduction to hydrogels 3.1.1 Application variety of hydrogels 3.1.2 Hydrogel microstructuring methods 3.2 Theory: stimuli-responsive hydrogels 3.3 PNIPAAm: a multi-responsive hydrogel 4 Design, production and characterization methods of hydrogel-based microfluidic systems 4.1 The semi-automated computer aided design approach for microfluidic systems 4.2 The applied design process 4.3 Fabrication of microfluidic chips 4.3.1 Photoresist master fabrication 4.3.2 Soft lithography for PDMS chip production 4.3.3 Assembling PDMS chips by plasma bonding 4.4 Integration of functional hydrogels in microfluidic chips 4.4.1 Preparation of a monomer solution for hydrogel synthesis 4.4.2 Integration methods 4.5 Effects on hydrogel photopolymerization and the role of integration method 4.5.1 Photopolymerization from monomer solutions: managing the diffusion of free radicals 4.5.2 Hydrogel adhesion and UV light intensity distribution in the polymerization chamber 4.5.3 Hydrogel shrinkage behavior of different adhesion types 4.6 Comparison of the integration methods 4.7 Characterization setups for hydrogel actuators and microfluidic measurements . 71 4.7.1 Optical characterization method to describe swelling behavior 4.7.2 Setup of a microfluidic test stand 4.8 Conclusion: design, production and characterization methods 5 VLSI technology for hydrogel-based microfluidics 5.1 Overview of photolithography methods 5.2 Standard UV photolithography system for microfluidic structures 5.3 Self-made UV lithography system suitable for the mVLSI 5.3.1 Lithography setup for the DFR and SU-8 master exposure 5.3.2 Comparison of mask-based UV induced crosslinking for DFR and SU-8 5.4 Mask-based UV photopolymerization for mVLSI hydrogel patterning 5.4.1 Lithography setup for the photopolymerization of hydrogels 5.4.2 Hydrogel photopolymerization: experiments and results 5.4.3 Troubleshooting: photopolymerization of hydrogels 5.5 Conclusion: mVLSI technologies for hydrogel-based LoCs 6 Components for chemofluidic circuit design 6.1 Passive components in microfluidics 6.1.1 Microfluidic resistor 6.1.2 Planar-passive microfluidic signal mixer 6.1.3 Phase separation: laminar flow signal splitter 6.1.4 Hydrogel-based microfluidic one-directional valves 6.2 Hydrogel-based active components 6.2.1 Reversible hydrogel-based valves 6.2.2 Hydrogel-based variable resistors 6.2.3 CVPT: the microfluidic transistor 6.3 Conclusion: components for chemofluidic circuits 7 Hydrogel-based logic circuits in planar microfluidics 7.1 Development of a planar CVPT logic concept 7.1.1 Challenges of planar microfluidics 7.1.2 Preparatory work and conceptional basis 7.2 The microfluidic CVPT-RTL concept 7.3 The CVPT-RTL NAND gate 7.3.1 Circuit optimization stabilizing the NAND operating mode 7.3.2 Role of laminar flow for the CVPT-RTL concept 7.3.3 Hydrogel-based components for improved switching reliability 7.4 One design fits all: the NOR, AND and OR gate 7.5 Control measures for cascaded systems 7.6 Application scenarios for the CVPT-RTL concept 7.6.1 Use case: automated cell growth system 7.6.2 Use case: chemofluidic converter 7.7 Conclusion: Hydrogel-based logic circuits 8 Summary and outlook 8.1 Scientific achievements 8.2 Summarized recommendations from this work Supplementary information SI.1 Swelling degree of BIS-pNIPAAm gels SI.2 Simulated ray tracing of UV lithography setup by WinLens® SI.3 Determination of the resolution using the intercept theorem SI.4 Microfluidic master mold test structures SI.4.1 Polymer and glass mask comparison SI.4.2 Resolution Siemens star in DFR SI.4.3 Resolution Siemens star in SU-8 SI.4.4 Integration test array 300 μm for DFR and SU-8 SI.4.5 Integration test array 100 μm for SU-8 SI.4.6 Microfluidic structure for different technology parameters SI.5 Microfluidic test setups SI.6 Supplementary information: microfluidic components SI.6.1 Compensation methods for flow stabilization in microfluidic chips SI.6.2 Planar-passive microfluidic signal mixer SI.6.3 Laminar flow signal splitter SI.6.4 Variable fluidic resistors: flow rate characteristics SI.6.5 CVPT flow rate characteristics for high Rout Standard operation