| NSF Org: |
CHE Division Of Chemistry |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | May 11, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | May 11, 2018 |
| Award Number: | 1808225 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Kelsey Cook
CHE Division Of Chemistry MPS Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Start Date: | August 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | July 31, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $150,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $150,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1000 OLD MAIN HL LOGAN UT US 84322-1000 (435)797-1226 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
4415 Old Main Hill Logan UT US 84322-4415 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Chemical Measurement & Imaging |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.049 |
ABSTRACT
This project is funded by the Chemistry Division of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate. Professors Aaron Timperman from the University of Illinois and Boyd Edwards from Utah State University are investigating the fundamental mechanisms of a new separation method called microfluidic traveling-wave electrophoresis (TWE). TWE is a promising method for reducing the complexity of samples that may come from biological organisms or the environment. In the investigation of the mechanisms of TWE, the team is determining precisely how TWE works and on optimizing its performance. The unique characteristics of TWE separations make it well-suited for applications that cannot be achieved with other separation methods. The TWE separation is driven with very low voltages (+/-0.5 V) which are 1,000 to 10,000 times smaller than its nearest relative, microchannel electrophoresis. This low voltage requirement makes TWE highly compatible with fieldable sensing systems. TWE should prove helpful in applications such as detection of biomarkers in human medical, forensic, and drug testing, detection of toxic substances in the environment, and detection of threat agents for homeland defense. The team collaborates with the Illinois Academic Ambassadors to enhance exposure of middle school and high school students to STEM research.
A combined experimental and theoretical modeling approach is used to provide a thorough and quantitative description of the mechanisms of TWE. TWE is distinct as a low frequency AC electrophoretic separation in which a longitudinal electric field wave propagates through the microfluidic channel. The separation mechanisms of TWE are unique: TWE can rapidly switch between separative transport, non-separative transport, and immobilization simply by changing the frequency of the traveling wave; and both anions and cations move in the same direction. The goal of this work is to fully understand and quantitatively describe the fundamental mechanisms of traveling wave electrophoresis. The objectives are: 1) determining the mechanisms of zone migration, 2) determining the mechanisms of zone dispersion, and 3) defining the fundamental equations of separation efficiency, resolution, and peak capacity. The experimental results guide the development of the theoretical models, and the fundamental equations derived are experimentally verified. These fundamental equations provide a basis with which this separation method can be quantitatively compared with others and inform optimal device design. The experimental team includes both undergraduate and graduate students. This is an interdisciplinary project that exposes students to separations, theoretical modeling, and fabrication in Engineering. An outreach component is included that impacts middle and high school students, exposing them to STEM disciplines.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
This project has helped to train three science undergraduate students and two science graduate students in techniques that prepare them to solve difficult societal problems: How can we reduce the cost of health care? How can patients receive immediate lab test results rather than waiting a few days for them? Point-of-care lab-on-a-chip diagnostic technologies have the potential to both reduce the cost of health care and to provide immediate testing results. The techniques and skills acquired by the students on this project enable them to contribute toward the continued development of such technologies.
Lab-on-a-chip devices involve both electrical and microfluidic pathways, with microfluidic channels being approximately the width of a human hair. The dream is for a patient to give a drop of blood, to place that drop on an inexpensive lab-on-a-chip, to use the chip to analyze the drop, and to deliver the test results to the patient within ten minutes.
This project takes a step toward realizing this dream. We have invented two lab-on-a-chip devices, traveling-wave electrophoresis (TWE) and transverse alternating current electrophoresis (TrACE), to use for separating charged particles in a solution. We have studied the properties of these devices both experimentally and theoretically, and have explored their features and limitations. Three major accomplishments have resulted from the project:
1. We have explained the origin of the increased time of ion migration in TWE and TrACE with respect to double layer charging.
2. We have proposed a new device for using high-speed imaging to measure the mass of small particles, and have supplied supporting theoretical analysis.
3. We have explained the role of diffusion in TWE.
Last Modified: 11/29/2022
Modified by: Boyd F Edwards
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