Microfluidics

gradient_blueMicrofluidics enables the observation of neural activity and behavior elicited by chemical stimuli in precise and repeatable patterns, both in space and time.  This environmental reproducibility is critical for the study of behavior, which is inherently a variable, often stochastic process.We design and fabricate microfluidic systems in-house at the WPI BioMedical Engineering-MicroFabrication Laboratory (BME-MFL) located at Gateway Park.If you are interested in developing, using, or purchasing microfluidic devices or accessories, please contact us.  We are in preparation to offer devices or molds for purchase in a standard library design or, for additional costs, custom designs.

Current designs (available soon):

Name Design Reference
Blank template 20x20mm <image>
Worm trap for neural imaging  Chronis_trap Chronis, 2007
Behavior, single arena / 22mm, 2-stripes (K9) K9 Albrecht, 2011
Behavior, dual arena / 16mm, 1-stripe (M2) M2 Albrecht, 2011
Behavior, dual arena / 16mm, symmetric gradient (O1) elegansO1_white
Neural imaging and behavior, single arena, pulse (P2) elegansP2_white Larsch, 2013

Photomask design

To obtain photomasks for photolithography, 2D line drawings are first prepared using CAD software.  We prefer DraftSight software, a free* software package for students and individuals that is compact (runs on an old laptop), and uses the same syntax as more sophisticated software such as AutoCAD and SolidWorks.

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A tutorial how to draw CAD photomasks is available here: Photomask Design v2.pdf.

Video tutorials for Draftsight are available: