• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.123-130
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• 2016

In this paper, a novel flexible microfluidic metamaterial absorber is proposed for remote chemical sensor applications. The proposed metamaterial absorber consists of a periodic of split-ring-cross resonators(SRCRs) and a microfluidic channel. The SRCR patterns are inkjet-printed using silver nanoparticle inks on paper. The microfluidic channels are laser-etched on polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) material. The proposed absorber can detect change of the effective permittivity at different liquids. Therefore, the absorber can be used for a remote chemical sensor by detecting change of the resonant frequencies. The performance of the proposed absorber is demonstrated with full-wave simulation and measurement results. The experimental results shows that the resonant frequency is 10.49 GHz at the empty channel. When ethanol and DI-water are injected into the channel, the resonant frequencies are 10.04 GHz and 8.9 GHz, respectively.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.17-37
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• 2011

The microcantilever (MCL) sensor is one of the most promising platforms for next-generation label-free biosensing applications. It outperforms conventional label-free detection methods in terms of portability and parallelization. In this paper, an overview of recent advances in our understanding of the coupling between biomolecular interactions and MCL responses is given. A dual compact optical MCL sensing platform was built to enable biosensing experiments both in gas-phase environments and in solutions. The thermal bimorph effect was found to be an effective nanomanipulator for the MCL platform calibration. The study of the alkanethiol self-assembly monolayer (SAM) chain length effect revealed that 1-octanethiol ($C_8H_{17}SH$) induced a larger deflection than that from 1-dodecanethiol ($C_{12}H_{25}SH$) in solutions. Using the clinically relevant biomarker C-reactive protein (CRP), we revealed that the analytical sensitivity of the MCL reached a diagnostic level of $1{\sim}500{\mu}g/ml$ within a 7% coefficient of variation. Using grazing incident x-ray diffractometer (GIXRD) analysis, we found that the gold surface was dominated by the (111) crystalline plane. Moreover, using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, we confirmed that the Au-S covalent bonds occurred in SAM adsorption whereas CRP molecular bindings occurred in protein analysis. First principles density functional theory (DFT) simulations were also used to examine biomolecular adsorption mechanisms. Multiscale modeling was then developed to connect the interactions at the molecular level with the MCL mechanical response. The alkanethiol SAM chain length effect in air was successfully predicted using the multiscale scheme.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.15 no.9 s.90
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• pp.667-672
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• 2006

Agglutination is one of the most commonly employed reactions in clinical diagnosis. In this paper, we have designed and fabricated nickel mold insert for injection molding of a microfluidic lab-on-a-chip for the purpose of the efficient detection of agglutination. In the presented microfluidic lab-on-a-chip, two inlets for sample blood and reagent, flow guiding microchannels, improved serpentine laminating micromixer(ISLM) and reaction microwells are fully integrated. The ISLM, recently developed by our group, can highly improve mixing of the sample blood and reagent in the microchannel, thereby enhancing reaction of agglutinogens and agglutinins. The reaction microwell was designed to contain large volume of about $25{\mu}l$ of the mixture of sample blood and reagent. The result of agglutination in the reaction microwell could be determined by means of the level of the light transmission. To achieve the cost-effectiveness, the microfluidic lab-on-a-chip was realized by the injection molding of COC(cyclic olefin copolymer) and thermal bonding of two injection molded COC substrates. To define microfeatures in the microfluidic lab-on-a-chip precisely, the nickel mold inserts of lab-on-a-chip for the injection molding were fabricated by combining the UV photolithography with a negative photoresist SU-8 and the nickel electroplating process. The microfluidic lab-on-a-chip developed in this study could be applied to various clinical diagnosis based on agglutination.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Electromagnetic Engineering and Science
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.506-513
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• 2015

In this paper, we proposed a novel ethanol concentration sensor using microfluidic metamaterial absorber. The metamaterial absorber comprises a split-ring-cross resonator(SRCR) and a microfluidic channel. The SRCR can generate LC resonance that is very sensitive to changes in the effective dielectric constant around the capacitive gap. In addition, microfluidic channels can change the effective dielectric constant of the dielectric substrate by using an infinitesimal quantity of a liquid on the order of microliters. The proposed absorber can detect the electrical properties of different concentration of ethanol. The performance of the proposed absorber is demonstrated using the absorption measurements of a fabricated prototype sample with waveguides. In addition, the simulated results and measurement results show good agreement.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.11-20
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• 2019

