Fluidic Contact Lens Treats Glaucoma

We’ve always been interested in fluidic computers, a technique that uses moving fluids to perform logic operations. Now, Spectrum reports that researchers have developed an electronics-free c…

Fluidics - Wikipedia

Design and validation of a frugal, automated, solid-phase peptide synthesizer

Solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) has enabled widespread use of synthetic peptides in applications ranging from pharmaceuticals to materials science. The demand for synthetic peptides has driven recent efforts to produce automated SPPS synthesizers which utilize fluid-handling components common to chemistry laboratories to drive costs down to several thousand dollars. Herein, we describe the design and validation of a more ‘frugal’ SPPS synthesizer that uses inexpensive, consumer-grade fluid-handling components to achieve a prototype price point between US$300 and $600. We demonstrated functionality by preparing and characterizing peptides with a variety of distinct properties including binding functionality, nanoscale self-assembly, and oxidation-induced fluorescence. This system yielded micromoles of peptide at a cost of approximately $1/residue, a cost which may be further reduced by optimization and bulk purchasing.

Projects and Research: Education - Programmable Water

Paulo Blikstein's web site. Visiting Scholar at the MIT Media Lab's Future of Learning Group.

Method to separate microplastics from water could also speed up blood analyses

Researchers have demonstrated a way to speed up—and potentially scale up—the process for separating particles in fluids, which can be used for studying microplastics in drinking water or even analyzing cancer cells from blood.

Versatile fluidic platform for programmable liquid processing

Society relies heavily on diverse fluidic technologies. The ability to precisely capture and release various chemical and biological fluids plays a fundamental role in many fields. A long-standing challenge is to design a platform that enables the switchable capture and release of liquids with precise spatial and temporal control and accurate volumes of the fluid.