Les caméras infrarouges modernes permettent d’accéder à la mesure de champs thermiques et de leur évolution temporelle. Le traitement d’images obtenues permet d’analyser la signature thermique d’objets mobiles ou de fluides en écoulement. Dans ce contexte nous avons fait l’étude de trois expériences différentes. La première consiste à suivre des billes mobiles et à évaluer leurs coefficients d’échanges thermiques avec l’environnement par l’estimation de temps caractéristiques. Dans le deuxième cas, nous faisons une comparaison entre deux fluides qui s’écoulent dans un microcanal, afin de déterminer les variations relatives des propriétés thermiques. La dernière application consiste à réaliser une cartographie de diffusivité thermique avec une source de chaleur mobile. / The modern infrared cameras allow the measurement of thermal fields and their temporal evolution. Infrared images processing is suitable to analyze the thermal signature of moving objects or fluid flows. In this context, we made the study of three different experiments. The first one is relative to infrared tracking of randomly moving balls and then estimate their thermal exchanges with the environment by the estimation of some characteristic time. In the second case we made a comparison between two fluids which flow inside a microchannel in order to determine the relative changes of thermal properties. The last application was to estimate a thermal diffusivity field with a mobile heat source.

The rapid development of optofluidics, the combination of microfluidics and integrated optics, since its formal conception in the early 2000's has aided in the advance of single-molecule analysis. The optofluidic platform discussed in this dissertation is called the liquid core anti-resonant reflecting optical waveguide (LC-ARROW). This platform uses ARROW waveguides to orthogonally intersect a liquid core waveguide with solid core rib waveguides for the excitation of specifically labeled molecules and collection of fluorescence signal. Since conception, the LC-ARROW platform has demonstrated its effectiveness as a lab-on-a-chip fluorescence biosensor. However, until the addition of optical multiplexing excitation waveguides, the platform lacked a critical functionality for use in rapid disease diagnostics, namely the ability to simultaneously detect different types of molecules and particles. In disease diagnostics, the ability to multiplex, detect and identify multiple biomarkers simultaneously is paramount for a sensor to be used as a rapid diagnostic system. This work brings optofluidic multiplexing to the sensor through the implementation of three specific designs: (1) the Y-splitter was the first multi-spot excitation design implemented on the platform, although it did not have the ability to multiplex it served as a critical stepping stone and showed that multi-spot excitation could improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the platform by ~50,000 times; (2) a multimode interference (MMI) waveguide which took the multi-spot idea and then demonstrated spectral multiplexing capable of correctly identifying multiple diverse biomarkers simultaneously; and, (3) a Triple-Core design which incorporates excitation and collection along multiple liquid cores, enabling spatial multiplexing which increases the number of individual molecules to be identified concurrently with the MMI waveguide excitation. In addition to describing the development of optical multiplexing, this dissertation includes an investigation of another LC-ARROW based design that enables 2D bioparticle trapping, the Anti-Brownian Electrokinetic (ABEL) trap. This design demonstrates two-dimensional compensation of a particle's Brownian motion in solution. The capability to maintain a molecule suspended in solution over time enables the ability to gain a deeper understanding of cellular function and therapies based on molecular functions.

