Achievement

IGERT-LifeChips trainee, David Bardin, developed a super high-speed approach for the novel microfluidic production of monodisperse liquid perfluoropentane droplets as phase-change contrast agents for applications in tissue occlusion and tumor imaging. As a member of the Biomolecular Microsystems and Nano Transducers (BioMINT) Lab at the UC Irvine, under IGERT-LifeChips advisor Abraham Lee, he is involved in projects for the development of advanced microbubble and phase-change droplet technologies for contrast-enhanced ultrasound and targeted therapeutics. Each project involves elements of individual and group work, and proceeds in collaboration with the Paul Dayton Lab, which specializes in the development of ultrasound technologies, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Collaboration with the Paul Dayton Lab has provided valuable ultrasonic characterization of the phase-change droplets, confirming their potential use as tissue occlusion agents.