The use of electrokinetic dissipation method to study the fluid flow law in micro-pores is of great significance to reservoir rock microfluidics. In this paper, the micro-capillary theory was combined with the coupling model of the seepage field and the current field under the excitation of the harmonic signal, and the coupling theory of the electrokinetic effect under the first-order approximation condition was derived. The dissipation equation of electrokinetic dissipation and viscous resistance dissipation and its solution were established by using Green's function method. The physical and mathematical models for the electrokinetic dissipation of reservoir rocks were constructed. The microscopic mechanism of the electrokinetic dissipation of reservoir rock were theoretically clarified. The influencing factors of the electrokinetic dissipation frequency of the reservoir rock were analyzed quantitatively. The results show that the electrokinetic effect transforms the fluid flow profile in the pores of the reservoir from parabolic to wavy; under low-frequency conditions, the apparent viscosity coefficient is greater that one and is basically unchanged. The apparent viscosity coefficient gradually approaches 1 as the frequency increases further. The viscous resistance dissipation is two orders of magnitude higher than the electrokinetic effect dissipation. When the concentration of the electrolyte exceeds 0.1mol/L, the electrokinetic dissipation can be neglected, while for the electrolyte solution (<$10^{-2}M$) in low concentration, the electrokinetic dissipation is very significant and cannot be ignored.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.267-272
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• 2024

This review explores recent advancements in microfluidic crystallization techniques utilizing energy from external sources on a small scale. We focus on four representative types of external sources: ultrasound, laser, microwave, and electric field, emphasizing their impact on crystal formation. This highlights the benefits of using external sources in crystallization, such as improved crystal quality, structure formation, and changes in physical properties. Providing a comprehensive overview of crystallization techniques employing external sources, the paper discusses the potential developments in the field of crystallization through the application of these external energy sources.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.323-330
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• 2022

Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) have recently been in the spotlight for their applicability in point-of-care diagnostics and environmental material detection. This study presents a double-sided printing method for fabricating 3D-μPADs, providing simple and cost effective metal ion detection. The design of the 3D-μPAD was made into an acryl stamp by laser cutting and then coating it with a thin layer of PDMS using the spin-coating method. This fabricated stamp was used to form the 3D structure of the hydrophobic barrier through a double-sided contact printing method. The fabrication of the 3D hydrophobic barrier within a single sheet was optimized by controlling the spin-coating rate, reagent ratio and contacting time. The optimal conditions were found by analyzing the area change of the PDMS hydrophobic barrier and hydrophilic channel using ink with chromatography paper. Using the fabricated 3D-μPAD under optimized conditions, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Hg²⁺, and pH were detected at different concentrations and displayed with color intensity in grayscale for quantitative analysis using ImageJ. This study demonstrated that a 3D-μPAD biosensor can be applied to detect metal ions without special analysis equipment. This 3D-μPAD provides a highly portable and rapid on-site monitoring platform for detecting multiple heavy metal ions with extremely high repeatability, which is useful for resource-limited areas and developing countries.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.241-249
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• 2012

This paper presents the lateral displacement of a particle passing over a planar interdigitated electrode array at an angle as a function of particle size. The lateral displacement was also measured as a function of the angle between the electrode and the direction of flow. A simplified line charge model was used for numerical estimation of the lateral displacement of fluorescent polystyrene (PS) beads with three different diameters. Using the lateral displacement as a function of particle size, we developed a lateral dielectrophoretic (DEP) microseparator, which enables the continuous discrimination of particles by size. The experiment using an admixture of 3-, 5-, and $10-{\mu}m$ PS beads showed that the lateral DEP microseparator could continuously separate out 99.86% of the $3-{\mu}m$ beads, 98.82% of the $5-{\mu}m$ beads, and 99.69% of the $10-{\mu}m$ beads. The lateral DEP microseparator is thus a practical device for the simultaneous separation of particles according to size from a heterogeneous admixture.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.11
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• pp.1721-1725
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• 2010

This paper reports the fabrication of geometry-controlled carbon microneedles by a backside exposure method and pyrolysis. The SU-8 microneedles are a polymer precursor in a carbonization process, which geometries such as base diameter, spacing, and aspect ratio can be controlled in a photolithography step. Using this fabrication method, highly reproducible carbon microneedles, which have high aspect ratios of more than 10 and very sharp nanotips, can be realized. The quartz surface with carbon microneedles becomes very hydrophilic and its wettability is adjusted by carrying out the silane treatment. In the carbon microneedle array ($3\;{\mu}m{\times}3\;{\mu}m$), the contact angle is extremly enhanced (${\sim}180^{\circ}$); this will be advantageous in developing low-drag microfluidics and labs-on-a-chip as well as in other bio-applications.