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Microfluidics are generally closed systems inside which samples
must pass and to which user-to-chip interfaces must be established.
We have developed a microfluidic probe (MFP) that overcomes the
usual limitations of microfluidics by combining the concepts of
microfluidics and of scanning probes.
With this approach, liquid boundaries formed by hydrodynamic forces
underneath the MFP confine a flow of processing solution and replace
the solid walls of closed microchannels, Figure 1. The MFP is therefore
mobile and can be used to process large surfaces and objects by
scanning across them. MFPs are versatile as they can microarray
proteins on surfaces (Fig. 2a), form chemical gradients on surfaces
(Fig. 2b), effect multiphase laminar flow patterning (Fig. 2c),
"erase" patterns from a surface (Fig. 2d), localize staining
of adherent cells, and address single living cells on a surface
(Fig. 2e). Three videos show, respectively,
the confined flow between two apertures of an MFP, an MFP microarraying
proteins on a surface, and an MFP removing proteins from a surface.
A former colleague with whom we collaborate in this area is David
Juncker, now professor at McGill University.
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