Microfluidic Systems and Magnetic Resonance

Microfluidic technology has rapidly advanced over the last two decades, and is increasingly transforming the practice of life science research, as well as (arguably more slowly) medical diagnostics. In particular, microfluidic assays are ideal platforms for the culture of cells, cell aggregates, and tissue slices, and form the basis of increasingly predictive disease models. Nuclear magnetic resonance, due to its non-invasive nature and ability to provide rich and detailed information on biological systems, is ideally suited to follow life processes in such microfluidic culture devices. However, the integration of high-performance NMR spectroscopy with microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices is technically challenging due to the small sample volumes involved. Recent advances in hyperpolarization and alternative detection approaches offer important opportunities in this field. In this talk, I will give an overview of the opportunities and challenges in microfluidic NMR, and present some recent examples.

8:00AM California or 11:00 am Boston or 5:00 PM Paris or 9:30 PM Delhi