Les agrégats cellulaires constituent un modèle intermédiaire entre les cellules uniques et les tissues cellulaires et sont utilisés dans de nombreux domaines tels que l’ingénierie tissulaire et le criblage de médicaments in vitro. La création de tels agrégats cellulaires dont les propriétés et la taille seraient contrôlées nécessite cependant le développement de nouvelles approches ascendantes. Le travail présenté dans ce manuscrit vise à développer des microsystèmes pour la formation contrôlée d’agrégats de cellules sous flux via des champs électriques. Cette approche se base sur la diélectrophorèse (DEP), un phénomène induisant le déplacement des particules diélectriques lorsqu’elles sont placées dans un champ électrique non-uniforme. Un outil de calcul, MyDEP, a tout d’abord été développé afin d’être en mesure de prédire le comportement des cellules en suspension dans un certain milieu. Cet outil permet d’étudier la réponse diélectrique des particules et des cellules en fonction de la fréquence du champ. Il contient une base de données regroupant les propriétés diélectriques des cellules publiées dans la littérature afin d’aider tant les spécialistes que les utilisateurs néophytes à comprendre le comportement diélectrophorétique des particules et des cellules ainsi qu’à choisir les paramètres expérimentaux tels que la conductivité électrique du milieu et la fréquence du champ préalablement aux manipulations expérimentales en laboratoire. Différents designs pour le piégeage de cellules sont proposés avec les simulations, par la méthode des éléments finis en utilisant COMSOL Multiphysics, associées. Leur fabrication a nécessité le développement d’une méthode d’alignement reproductible, précise au micromètre, des microcanaux d’un polymère appelé le polydiméthylsiloxane (PDMS) avec des électrodes coplanaires en titane/platine déposées sur du verre via l’utilisation d’une aligneuse de masques conventionnelle. La méthode est basée sur l’utilisation d’un moule en silicium associé à un sarcophage en Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) afin de garantir le contrôle du parallélisme entre les parties supérieure et inférieure du PDMS moulé. Les puces contenant les différents designs de piégeage ainsi fabriquées ont été testées avec succès sur des cellules rénales embryonnaires humaines (HEK) à l’aide d’une installation expérimentale démontrant par la même la capacité des puces à créer des agrégats constitués d’un nombre contrôlé de cellules par diélectrophorèse. Les agrégats ainsi formés se sont avérés stables après 5 minutes de contact cellule à cellule sans qu’une séparation des cellules n’ait été observée. Le design d’un capteur par impédance a par ailleurs été proposé pour caractériser tant les cellules uniques que les agrégats cellulaires avant et après la chambre de piégeage. Celui-ci, associé au design de piégeage par DEP, a été testé expérimentalement avec succès pour détecter leur passage. / Cell aggregates are an intermediary model between single cells and cell tissues used in many applications such as tissue engineering and in vitro drug screening. The creation of cells aggregates of controlled size and properties requires the development of new bottom-up strategies. The work developed in this manuscript aims at presenting the development of microsystems for the electric force-driven controlled formation of cell aggregates under flow conditions. This approach is based on dielectrophoresis, a phenomenon that causes induced motion on dielectric particles placed in a non-uniform electric field. A computational tool, MyDEP, was first developed in order to predict the behavior of cells in a specific medium. It allows to study the dielectric response of particles and cells as a function of frequency. The software also includes a database gathering cell dielectric models available in the literature to help experienced users as well as neophytes to understand the dielectrophoretic behavior of particles and cells and to choose parameters such as electric conductivity of the medium and frequency before performing laboratory experiments. Different designs for cell trapping are proposed and simulated in 2D with FEM using COMSOL Multiphysics. Their fabrication implied the development of a reproducible method for μm precision alignment of microchannels in a polymer called polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with coplanar titanium/platinum electrodes deposited on glass, using a conventional mask aligner. It is based on the use of a silicon mold in combination with a Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) sarcophagus for precise control of the parallelism between top and bottom surfaces of molded PDMS. The trapping design based on coplanar electrodes was successfully tested experimentally on human embryonic kidney cells (HEK) with an automated setup. It proves its capability to create aggregates of a controlled number of cells with DEP. The cell aggregates proved to be stable (no disruption) after only 5 minutes of cell-cell contact. An impedance-based sensor design was proposed for characterizing single cells and cells aggregates before and after the trapping chamber. This sensor was successfully tested experimentally to detect particle passage in combination with the dielectrophoretic trapping design.

