Microfluidic Applications for the Study of Pancreatic Islets, Gradient Formation, and Gas Diffusion

Microfluidic applications are essential for studying pancreatic islets for islet transplantation, gradient formation for liver function, and gas diffusion. In this research, we explore how microfluidics affects each of these areas. A microfluidic perfusion droplet device was design and fabricated to detect insulin levels of pancreatic islets. This device was designed to generate droplets and injected directly into a capillary electrophoresis chip where electropherograms of insulin levels are outputted. Next, a multi-gradient flow-based/diffusion-based device, called dilutions of dilutions, was designed, fabricated, and characterized. This device was designed to study the function of hepatocytes in different concentration gradients. In addition, a series of tubes were examined to evaluate the ability of using different lengths and diameters of gas permeable tubes to replace the need of costly specialty gas tanks.