Lego-like modular components make building 3-D labs-on-a-chip a snap

Thanks to new LEGO-like components developed by researchers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, it is now possible to build a 3-D microfluidic system quickly and cheaply by simply snapping together small modules by hand.

Microfluidic systems are used in many fields including engineering, chemistry and biotechnology to precisely manipulate small volumes of fluids for use in applications such as enzymatic or DNA analysis, pathogen detection, clinical diagnostic testing, and synthetic chemistry. Traditionally, microfluidic devices are built in a cleanroom on a two-dimensional surface using the same technology developed to produce integrated circuits for the electronics industry.

Though tiny, designing, assembling and testing a new microfluidics system can take a lot of time and money. Building a single device can often require multiple iterations, each of which can take up to two weeks and several thousand dollars to manufacture. And the more complex the system, the higher the number of iterations needed.

Frustrated that reproducing a simple microfluidic circuit could cost him so much time and money, Krisna Bhargava set out simplify the construction process. First, he identified the primitive elements commonly used in microfluidic systems, much like how circuitry is broken down in electrical engineering. Basic microfluidic functions would be separated into standardized modular components, not an entirely revolutionary concept. But then, he abandoned the two-dimensional method of building microfluidic devices altogether.