Microfluidic Device

In developing inkjet printers during the 1980’s scientists observed how differently fluids behave at the micro level than at the macro.  For instance, diffusion behavior is dissimilar, and knowing that, investigators at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Science and Technology had designed a soft membrane with nanoscale pores that allows cells in a fluid sample—say, a droplet of blood—to diffuse to a surface where specific antibodies can capture circulating tumor cells. While this approach won’t be in clinical testing for a few more years, it holds potential for increasing point-of-care diagnostics.  MORE

Image Credit: Jungwoo Lee