proceduresDer Transport von lebenswichtigen Nährstoffen in Flüssigkeiten sowie der Austausch spezifischer chemischer Signale von Zelle zu Zelle wurde in Milliarden Jahren natürlicher Evolution optimiert. Dieses Vorbild aus der Natur ist ein treibender Faktor im Fachgebiet der Mikrofluidik, welches die Manipulation kleinster Flüssigkeitsmengen erforscht um diese Effekte in fluidischen Mikrosystemen für technische Lösungen zu nutzen. Derzeit finden mikrofluidische Systeme vor allem in der Diagnostik, z.B. wie SARS-CoV-2-Antigentests, oder im Bereich der Hochdurchsatzanalyse, z.B. in der Krebsforschung, besondere Beachtung. Entweder einfach zu bedienende oder hochintegrierte mikrofluidische Systeme, die biologische und chemische Laboruntersuchungen auf einem sogenannten Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC) durchführen, bieten schnelle Analysen, hohe Funktionalität, hervorragende Reproduzierbarkeit bei niedrigen Kosten pro Probe und einen geringen Bedarf an Reagenzien durch die Miniaturisierung des Systems. Trotz des großen Fortschritts verschiedener LoC-Technologieplattformen in den letzten 30 Jahren mangelt es noch an standardisierten mikrofluidischen Komponenten sowie an einer leistungsstarken, vollintegrierten On-Chip-Automatisierung. Vielversprechend für das Design mikrofluidischer Systeme ist die Ähnlichkeit der Kirchhoff'schen Gesetze aus der Elektronik zur Vorhersage von Druck und Flussrate in Mikrokanalstrukturen. Ein spezifischer Ansatz der LoC-Plattformtechnologie steuert Flüssigkeiten durch aktive Polymere, die auf spezifische physikalische und chemische Signale in der Flüssigkeit reagieren. Analog zur (Mikro-)Elektronik können diese aktiven Polymermaterialien durch verschiedene fotolithografische und mikrostrukturelle Methoden realisiert werden, um funktionelle Elemente mit hoher Skalierbarkeit zu erzeugen.\\ Die sogenannten chemofluidischen Schaltungen haben ein hohes funktionales Potenzial und ermöglichen eine 'wirkliche' on-chip Automatisierung, sind jedoch komplex im Systemdesign. In dieser Arbeit wird ein fortgeschrittenes Schaltungskonzept für eine planare mikrofluidische Chiparchitektur vorgestellt, das aus der frühen Ära der halbleiterbasierten Resistor-Transistor-Logik (RTL) hervorgeht. Beginnend mit dem Stand der Technik der mikrofluidischen Technologien, werden Materialien und Methoden dieser Arbeit näher beschrieben. Daraufhin wird die bevorzugte Herstellungstechnologie bewertet und verschiedene mikrofluidische Komponenten werden in Funktion und Design diskutiert. Die wichtigste Komponente, die es zu charakterisieren gilt, ist der auf Hydrogel basierende chemische Volumen-Phasenübergangstransistor (CVPT), der den Schlüssel zur Realisierung mikrofluidische Logikgatteroperationen darstellt. Dieses Schaltungskonzept (CVPT-RTL) ist robust und einfach im Design und kann mit gängigen Materialien und Fertigungstechniken realisiert werden. Zuletzt werden Anwendungsszenarien für das CVPT-RTL-Konzept vorgestellt und Empfehlungen für die fortlaufende Entwicklung angestellt.:1 The transistor: invention of the 20th century 2 Introduction to fluidic microsystems and the theoretical basics 2.1 Fluidic systems at the microscale 2.2 Overview of microfluidic chip fabrication 2.2.1 Common substrate materials for fluidic microsystems 2.2.2 Structuring polymer substrates for microfluidics 2.2.3 Polymer chip bonding technologies 2.3 Fundamentals and microfluidic transport processes 2.3.1 Fluid dynamics in miniaturized systems 2.3.2 Hagen-Poiseuille law: the fluidic resistance 2.3.3 Electronic and microfluidic circuit model analogy 2.3.4 Limits of the electro-fluidic analogy 2.4 Active components for microfluidic control 2.4.1 Fluid transport by integrated micropumps 2.4.2 Controlling fluids by on-chip microvalves 2.4.3 Hydrogel-based microvalve archetypes 2.5 LoC technologies: lost in translation? 