Build an art museum on a microfluidic chip

When it comes to the laboratory, everyone must be familiar with it, not a science student, and I have been to school more or less once or twice. The equipment in the laboratory is dazzling, the operation method is complex and rigorous, in this era of minimalist aesthetics and popular quantum mechanics, we seem to be more bold to jump out of the traditional concept, so how simple can a laboratory be?

Microfluidic chip. Source: wiki

As shown in the picture above, like Mondrian's contemporary art, the geometric lines extend in the crystal clear glass bottle, which is the "laboratory on the chip" realized by microfluidic technology.

Although the sparrow is small, it is complete. In a few square centimeters of the chip contains different functions of the channel, pump, valve, mixing chamber, laboratory area, etc., through the integrated electronic microcontroller control, the experimental liquid shuttle in these areas, in the microscopic scale of accurate mixing, reaction and separation, in the past need for large equipment, specific environment, complex operation of experiments and observation, now the use of microfluidic chips can be extremely accurate, efficient, low pollution to complete, widely used in clinical laboratory medicine, biochemistry and molecular biology and other fields.

According to the control mode, the microfluidic chip can be divided into passive and active two types.

Passive microfluidic control is more controlled by natural forces, or it can be said that only the microfluidic is not controlled, using the capillary phenomenon that occurs in the micro-pipeline of the liquid itself, the force generated by the bending of the liquid level at the interface of liquid, solid and gas, so that the liquid produces a directional flow. Mainly used in simple inspection projects.

Pregnancy test stick using passive microfluidic technology. Source: wiki

The art of microfluidics produced by Savahhah Szemethy, two colors of liquid in a microfluidic pipe flowing by a natural force to present an Einstein portrait. source:

https://savannahszemethy.wixsite.com/microfluidicart

Active microfluidics are more recognized by the industry as "true" microfluidics, which have both microfluidics and controls, that is, as mentioned above, through the precision reaction chamber and valve device inside the chip, to accurately control the liquid reaction. Active microfluidics are often designed to meet the requirements of more complex experimental processes, such as molecular detection.

Albert Folch is a professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington and works on microfluidics. His team is dedicated to the design and manufacture of microfluidic devices using digital manufacturing technologies (3D printing, laser cutting). The team developed a microfluidic device that, with a small sample of tumor biopsy, can help doctors screen the drug mixture that best suits the patient's situation, greatly reducing the cost of drug testing.

"Tumor chips," each slot containing different drugs that are pumped to the center where the tumor sample is placed. Source: Albert Folch

When the fluid is channeled from 100 nanometers (nm) to 500 microns (μm), the Raynaud coefficient (the ratio of inertial force to viscous force) becomes small, the liquid undergoes laminar flow, and several parallel streams of fluid do not mix. Professor Falch, who loves art, noticed this rare scene in the macroscopic world during the experiment, and was inspired, so he recorded these scenes in the form of photography and used exquisite artistic means to show this sophisticated science and technology.

The day Mondrian visited the lab. Written by Chris Sip and Albert Folch

Microfluidic rockets. Source: FolchLAB

Colorful maze. Source: FolchLAB

Laminar flow gradient. Source: Youtube

It's not just liquids that flow, there's music. Professor Falch used microfluidic chips to present us with a microfluidic ballet show, which is not so much a ballet as a miniature "musical light fountain show".

The horizontal distribution of the seven color dyes corresponds to the seven frequencies corresponding to the music, high and low, and as the music progresses, when the volume of a certain frequency is above the threshold, the corresponding micro-valve opens, and the dye gushes out, which is a perfect fit with the music. When different color dyes converge, due to the phenomenon of laminar flow, they do not mix with each other, as if slow-flowing Impressionist paintings. The sound and painting are quite healing, please adjust the comfortable volume to enjoy it.

Microfluidic ballet. Source: Youtube

While running the lab, Professor Falch also serves as an advisor and art editor for the journal Lab on a Chip.

Cover of the journal Lab on aChip

Lab on a Chip is published by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and publishes micro- and nano-scale research in a multidisciplinary field. Each year, the journal co-sponsors the Art in Science Award For Science Photography Competition with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and presents awards at the International Conference on Miniaturization Systems in Chemistry and Life Sciences (TAS).

The art in Science Awards photography competition submissions are primarily about microsystems (microfluidics). Entrants need to be a participating member of TAS and an author or co-author of the document to which the image belongs. It can be said that this is a visual art competition held specifically for scientists. In addition to receiving prize money and certificates, the winner's work can also be on the cover of the journal.

Below is the 2021 award-winning work Living Impression Sunrise. Fluorescent images of the perivascular niche before tumor metastasis. In microfluidic chips, human umbilical vein endothelial cells interact with tumor cells to form a three-dimensional microvascular network. The title of this image is inspired by Claude Monet's Impressions of the Sunrise.

2021 award-winning work "Living Impression Sunrise", by Du Yang (transliteration) Fudan University. Source: Lab on a chip

The 2017 award-winning work "Give Bubbles a Chance". "Bubbles are considered a nightmare for microfluidic researchers because of their interference with observations, and here they make bold appearances to show their unique beauty to those who hate them." This image is a photographic image obtained during the infusion of pluronic f-127 in a microfluidic chamber.

The 2017 award-winning work "Give Bubbles a Chance". Author: Maria CristinaLetizia Source: Lab ona chip

2020 Award-winning work "Microvessel Ring", by Li Qinyu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. A three-dimensional angiogenesis network of human umbilical vein endothelial cells in a circular polymethyl methacrylate microfluidic chamber is shown. Source: Lab on a chip

2019 Winning Work "The World of Cells" by Joseph de Rutte, UCLA. Fluorescent images of uniform droplets formed using structured particles. Source: Lab on a chip

2019 Selected for Stars and Diamonds Made of Bone Cells by Charlotte Yvanoff, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. Source: Lab on a chip

2018 winning work "Green Planet" by Nam-Trung Nguyen. A floating liquid marble decorated with green fluorescent beads. Source: Lab ona chip

In 2012, he won the prize "Stretching the Rainbow". The droplets are stretched on a digital microfluidic platform. Source: Lab on achip

P.S. Whether it is the famous scientific hand-drawn paintings of Galileo and Leonardo da Vinci in the early days, or the scientific images that accompany various research papers in modern times, the visual products brought out in the process of scientific research work have always influenced the thinking and research of scientists in later generations, as the cover images of research documents, good works can often "enter the soul at a glance", pleasing to the eye and directly expressive chest, with the dual value of science and aesthetics.

Reference:

https://albertfolch.wixsite.com/folchlabhome/history-of-bait

https://theconversation.com/microfluidics-the-tiny-beautiful-tech-hidden-all-around-you-160436

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2018/lc/c8lc90028k

https://savannahszemethy.wixsite.com/microfluidicart?pgid=juhal6k0-d9c8da0c-2335-4895-9d1b-8faa09c98a34

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYuyRUjnTgc

http://www.blubblubb.net/oracle/index.html

https://scheringstiftung.de/en/programm/dialog/foerderprojekte/max-planck-institute-starten-artist-in-residence-programm/ausstellung-klasmpi/

https://www.elveflow.com/microfluidic-reviews/general-microfluidics/microfluidics-and-microfluidic-device-a-review/

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Source: Center for the Study of Science and Arts

EDIT: Hidden Idiot