En microélectronique, plusieurs tendances telles que l'empilement 3D et l'amincissement de puces amènent des défis thermiques grandissants. Ces défis sont exacerbés lorsqu'appliqués aux appareils mobiles où l'espace et la puissance disponibles pour le refroidissement sont limités. Le but de cette thèse est de développer des outils de conception et méthodes d'implémentation de microcanaux pour le refroidissement microfluidique de puces 2D et 3D avec points chauds destinés aux appareils mobiles.Une méthode de conception pour optimiser la configuration des microcanaux refroidissant une puce est développée utilisant un plan d'expériences numériques. La configuration optimisée propose le refroidissement à une température maximale de 89 °C d'un point chaud de 2 W par un écoulement où la perte de charge est plus petit que 1 kPa. Des prototypes avec différents empilements et distributions de microcanaux sont fabriqués par gravure profonde et apposés par pick-and-place. Un banc de caractérisation et une puce thermique test sont fabriqués pour caractériser expérimentalement les prototypes de refroidissement avec différentes configurations. Un prototype avec microcanaux limités aux alentours des points chauds et reportés sur la face arrière de la puce test atteint une résistance thermique de 2.8 °C/W. Cela est réalisé avec un débit de 9.4 ml/min et des pertes de charges de 19.2 kPa, soit une puissance hydraulique de 3 mW. Ce refroidissement extrait 7.3 W générés sur un seul serpentin à un flux thermique de 1 185 W/cm² pour un coefficient de performance de 2 430. Les résultats de l'optimisation suggèrent que la dissipation thermique soit exploitée en ajoutant des microcanaux en parallèle, plutôt qu'en allongeant les microcanaux. On observe expérimentalement comme numériquement que la résistance liée à la hausse de température du fluide domine la résistance totale. Enfin, il apparaît que les différents empilements ont un effet plus important sur la résistance thermique que les distributions de microcanaux dans les plages observées. / In microelectronics, trends such as 3D stacking and die thinning bring major thermal challenges. Those challenges are exacerbated when applied to mobile devices where the available space and power for cooling are limited. This thesis aims at developing design tools and implementation techniques for microchannels cooling on 2D and 3D chips with hot spots for mobile devices. A design technique to optimize the microchannel configuration for chip cooling is developed using numerical experimentation plans. The optimized configuration suggests a cooling configuration reaching a maximum temperature of 89 °C on a 2 W hot spot, using a flow at a pressure drop plus petit que 1 kPa. Prototypes with different stacking and microchannel distributions are fabricated using deep reactive ion etching process and stacked using pick-and-place technique. A characterization bench and a thermal test chip are fabricated for experimental characterization of the cooling prototypes from various configurations. A prototype with microchannel zones limited to the hot spot vicinity and installed on the backside of the test chip reached a thermal resistance of 2.8 °C/W. This performance is achieved using a flow rate of 9.4 ml/min with a pressure drop of 19.2 kPa, representing a hydraulic power of 3 mW. Such cooling removes 7.3 W generated on a single heat source, representing a heat flux of 1 185 W/cm² for a coefficient of performance of 2 430. The optimization results suggest that the heat spreading is better exploited using parallel microchannels, rather than lengthen microchannels. It is both observed experimentally and numerically that the thermal resistance related to the fluid temperature rise is the major contribution to the total thermal resistance. Finally, it appears that the different stacking effects on thermal resistance are more important than the microchannels distributions in the observed ranges.

<p>There is a strong trend in fabricating <i>miniaturized total analytical systems</i>, µTAS, for various biochemical and cell biology applications. These miniaturized systems could e.g. gain better separation performances, be faster, consume less expensive reagents and be used for studies that are difficult to access in the macro world. Disposable µTAS eliminate the risk of carry-over and can be fabricated to a low cost.</p><p>This work focused on the development of µTAS modules with the intentional use for miniaturized diagnostics. Modules for blood separation, desalting, enrichment, separation and ESI-MS detection were successfully fabricated. Surface coatings were additionally developed and evaluated for applications in µTAS with complex biological samples. The first heparin coating could be easily immobilized in a one-step-process, whereas the second heparin coating was aimed to form a hydrophilic surface that was able to draw blood or plasma samples into a microfluidic system by capillary forces. </p><p>The last mentioned heparin surface was further utilized when developing a chip-based sensor for performing CD4-count in human blood, an important marker to determine the stage of an HIV-infection.</p><p>All devices in this work were fabricated in PDMS, an elastomeric polymer with the advantage of rapid and less expensive prototyping of the microfabricated master. It was shown that PDMS could be considered as the material of choice for future commercial µTAS. The devices were intentionally produced using a low grade of fabrication complexity. It was however demonstrated that even with low complexity, it is possible to integrate several functional chip modules into a single microfluidic device.</p>

There is a strong trend in fabricating miniaturized total analytical systems, µTAS, for various biochemical and cell biology applications. These miniaturized systems could e.g. gain better separation performances, be faster, consume less expensive reagents and be used for studies that are difficult to access in the macro world. Disposable µTAS eliminate the risk of carry-over and can be fabricated to a low cost. This work focused on the development of µTAS modules with the intentional use for miniaturized diagnostics. Modules for blood separation, desalting, enrichment, separation and ESI-MS detection were successfully fabricated. Surface coatings were additionally developed and evaluated for applications in µTAS with complex biological samples. The first heparin coating could be easily immobilized in a one-step-process, whereas the second heparin coating was aimed to form a hydrophilic surface that was able to draw blood or plasma samples into a microfluidic system by capillary forces. The last mentioned heparin surface was further utilized when developing a chip-based sensor for performing CD4-count in human blood, an important marker to determine the stage of an HIV-infection. All devices in this work were fabricated in PDMS, an elastomeric polymer with the advantage of rapid and less expensive prototyping of the microfabricated master. It was shown that PDMS could be considered as the material of choice for future commercial µTAS. The devices were intentionally produced using a low grade of fabrication complexity. It was however demonstrated that even with low complexity, it is possible to integrate several functional chip modules into a single microfluidic device.