2.6 Microfluidic platforms providing logic operations 2.6.1 Hybrids: MEMS-based logic concepts 2.6.2 Intrinsic logic operators for microfluidic circuits 2.7 Research objective: microfluidic hydrogel-based logic circuits 3 Stimuli-responsive polymers for microfluidics 3.1 Introduction to hydrogels 3.1.1 Application variety of hydrogels 3.1.2 Hydrogel microstructuring methods 3.2 Theory: stimuli-responsive hydrogels 3.3 PNIPAAm: a multi-responsive hydrogel 4 Design, production and characterization methods of hydrogel-based microfluidic systems 4.1 The semi-automated computer aided design approach for microfluidic systems 4.2 The applied design process 4.3 Fabrication of microfluidic chips 4.3.1 Photoresist master fabrication 4.3.2 Soft lithography for PDMS chip production 4.3.3 Assembling PDMS chips by plasma bonding 4.4 Integration of functional hydrogels in microfluidic chips 4.4.1 Preparation of a monomer solution for hydrogel synthesis 4.4.2 Integration methods 4.5 Effects on hydrogel photopolymerization and the role of integration method 4.5.1 Photopolymerization from monomer solutions: managing the diffusion of free radicals 4.5.2 Hydrogel adhesion and UV light intensity distribution in the polymerization chamber 4.5.3 Hydrogel shrinkage behavior of different adhesion types 4.6 Comparison of the integration methods 4.7 Characterization setups for hydrogel actuators and microfluidic measurements . 71 4.7.1 Optical characterization method to describe swelling behavior 4.7.2 Setup of a microfluidic test stand 4.8 Conclusion: design, production and characterization methods 5 VLSI technology for hydrogel-based microfluidics 5.1 Overview of photolithography methods 5.2 Standard UV photolithography system for microfluidic structures 5.3 Self-made UV lithography system suitable for the mVLSI 5.3.1 Lithography setup for the DFR and SU-8 master exposure 5.3.2 Comparison of mask-based UV induced crosslinking for DFR and SU-8 5.4 Mask-based UV photopolymerization for mVLSI hydrogel patterning 5.4.1 Lithography setup for the photopolymerization of hydrogels 5.4.2 Hydrogel photopolymerization: experiments and results 5.4.3 Troubleshooting: photopolymerization of hydrogels 5.5 Conclusion: mVLSI technologies for hydrogel-based LoCs 6 Components for chemofluidic circuit design 6.1 Passive components in microfluidics 6.1.1 Microfluidic resistor 6.1.2 Planar-passive microfluidic signal mixer 6.1.3 Phase separation: laminar flow signal splitter 6.1.4 Hydrogel-based microfluidic one-directional valves 6.2 Hydrogel-based active components 6.2.1 Reversible hydrogel-based valves 6.2.2 Hydrogel-based variable resistors 6.2.3 CVPT: the microfluidic transistor 6.3 Conclusion: components for chemofluidic circuits 7 Hydrogel-based logic circuits in planar microfluidics 7.1 Development of a planar CVPT logic concept 7.1.1 Challenges of planar microfluidics 7.1.2 Preparatory work and conceptional basis 7.2 The microfluidic CVPT-RTL concept 7.3 The CVPT-RTL NAND gate 7.3.1 Circuit optimization stabilizing the NAND operating mode 7.3.2 Role of laminar flow for the CVPT-RTL concept 7.3.3 Hydrogel-based components for improved switching reliability 7.4 One design fits all: the NOR, AND and OR gate 7.5 Control measures for cascaded systems 7.6 Application scenarios for the CVPT-RTL concept 7.6.1 Use case: automated cell growth system 7.6.2 Use case: chemofluidic converter 7.7 Conclusion: Hydrogel-based logic circuits 8 Summary and outlook 8.1 Scientific achievements 8.2 Summarized recommendations from this work Supplementary information SI.1 Swelling degree of BIS-pNIPAAm gels SI.2 Simulated ray tracing of UV lithography setup by WinLens® SI.3 Determination of the resolution using the intercept theorem SI.4 Microfluidic master mold test structures SI.4.1 Polymer and glass mask comparison SI.4.2 Resolution Siemens star in DFR SI.4.3 Resolution Siemens star in SU-8 SI.4.4 Integration test array 300 μm for DFR and SU-8 SI.4.5 Integration test array 100 μm for SU-8 SI.4.6 Microfluidic structure for different technology parameters SI.5 Microfluidic test setups SI.6 Supplementary information: microfluidic components SI.6.1 Compensation methods for flow stabilization in microfluidic chips SI.6.2 Planar-passive microfluidic signal mixer SI.6.3 Laminar flow signal splitter SI.6.4 Variable fluidic resistors: flow rate characteristics SI.6.5 CVPT flow rate characteristics for high Rout Standard operation procedure

