A micro flow-meter for closed-loop management of biological samples.

The closed-loop management of biological samples in μTAS requires proper flow-sensors to be inserted in the hydraulic path. The optimal choice between hybrid mounting and monolithic fabrication depends on several design variables, one of which is the technological compatibility between the sensor and the pumping mechanism. Monolithic integration appears to be the eligible solution if both pumps and sensors can be fabricated with the same technological process.

Solvent resistant microfluidic DNA synthesizer.

We fabricated a microfluidic DNA synthesizer out of perfluoropolyether (PFPE), an elastomer with excellent chemical compatibility which makes it possible to perform organic chemical reactions, and synthesized 20-mer oligonucleotides on chip.

Biomechanical analysis of Oligochaeta crawling.

Hydrostatic skeletons, such as that of Oligochaeta and Hirudinea, allow the locomotion of animals with soft segmented bodies. In this paper crawling of Oligochaeta, and in particular that of earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris), is analyzed from a biomechanical point of view, starting from the experimental kinematic description of deformations coupled with a simple friction model. The analysis is able to predict crawling velocity with an error of about 15% with respect to the experimental measured values.