title: Shrink-film microfluidic education modules: Complete devices within minutes.
abstract: As advances in microfluidics continue to make contributions to diagnostics and life sciences, broader awareness of this expanding field becomes necessary. By leveraging low-cost microfabrication techniques that require no capital equipment or infrastructure, simple, accessible, and effective educational modules can be made available for a broad range of educational needs from middle school demonstrations to college laboratory classes. These modules demonstrate key microfluidic concepts such as diffusion and separation as well as "laboratory on-chip" applications including chemical reactions and biological assays. These modules are intended to provide an interdisciplinary hands-on experience, including chip design, fabrication of functional devices, and experiments at the microscale. Consequently, students will be able to conceptualize physics at small scales, gain experience in computer-aided design and microfabrication, and perform experiments-all in the context of addressing real-world challenges by making their own lab-on-chip devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, USA.
authors.forename: Diep
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Jolie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McLane
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lew
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pegan
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khine