The field of micro total analysis systems (μTAS) aims at developments toward miniaturized and fully integrated lab-on-a-chip systems for applications, such as drug screening, drug delivery, cellular assays, protein analysis, genomic analysis and handheld point-of-care diagnostics. Such systems offer to dramatically reduce liquid sample and reagent quantities, increase sensitivity as well as speed of analysis and facilitate portable systems via the integration of components such as pumps, valves, mixers, separation units, reactors and detectors. Precise microfluidic control for such systems has long been considered one of the most difficult technical barriers due to integration of on-chip fluidic handling components and complicated off-chip liquid control as well as fluidic interconnections. Actuation principles and materials with the advantages of low cost, easy fabrication, easy integration, high reliability, and compact size are required to promote the development of such systems. Within this thesis, liquid displacement in microfluidic applications, by means of expandable microspheres, is presented as an innovative approach addressing some of the previously mentioned issues. Furthermore, these expandable microspheres are embedded into a PDMS matrix, which composes a novel thermally responsive silicone elastomer composite actuator for liquid handling. Due to the merits of PDMS and expandable microspheres, the composite actuator's main characteristic to expand irreversibly upon generated heat makes it possible to locally alter its surface topography. The composite actuator concept, along with a novel adhesive PDMS bonding technique, is used to design and fabricate liquid handling components such as pumps and valves, which operate at work-ranges from nanoliters to microliters. The integration of several such microfluidic components promotes the development of disposable lab-on-a-chip platforms for precise sample volume control addressing, e.g. active dosing, transportation, merging and mixing of nanoliter liquid volumes. Moreover, microfluidic pumps based on the composite actuator have been incorporated with sharp and hollow microneedles to realize a microneedle-based transdermal patch which exhibits on-board liquid storage and active dispensing functionality. Such a system represents a first step toward painless, minimally invasive and transdermal administration of macromolecular drugs such as insulin or vaccines. The presented on-chip liquid handling concept does not require external actuators for pumping and valving, uses low-cost materials and wafer-level processes only, is highly integrable and potentially enables controlled and cost-effective transdermal microfluidic applications, as well as large-scale integrated fluidic networks for point-of care diagnostics, disposable biochips or lab-on-a-chip applications. This thesis discusses several design concepts for a large variety of microfluidic components, which are promoted by the use of the novel composite actuator. Results on the successful fabrication and evaluation of prototype devices are reported herein along with comprehensive process parameters on a novel full-wafer adhesive bonding technique for the fabrication of PDMS based microfluidic devices. / QC 20100817

With the completion of the human genome sequencing project, attention is currently shifting toward understanding how genetic variation, such as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), leads to disease. To identify, understand, and control biological mechanisms of living organisms, the enormous amounts of accumulated sequence information must be coupled to faster, cheaper, and more powerful technologies for DNA, RNA, and protein analysis. One approach is the miniaturization of analytical methods through the application of microfluidics, which involves the manipulation of