BioMEMS Project

Project Leader: Darwin R. Reyes

Research Goals

• Development of microfluidic devices with electronic manipulation and measurement tools for future diagnostic tools and point-of-care testing
• Electronic flow measurement sensors/methods in microfluidic systems
• Cell-substrate biomimetic interfaces with tunable elasticity
• Physical measurements for mechanobiology
• Thin, flexible wearable sensors

Description

Lab-on-a-chip (LOC), or microfluidic systems, are a formidable tool for developing advanced metrology methods for biomedical engineering applications. Our team has been developing multilayer microfluidic devices with integrated electronics to advance solutions in areas of health care, such as in-vitro diagnostics, personalized and predictive medicine, and cell biology research. We are also developing biomimetic structures using layer-by-layer deposition combining all-natural or synthetic and natural polyelectrolytes to study bioengineering/biomedical engineering problems. In addition, we are interested and have been creating tools to measure the physical properties of fluids and local flow using surface acoustic waves in microchannels.

Research Opportunities

• Bioelectronic Sensors for Tissue/Organ-on-a-Chip Systems Project
• Electroacoustic Wave-Based Flow Sensors Project
• NRC/NIST Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • 2-year fellowship
  • Sponsored by the National Research Council
  • Application requires an original research proposal
  • Stipend - $74,950year; Travel Allotment - $3,000; Other benefits
  • Application deadlines are Feb. 1 and Aug. 1 of each year
  • US citizenship required

Please contact darwin.reyes [at] nist.gov (Darwin Reyes) if you are interested in applying for the fellowship in any of the research areas above mentioned.

Selected Publications

1. A. Quelennec, J.J. Gorman and D.R. Reyes Amontons-Coulomb-like slip dynamics in acousto-microfluidics, Nature Communications, 2022, 13, 1429.
2. D.R. Reyes, H. van Heeren, S. Guha, L. Herbertson, A.P. Tzannis, J. Ducrée, H. Bissig and H. Becker, Accelerating Innovation and Commercialization Through Standardization of Microfluidic-Based Medical Devices, Lab on a Chip, 2021, 21, 9-21.
3. B.J. Nablo, J.-J. Ahn, K. Bhadriraju, J.M. Lee, D.R. Reyes, Lens-Free Imaging as a Sensor for Dynamic Cell Viability Detection Using the Neutral Red Uptake Assay, ACS Applied Bio Materials, 2020, 3, 6633– 6638.
4. S. Minnikanti, J.J. Ahn, Y. Obeng and D.R. Reyes^*, Generating Multiscale Gold Nanostructures on Glass without Sidewall Deposits Using Minimal Dry Etching Steps, ACS Nano 2019, 13, 3924-3930.