Magnetically Levitated Microrobotic Mixer

Microfluidic systems, when combined with microrobots, offer enhanced precision in chemical synthesis by precisely controlling reaction conditions. These systems, when integrated with analytical tools, allow for real-time monitoring and are cost-efficient due to their minimal volume requirements, thereby reducing risks associated with hazardous chemicals. In our study, we have investigated the mixing efficiency of Thymolphthalein indicator with NaOH solution in a magnetically levitated microrobotic mixer. A PMMA microfluidic chip was used to transfer fluid containing two different solutions and achieve fast and efficient mixing. By adjusting five different flow rates and altering the rotational speeds of the microrobots, the mixing efficiency was observed. The studies were carried out under the laminar regime, with incompressible Newtonian flow rates and varying actuator speeds. The measurement of mixing efficiency was accomplished through the calculation of changes in pixel intensity observed in microscopic images acquired throughout the mixing process. The presence of the microrobots resulted in the best efficiency at 80.37% at 500 rpm and 7 mL/min flow rate. Their potential in advanced reactions, such as nanoparticle synthesis and encapsulation, suggests promising avenues for improving product yields.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 1 tabl

The microfluidic technique and the manufacturing of polysaccharide nanoparticles

Themicrofluidic technique has emerged as a promising tool to accelerate the clinical translation of nanoparticles, and its application affects several aspects, such as the production of nanoparticles and the in vitro characterization in the microenvironment, mimicking in vivo conditions. This review covers the general aspects of the microfluidic technique and its application in several fields, such as the synthesis, recovering, and samples analysis of nanoparticles, and in vitro characterization and their in vivo application. Among these, advantages in the production of polymeric nanoparticles in a well-controlled, reproducible, and high-throughput manner have been highlighted, and detailed descriptions of microfluidic devices broadly used for the synthesis of polysaccharide nanoparticles have been provided. These nanoparticulate systems have drawn attention as drug delivery vehicles over many years; nevertheless, their synthesis using themicrofluidic technique is still largely unexplored. This review deals with the use of the microfluidic technique for the synthesis of polysaccharide nanoparticles; evaluating features of the most studied polysaccharide drug carriers, such as chitosan, hyaluronic acid, and alginate polymers. The critical assessment of the most recent research published in literature allows us to assume that microfluidics will play an important role in the discovery and clinical translation of nanoplatforms

Quantitative full-colour transmitted light microscopy and dyes for concentration mapping and measurement of diffusion coefficients in microfluidic architectures