fluids in micrometer-sized channels. Advances in microfluidic chip technology are expected to play a major role in the development of cost-effective and rapid DNA analysis methods. This thesis presents microfluidic approaches for different DNA genotyping assays. The overall goal is to combine the potential of the microfluidic lab-on-a-chip concept with biochemistry to develop and improve current methods for SNP genotyping. Three genotyping assays using miniaturized microfluidic approaches are addressed. The first two assays are based on primer extension by DNA polymerase. A microfluidic device consisting of a flow-through filter chamber for handling beads with nanoliter liquid volumes was used in these studies. The first assay involved an allelespecific extension strategy. The microfluidic approach took advantage of the different reaction kinetics of matched and mismatched configurations at the 3’-ends of a primer/template complex. The second assay consisted of adapting pyrosequencing technology, a bioluminometric DNA sequencing assay based on sequencing-bysynthesis, to a microfluidic flow-through platform. Base-by-base sequencing was performed in a microfluidic device to obtain accurate SNP scoring data on nanoliter volumes. This thesis also presents the applications of monolayer of beads immobilized by microcontact printing for chip-based DNA analysis. Single-base incorporation could be detected with pyrosequencing chemistry on these monolayers. The third assay developed is based on a hybridization technology termed Dynamic Allele-Specific Hybridization (DASH). In this approach, monolayered beads containing DNA duplexes were randomly immobilized on the surface of a microheater chip. DNA melting-curve analysis was performed by dynamically heating the chip while simultaneously monitoring the DNA denaturation profile to determine the genotype. Multiplexing based on single-bead analysis was achieved at heating rates more than 20 times faster than conventional DASH provides. / QC 20101008

In dieser Arbeit wird eine neue Methode und ein neuartiges FET -Sensorelement zum Nachweis von Flüssigkeitsbewegungen vorgestellt, das zudem bei Bedarf auch als Chemo- oder Biosensor fungieren kann. Das Einsatzspektrum von FET-basierten Sensoren in Lab on a Chip-Systemen wird dadurch entscheidend erweitert. Bei dem entwickelten FET-Sensor Bauelement handelt es sich um einen normally-on n-leitenden Dünnschichtfeldeffekttransistor mit Ti-Au-Kontakten, basierend auf Silicon-on-Insulator- Substraten, wobei das natürliche Oxid des Siliziumfilms als Schnittstelle zum Elektrolyten bzw. zur Flüssigkeit verwendet wird. Der mit 10exp16 Bor Atomen pro cm³ p-dotierte Siliziumdünnfilm hat eine Dicke von nur 55 nm und ist durch eine 95 nm dicke Siliziumdioxidschicht vom darunterliegenden Siliziumsubstrat von 600 µm Dicke elektrisch isoliert. Aufgrund der geringen Schichtdicke durchdringt die feldempfindliche Raumladungs- bzw. Verarmungszone die gesamte Dünnschicht, so dass durch Anlegen einer Backgatespannung am Substrat der spezifische Widerstand und die Empfindlichkeit des Bauelements eingestellt werden können. Grundlegende ISFET-Funktionalitäten wie die Empfindlichkeit auf Änderungen der Ionenstärke und des pH-Wertes werden nachgewiesen und ein ENFET-Glukosesensor realisiert. Zudem wird im Hinblick auf die Separation von Emulsionen der Nachweis erbracht, dass die Benetzung mit Hexan und Toluol eine Änderung der spezifischen Leitfähigkeit bewirkt, und die Empfindlichkeit des Bauelements nach Beschichtung mit einem hydrophoben Methacrylatcopolymerfilm erhalten bleibt. Hinsichtlich der Verwendung des FET-Sensor Bauelements zum Nachweis von Flüssigkeitsbewegungen wird zunächst ein theoretisches Modell entwickelt, dessen Kernaussage ist, dass sich in einem rechteckigen Kanal der relative Bedeckungsgrad mit Flüssigkeit direkt proportional zum