BIOTECHNOLOGY AND LAB-ON-A CHIPModule Mod. Lab-on-a-chip Design
Academic Year 2023/2024 - Teacher: MAIDE ANGELA RITA BUCOLOExpected Learning Outcomes
The course aims to guide students in the acquisition of basic concepts in the study and design of Lab-on-a-Chips. In this context, microfluidic processes and the technologies used for their monitoring will be presented. At the end of the course, the student will be able to design a device and define an experimental campaign for the study of a biological and chemical sample.
Course Structure
The course includes lectures for the acquisition and knowledge required and the carrying out of practice activities (software design).
Should teaching be carried out in mixed mode or remotely, it may be necessary to introduce changes with respect to previous statements, in line with the programme planned and outlined in the syllabus.
Required Prerequisites
BASIC KNOWLEDGE REGARDS:
-> Advanced level on physics and math
-> Intermediate level on Linear systems theory and control
-> Intermediate level on programming languages
No preparatory requests for passing other courses are required.
Attendance of Lessons
CLASS ATTENDANCE
Attendance is not mandatory, although strongly recommended to carry out adequately the final project.
Detailed Course Content
- Microfluidics flow: physics at micrometric scale, hydrodynamics of microfluidic systems, diffusion/mixing/separation in microsystems
- Micromachining methods: micromachining of silicon, micromachining of glass, micromachining of polymeric chips
- Detection methods: Optical detection, electrochemical detection, mass spectroscopy
- Microfluidics device for lab-on-chip applications: application to cellular and particle analysis; applications to Nucleic Acid Analysis, applications to protein analysis.
Textbook Information
COURSE TEXTBOOKS
T1) Paul C. H. Li - Microfluidics lab-on-a-chip for chemical and biological analysis and discovery- CRC Taylor and Francis
T2) P. Tabelling, Introduction to microfluidics, Oxford
T2) M.R. Hamblin, M. Karimi, Biomedical Applications of Microfluidic Devices, Academic Press
Course Planning
| Subjects | Text References | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microfluidics flow (12 h) | T2 (ch1-ch2-ch3) |
| 2 | Micromachining methods (6 h) | T1 (ch 2), T3 (ch 2) |
| 3 | Detection Methods (12 h) | T1 (ch 7) |
| 4 | Microfluidics device for lab-on-chip applications (7 h) | T1-T3 |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
METHODS FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE LEARNED KNOWLEDGE
The exam consists of a course project and an oral exam. Learning assessment may also be carried out online, should the conditions require it.
The practical test consists of a case study based on the design of a micro-system for the analysis of biological and chemical samples. The delivery of this project by the end of the course allows access to the oral examination. The final evaluation will be determined by the evaluation of both.
For attending students it will be possible to do a midterm test shortly after the end of the course. The test lasting a maximum of two hours consists of questions (multiple choice and/or open) to check the knowledge acquired on of the contents covered during the course. If this test is passed, answering correctly to at least 50% of the questions, the oral exam is not compulsory but at the discretion of the student. The final evaluation will be determined by averaging the evaluation of the questionnaire with the evaluation of the course project.
Evaluation at the oral interview will be based on: the knowledge of the contents, the relevance of the answers with respect to the questions formulated, the property of technical language, and the ability to make connections between the contents of the program.