Hidden in Plain Sight: The History, Science, and Engineering of Microfluidic Technology
Stories behind essential microfluidic devices, from the inkjet printer to DNA sequencing chip.

Hidden from view, microfluidics underlies a variety of devices that are essential to our lives, from inkjet printers to glucometers for the monitoring of diabetes. Microfluidics—which refers to the technology of miniature fluidic devices and the study of fluids at submillimeter levels—is invisible to most of us because it is hidden beneath ingenious user interfaces. In this book, Albert Folch, a leading researcher in microfluidics, describes the development and use of key microfluidic devices. He explains not only the technology but also the efforts, teams, places, and circumstances that enabled these inventions.

Folch reports, for example, that the inkjet printer was one of the first microfluidic devices invented, and traces its roots back to nineteenth-century discoveries in the behavior of fluid jets. He also describes how rapid speed microfluidic DNA sequencers have enabled the sequencing of animal, plant, and microbial species genomes; organs on chips facilitate direct tests of drugs on human tissue, leapfrogging over the usual stage of animal testing; at-home pregnancy tests are based on clever microfluidic principles; microfluidics can be used to detect cancer cells in the early stages of metastasis; and the same technology that shoots droplets of ink on paper in inkjet printers enables 3D printers to dispense layers of polymers. Folch tells the stories behind these devices in an engaging style, accessible to nonspecialists. More than 100 color illustrations show readers amazing images of microfluids under the microscope.
1139765610
Hidden in Plain Sight: The History, Science, and Engineering of Microfluidic Technology
Stories behind essential microfluidic devices, from the inkjet printer to DNA sequencing chip.

Hidden from view, microfluidics underlies a variety of devices that are essential to our lives, from inkjet printers to glucometers for the monitoring of diabetes. Microfluidics—which refers to the technology of miniature fluidic devices and the study of fluids at submillimeter levels—is invisible to most of us because it is hidden beneath ingenious user interfaces. In this book, Albert Folch, a leading researcher in microfluidics, describes the development and use of key microfluidic devices. He explains not only the technology but also the efforts, teams, places, and circumstances that enabled these inventions.

Folch reports, for example, that the inkjet printer was one of the first microfluidic devices invented, and traces its roots back to nineteenth-century discoveries in the behavior of fluid jets. He also describes how rapid speed microfluidic DNA sequencers have enabled the sequencing of animal, plant, and microbial species genomes; organs on chips facilitate direct tests of drugs on human tissue, leapfrogging over the usual stage of animal testing; at-home pregnancy tests are based on clever microfluidic principles; microfluidics can be used to detect cancer cells in the early stages of metastasis; and the same technology that shoots droplets of ink on paper in inkjet printers enables 3D printers to dispense layers of polymers. Folch tells the stories behind these devices in an engaging style, accessible to nonspecialists. More than 100 color illustrations show readers amazing images of microfluids under the microscope.
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Hidden in Plain Sight: The History, Science, and Engineering of Microfluidic Technology

Hidden in Plain Sight: The History, Science, and Engineering of Microfluidic Technology

by Albert Folch
Hidden in Plain Sight: The History, Science, and Engineering of Microfluidic Technology

Hidden in Plain Sight: The History, Science, and Engineering of Microfluidic Technology

by Albert Folch

Hardcover

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Overview

Stories behind essential microfluidic devices, from the inkjet printer to DNA sequencing chip.

Hidden from view, microfluidics underlies a variety of devices that are essential to our lives, from inkjet printers to glucometers for the monitoring of diabetes. Microfluidics—which refers to the technology of miniature fluidic devices and the study of fluids at submillimeter levels—is invisible to most of us because it is hidden beneath ingenious user interfaces. In this book, Albert Folch, a leading researcher in microfluidics, describes the development and use of key microfluidic devices. He explains not only the technology but also the efforts, teams, places, and circumstances that enabled these inventions.

Folch reports, for example, that the inkjet printer was one of the first microfluidic devices invented, and traces its roots back to nineteenth-century discoveries in the behavior of fluid jets. He also describes how rapid speed microfluidic DNA sequencers have enabled the sequencing of animal, plant, and microbial species genomes; organs on chips facilitate direct tests of drugs on human tissue, leapfrogging over the usual stage of animal testing; at-home pregnancy tests are based on clever microfluidic principles; microfluidics can be used to detect cancer cells in the early stages of metastasis; and the same technology that shoots droplets of ink on paper in inkjet printers enables 3D printers to dispense layers of polymers. Folch tells the stories behind these devices in an engaging style, accessible to nonspecialists. More than 100 color illustrations show readers amazing images of microfluids under the microscope.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780262046893
Publisher: MIT Press
Publication date: 04/26/2022
Pages: 352
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Albert Folch is Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington. He is the author of the widely used textbook Introduction to BioMEMS and other books.

Table of Contents

Prologue ix
Introduction: The Image that Changed My Life 1
1 Tiny Channels Everywhere 5
2 The Power of Droplets 37
3 Decoding the Human Genome with Microfluidics 69
4 Miniaturized Testing with the Glucometer and Other Point-of-Care Devices 95
5 The Democratization of Microfluidics 145
6 Organs-on-Chips 193
7 The Pregnancy Test and the Rise of Paper Microfluidics 217
8 In Search of Exteremly Rare Cells  239
9 Microfluidics and 3D Printing 257
Notes 275
Index 317

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“A wonderful book that throws open a world of wonders. Folch reveals deep insights into a world that is hidden but accessible through scientific inquiry. This book is a visual and intellectual treat.” 
Siddhartha Mukherjee, Columbia University; author of The Emperor of All Maladies and The Laws of Medicine
 
“Albert Folch has done it again: Engaging and accessible storytelling that brings the origins, journey, and success of microfluidic technology to a wider audience.”
David Beebe, John D. MacArthur Professor and Claude Bernard Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin
 
“An exciting historical view of microfluidics, the details of the technology, as well as the teams, places, and driving factors that resulted in these inventions. A must-read for both the experts in the field and others interested in this enabling technology.”
Ali Khademhosseini, Director and CEO, Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation

Winner of the Outstanding Academic Title Award, Choice, 2022.

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