The WISE seminar, given annually by a prominent woman chemist, provides needed role models in a male-dominated field. All aspects of the invited speaker's visit are organized by the women students, offering excellent opportunities for development of leadership and communication skills. The speaker gives the departmental seminar and meets with students throughout the day.
Dr. Laurie Locascio, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Cells and Cell-Mimetic Systems in Microfluidics
Abstract: For several years, our group has been investigating cell-mimetic systems, such as liposomes, lipid microtubes and lipid nanotubes, in the microfluidic environment. In some cases, we have used microfluidic networks to control and modulate the formation of cell-mimetic systems by simple manipulation of the conditions (flow, shear stress, temperature, viscosity, chemistry, etc.) in the microfluidic channel. The microfluidic environment allows for unique control of conditions at the submicron level when the formation is performed at a liquid-liquid interface in a laminar flow system. Recently, we have become interested in applying these technologies towards manipulating and handling whole cells in microfluidic systems. Our work was inspired by D.J. Beebe, from the University of Wisconsin, who was the first to report on the benefits of using microfluidics to improve cell culture. There are several inherent benefits to performing cell-based assays in microfluidic systems that include decreased reagent consumption, decreased size of the cell population, and the ability to perform highly parallel assays for toxicology and pharmacology. To take full advantage of microfluidic systems for cell-based assays, it becomes important to accurately control cell placement and attachment. We present here the generation of ordered cell arrays inside microfluidic devices using dielectrophoretic trapping combined with polyelectrolyte multilayer coatings to promote rapid cellular attachment and cell placement. This discussion will focus on some of our recent observations of these cellular systems and will compare observations that we have made of cell-mimetic systems in the microfluidic environment. (Contributing Authors: Samuel Forry, Darwin Reyes, Wyatt Vreeland, Andreas Jahn, Ksenia Brazhnik, Michael Gaitan)
Biographical Sketch: Dr. Laurie E. Locascio has been employed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since 1986. She is currently the Group Leader of the Microanalytical Metrology Group in the Analytical Chemistry Division within the Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory at NIST. She received her BSc in Chemistry from James Madison University, an MSc in bioengineering from the University of Utah, and a PhD in toxicology from the University of Maryland at Baltimore medical school. She has published more than 75 scientific papers, and has 4 issued patents with 4 additional pending in the fields of microfluidics, biosensors and sensor/flow systems. Her current research efforts involve the design and application of microfluidic chemical systems, also known as lab-on-a-chip devices. This work focuses on the development of new methods for microfabrication and microsystems integration; development of fundamental methods for accurately measuring flow and temperature in microsystems; development of new methods for improved microchemical separations and detection; and the development of microscale methods to facilitate single molecule measurement and manipulation. Much of her earlier work involved the development of new methods for low-level detection of clinical and environmental analytes utilizing biological receptors for analyte recognition and employing both optical and electrochemical elements. Some of her honors and awards include the following: US Department of Commerce Certificate of Recognition; US Department of Commerce Bronze Medal Award; and the National Institute of Standards & Technology Applied Research Award. She is currently the Chair-Elect of the Analytical Division of the American Chemical Society.
Last update: 23 August 2005