The general theme of the research in materials science and engineering within CBM² centers on the development and implementation of Functional Materials integrated into Microfluidic Devices that target health-related diagnoses.

Our efforts in Functional Materials require the expertise of broadly trained groups of scientists and engineers and span the following areas:

o        Surface Modification

§       Large-area and patterned surface functionalization

§       Compatibility control

o        Sample Concentration

§       Universal and aptamer/immuno-based specific capture   devices

§       Molecularly imprinted surfaces

o        Label-less Transduction

§       Carbon nanotube conductivity arrays

§       GMR magnetic detection

§       Colorimetric reporting agents

The three sub-areas (Surface Modification, Sample Concentration, and Label-less Transduction) have at their heart, enhancement of the properties of microfluidic devices, such that the devices perform at a level that makes them unmatched for the application at hand.

The ability to change the surface chemical or biological make up of a material— whether it be a polymer, a metal, a nanostucture, or a protein— is crucial to the implementation of microfluidic devices, particularly those that deal with biological species of interest. Surface Modification of microfluidic devices allows for control of liquid flow, the compatibility of the device with the species of interest, and the formation of diagnostic element arrays and Sample Concentration modules, to name a few.  Simple methods for Surface Modification of microfluidic devices are being developed and implemented at CBM², particularly those that allow for construction of array-based modules using techniques that allow fabrication of spatially delineated patterns of a given chemical or biological material.

Analyses may entail not only the detection of a certain species, but its further dissection in a component of the microfludic device that is further downstream. This situation necessitates the capture of the species of interest from a "sea" of others. This is currently being addressed through the use of Sample Concentration device modules that possess the ability to selectively or non-selectively remove a given species or class of species from a flowing stream in a microfluidic device. Such sample concentrators function by maximizing interactions between the species of interest and a material with the propensity to capture the given species. It is the development of the capture agents and their architectures in microfludic devices that we are currently studying.

Furthermore, in order to detect some types of species of interest in a medical sample in a given environment, limitations may exist that require the detection strategy to use certain methods. Such is the case for devices that target small numbers of species of interest in a sample. As a result, we are developing novel detection methods based on Label-less Transduction (conversion of species' presence via a "signal"), wherein the signal is generated using new, simple, or non-conventional routes, such as the mechanism used for reading magnetic information on a computer hard drive (GMR magnetic detection).