Achievement

Sample preparation is essential to the success of many detection assays. IGERT Fellow Lauren Matlock-Colangelo and her collaborators have developed microfluidic devices that utilize functionalized electrospun nanofibers to perform sample concentration, purification, and analyte detection. Positively charged nanofibers are used to filter and concentrate negatively charged nanovesicles in microfluidic devices. They have shown that the nanovesicles can be selectively released from the nanofibers by injecting a pH 9 solution into the microfluidic channel, which renders the positively charged fibers negatively charged. Finally, they have shown that positively charged nanofibers concentrate and retain 98% of E.coli cells in a pH 7 buffer solution. The development of lab-on-a-chip devices will help make analyte detection more accessible in point-of-care facilities, rural areas, and third world countries.