Encapsulation with an interfacial liquid layer: Robust and efficient liquid-liquid wrapping.

Hypothesis: We developed an impact driven liquid-based encapsulation method by utilizing the fundamental thermodynamic tendency of a suitable three-liquid combination towards formation of a core-shell structure.

Experiments: Stable wrapping is achieved by impinging a core drop from a vertical separation on an interfacial liquid film floating on a host liquid bath. The resulting interfacial dynamics is captured using a high-speed camera.

Anomalous Wetting of Underliquid Systems: Oil Drops in Water and Water Drops in Oil.

We have investigated the wetting phenomena of two underliquid systems, i.e., oil (drop) in water medium and water (drop) in oil medium for two different substrates, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and glass.

DipTest: A litmus test for E. coli detection in water.

We have developed a new litmus paper test (DipTest) for detecting Escherichia coli (E. coli) in water samples by performing enzymatic reactions directly on the porous paper substrate. The paper strip consists of a long narrow piece of cellulose blotting paper coated with chemoattractant (at bottom edge), wax hydrophobic barrier (at the top edge), and custom formulated chemical reagents (at reaction zone immediately below the wax hydrophobic barrier).

A hydrogel based rapid test method for detection of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in contaminated water samples.

We have formulated a new chemical composition for rapid detection of Escherichia coli (E. coli) with currently available enzymatic substrates. We have evaluated the performance of the new chemical composition with different kinds of bacteria, and metallic and ionic interferences and optimized the chemical composition for rapid and specific detection of E.

Under-water superoleophobicity of fish scales.

Recent surge in the development of superhydrophobic/superoleophobic surfaces has been motivated by surfaces like fish scales that have hierarchical structures, which are believed to promote water or oil repellency. In this work, we show that the under-water oil repellency of fish scales is entirely due to the mucus layer formation as part of its defense mechanism, which produces unprecedented contact angle close to 180°. We have identified the distinct chemical signatures that are responsible for such large contact angle, thereby making fish scale behave highly superoleophobic inside the water medium.

Optical biosensors with an integrated Mach-Zehnder Interferometer for detection of Listeria monocytogenes.

In this work, we have demonstrated an efficient optical immunoassay technique for the detection of a food-borne pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes, using a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) configuration. We have investigated ten different MZI configurations with angular and Sbend Y-junction geometries. An efficient Hydrofluoric acid (HF) based technique was used for rapid and specific binding of L.

Micro-spot with integrated pillars (MSIP) for detection of dengue virus NS1.

In this paper, we demonstrate an extremely efficient technique of diagnosing dengue virus non-structural protein (NS1) using Micro-Spot with Integrated Pillars (MSIP). Detection using MSIP is performed by employing fluorescence immunoassay specific to dengue virus NS1. MSIPs are chemically modified to ensure efficient covalent binding of antibodies on the micropillars, whereas the enormous increase in the surface area (available for the reaction) induced by the micropillars amplifies the apparent rate, which enhances the signal intensity.

Characterization of nanometer-scale porosity in reservoir carbonate rock by focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy.

Sedimentary carbonate rocks are one of the principal porous structures in natural reservoirs of hydrocarbons such as crude oil and natural gas. Efficient hydrocarbon recovery requires an understanding of the carbonate pore structure, but the nature of sedimentary carbonate rock formation and the toughness of the material make proper analysis difficult. In this study, a novel preparation method was used on a dolomitic carbonate sample, and selected regions were then serially sectioned and imaged by focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy.

Study on the use of dielectrophoresis and electrothermal forces to produce on-chip micromixers and microconcentrators.

The present study uses the dielectrophoresis (DEP) and electrothermal (ET) forces to develop on-chip micromixers and microconcentrators. A microchannel with rectangular array of microelectrodes, patterned either on its bottom surface only or on both the top and the bottom surfaces, is considered for the analysis. A mathematical model to compute electrical field, temperature field, the fluid velocity, and the concentration distributions is developed.

Reservoir-on-a-chip (ROC): a new paradigm in reservoir engineering.

In this study, we design a microfluidic chip, which represents the pore structure of a naturally occurring oil-bearing reservoir rock. The pore-network has been etched in a silicon substrate and bonded with a glass covering layer to make a complete microfluidic chip, which is termed as 'Reservoir-on-a-chip' (ROC). Here we report, for the first time, the ability to perform traditional waterflooding experiments in a ROC.

Modeling of dielectrophoretic transport of myoglobin molecules in microchannels.

Myoglobin is one of the premature identifying cardiac markers, whose concentration increases from 90 pgml or less to over 250 ngml in the blood serum of human beings after minor heart attack. Separation, detection, and quantification of myoglobin play a vital role in revealing the cardiac arrest in advance, which is the challenging part of ongoing research. In the present work, one of the electrokinetic approaches, i.