Achievement

Sample cleanup, preparation and analyte pre-concentration are essential to the success of any detection assay, but are particularly important for miniaturized assays. IGERT Fellow Lauren Matlock-Colangelo and her collaborators have created microfluidic systems that incorporate functionalized electrospun nanofibers with the goal of allowing for sample preparation and analyte detection within a single device. They have successfully demonstrated the ability of positively charged nanofibers to filter negatively charged nanovesicles out of a buffer solution flowing through a microchannel. In addition, they have demonstrated that positively charged nanofibers will attract and retain 98% of E. coli cells in a pH 7 buffer solution. The ability to perform all sample preparation and analyte detection within a single microfluidic device will allow for medical, food, and environmental sensing without the use of an external power source or other infrastructure.