Drainstrom des FET-Sensors verhält. Basierend auf diesem theoretischen Modell, welches experimentell belegt wird, können mittels eines einzelnen FET-Sensors Füllstand und Füllgeschwindigkeit bzw. bei bekannter Füllgeschwindigkeit Kapillarvolumen und Kapillargeometrie bestimmt werden. Abweichungen von der direkten Proportionalität erlauben zudem, Rückschlüsse auf die Benetzungseigenschaften der Kapillaren und die Dynamik an der Halbleitergrenzfläche zu ziehen. Ist ein Sensorelement vollständig mit Flüssigkeit bedeckt, wird mittels Lösungsmitteltropfen als Markerobjekten die Strömungsgeschwindigkeit bestimmt. Ändert sich die Ionenkonzentration im Elektrolyten als Funktion der Strömungsgeschwindigkeit, so kann die Strömungsgeschwindigkeit durch Messung der Ionenkonzentration mittels FET-Sensor ebenfalls ermittelt werden. Als wichtigster Demonstrator für die Verwendung des FET-Sensors wird ein komplexes Lab on a Chip-System zur Separation von Emulsionen auf chemisch strukturierten Oberflächen entwickelt, bei dem der Separationsvorgang mittels FET-Sensorarray verfolgt werden kann. Zur einfachen Herstellung chemisch modifizierter Oberflächen für die Separationsexperimente werden die Abscheidung von nanoskaligen hydrophoben Methacrylatcopolymerfilmen und die selektive Fluorsilanisierung von Oberflächen sowie deren Lösungsmittelbeständigkeit in Wasser, Toluol und Aceton untersucht. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die Hydrophobie nach Lösungsmittelbehandlung weitestgehend erhalten bleibt, Wasserrückstände im Methacrylatfilm aber zu einer reversiblen Schichtdegradation führen können. Als Modellsystem werden Hexan-Wasser- bzw. Toluol-Wasser-Emulsionen verwendet, die auf Oberflächen getrennt werden, deren eine Seite hydrophil, und deren andere Seite hydrophob ist (Stufengradient). Der Separationsprozess beruht auf der großen Affinität des Wassers hin zu polaren Oberflächen, wobei das wenig selektive Lösungsmittel zur unpolaren Seite gedrängt wird. Zur Erlangung eines tieferen Verständnisses des Prozesses werden die Tropfenkoaleszenz und der Einfluss geometrischer Beschränkungen untersucht. Die Versuche werden sowohl auf offenen Oberflächen als auch im Spalt, unter Verwendung von hydrophilen und hydrophoben Oberflächen, durchgeführt. Es zeigt sich, dass sich die Dynamik der Tropfenkoaleszenz im Spalt umgekehrt zur Dynamik auf offenen Oberflächen verhält. Dies wird mittels eines hierzu entwickelten theoretischen Modells erklärt, welches die Minimierung der Oberflächenenergie und Hystereseeffekte einbezieht. Das Lab on a Chip-System schließlich besteht aus einem mit Siliziumnitrid beschichteten FET-Sensorchip, auf den eine Separationszelle aufgeklebt ist. Neben dem Einlass für die Emulsion ist ein weiterer Einlass vorhanden, durch den Salzsäure für eine pH-Reaktion zugegeben werden kann. Der gesamte Separationsprozess sowie die anschließende pH-Reaktion, lassen sich bequem am PC anhand der Änderung der Stromstärke der einzelnen Sensoren verfolgen und analysieren. Wichtige Ergebnisse hier sind: 1) Mittels eines quasi 1-dimensionalen Sensorarrays kann der Verlauf einer Flüssigkeitsfront in einem 2-dimensionalen Areal überwacht bzw. dargestellt werden. 2) Anhand der Signatur des Signalverlaufs bei pH-Änderung und Flüssigkeitsbewegung, können beide Prozesse unterschieden werden. Der Sensor kann also zum Nachweis von Flüssigkeitsbewegungen und zugleich als Chemosensor eingesetzt werden. Es wurde also nicht nur ein neuartiges, äußerst robustes, chemikalienbeständiges und biokompatibles Multifunktionssensorelement mit Abmessungen im Mikrometer- bis Millimeterbereich entwickelt, sondern auch eine neue Methode entwickelt, mit der es möglich ist, sowohl (bio-)chemische Reaktionen als auch die Bewegung von Flüssigkeiten in Lab on a Chip-Systemen nachzuweisen.

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