International audienceA simple and versatile methodology has been developed for the simultaneous measurement of multiple concentration profiles of colourants in transparent microfluidic systems, using a conventional transmitted light microscope, a digital colour (RGB) camera and numerical image processing combined with multicomponent analysis. Rigorous application of the Beer-Lambert law would require monochromatic probe conditions, but in spite of the broad spectral bandwidths of the three colour channels of the camera, a linear relation between the measured optical density and dye concentration is established under certain conditions. An optimised collection of dye solutions for the quantitative optical microscopic characterisation of microfluidic devices is proposed. Using the methodology for optical concentration measurement we then implement and validate a simplified and robust method for the microfluidic measurement of diffusion coefficients using an H-filter architecture. It consists of measuring the ratio of the concentrations of the two output channels of the H-filter. It enables facile determination of the diffusion coefficient, even for non-fluorescent molecules and nanoparticles, and is compatible with non-optical detection of the analyte

Siphon-Controlled Automation on a Lab-on-a-Disc Using Event-Triggered Dissolvable Film Valves

Within microfluidic technologies, the centrifugal microfluidic "Lab-on-a-Disc" (LoaD) platform offers great potential for use at the PoC and in low-resource settings due to its robustness and the ability to port and miniaturize \u27wet bench\u27 laboratory protocols. We present the combination of \u27event-triggered dissolvable film valves\u27 with a centrifugo-pneumatic siphon structure to enable control and timing, through changes in disc spin-speed, of the release and incubations of eight samples/reagents/wash buffers. Based on these microfluidic techniques, we integrated and automated a chemiluminescent immunoassay for detection of the CVD risk factor marker C-reactive protein displaying a limit of detection (LOD) of 44.87 ng mL$^{-1}$ and limit of quantitation (LoQ) of 135.87 ng mL$^{-1}$

Novel variable radius spiral-shaped micromixer: from numerical analysis to experimental validation

A novel type of spiral micromixer with expansion and contraction parts is presented in order to enhance the mixing quality in the low Reynolds number regimes for point-of-care tests (POCT). Three classes of micromixers with different numbers of loops and modified geometries were studied. Numerical simulation was performed to study the flow behavior and mixing performance solving the steady-state Navier–Stokes and the convection-diffusion equations in the Reynolds range of 0.1–10.0. Comparisons between the mixers with and without expansion parts were made to illustrate the effect of disturbing the streamlines on the mixing performance. Image analysis of the mixing results from fabricated micromixers was used to verify the results of the simulations. Since the proposed mixer provides up to 92% of homogeneity at Re 1.0, generating 442 Pa of pressure drop, this mixer makes a suitable candidate for research in the POCT field.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Implementation of Microfluidic Mixers for the Optimization of Polymeric, Gold, and Perovskite Nanomaterials Synthesis

I would like to thank Dr. Chandra Kothapalli for the opportunity to participate in this research project and the continuous guidance he has given me in all aspects of the lab work. I would like to acknowledge the entire Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Department for their assistance throughout the program, for partially supporting my tuition and stipend through teaching assistantships, and the opportunities to present and discuss my research project with other interested students and faculty. I would like to acknowledge Dr. Petru Fodor and Dr. Geyou Ao for their support as members of my defense committee. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Fodor and Mr. Miroslav for the countless hours of SEM training and imaging. Besides, the devices used in this project were developed in collaboration with Dr. Petru Fodor. I would like to thank Dr. Kiril Streletzky and Samantha Tietjen for their assistance on the DLS analysis, as well as Ana Dilillo and Fjorela Xhyliu for assistance on the NS3 NanoSpectralyzer equipment. I would like to acknowledge the access to equipment in Dr. Ao’s lab. Finally, I would like to recognize my numerous lab colleagues in Dr. Kothapalli’s lab at Cleveland State University. I would like to thank Gautam Mahajan for guiding me through some protocols and providing me with assistance when needed. I would also like to thank my predecessors in the lab, Brian Hama for his design of the microfluidic mixer used in this project, and Marissa Sarsfield for her explanation and recommendations toward the procedure and time management of the project. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the present and past group members: Rushik Bandodkar, Tahir Butt, Ben Bosela, and Quinton Wright