This paper presents a molecular dynamics simulation of the behaviours of non-polar droplets merging and also the fluid molecules interacting with a hydrophobic surface. Such behaviours and transport phenomena are popular in general micro-channel flow boiling and two-phase flow. The droplets are assumed to be composed of Lennards-Jones type molecules. Periodic boundary conditions are applied in three coordinate directions of a 3-D system, where there exist two liquid droplets and their vapour. The two droplets merge when they come within the prescribed small distance. The merging of two droplets apart from each other at different initial distances is tested and the possible larger (or critical) non-dimensional distance, in which droplets merging can occur, is discussed. The evolution of the merging process is simulated numerically by employing the Molecular Dynamics (MD) method. For interactions with hydrophobic solid wall, a system with fluid confined between two walls is used to study the wetting phenomena of fluid and solid wall. The results are compared with those of hydrophilic wall to show the unique characteristics of hydrophobic interactions by microscopic methods.

When characterizing flows in miniaturized channels, the determination of the dynamic contact angle is important. By measuring the dynamic contact angle, the flow properties of the flowing liquid and the effect of material properties on the flow can be characterized. A machine vision based system to measure the contact angle of front or rear menisci of a moving liquid plug is described in this article. In this research, transparent flow channels fabricated on thermoplastic polymer and sealed with an adhesive tape are used. The transparency of the channels enables image based monitoring and measurement of flow variables, including the dynamic contact angle. It is shown that the dynamic angle can be measured from a liquid flow in a channel using the image based measurement system. An image processing algorithm has been developed in a MATLAB^® environment. Im-ages are taken using a CCD camera and the channels are illuminated using a custom made ring light. Two fitting methods, a circle and two parabolas, are experimented and the results are compared in the measurement of the dynamic contact angles.

Chip-based flow-through PCR implements the PCR as a continuous process for nucleic acid analytics. The sample is transported in a winding channel through temperature zones required for denaturation, annealing and extension. Main fields of application are the monitoring of continuous processes for rapid identification of contaminants and quality control as well as high throughput screening of cells or microorganisms. A modular arrangement with five heating zones for flow-through PCR is discussed and evaluated. The special heater arrangement allows the implementation of up to 40 cycles on the footprint of a microscope slide, which is placed on top of a 5 zones heating plate. Liquid/liquid two phase flow of PCR reaction mixture and mineral oil have been applied to create a segmented flow process scheme. In that way, the developed system may provide flow-through PCR as a unit operation for the droplet based microfluidics platform. The single use of disposable devices is commonly preferred due to the sensitivity of the PCR process to contaminations. All-glass microfluidic chips and disposable chip devices, made from polycarbonate as a replication with identically geometry, have been fabricated and tested. For the first time, microchannel geometries with nearly circular profile developed by all-glass technology have been transferred to mass fabrication by injection compression molding. Both devices have been successfully applied for the detection of the tumor suppressor gene p53. Although product yield and selectivity of the amplification process do not depend on the chip material, a well defined, reliable segmented flow regime could only be realized in the all-glass chip.

The paper presents a multi-scale modelling approach for simulating macromolecules in fluid flows. Macromolecule transport at low number densities is frequently encountered in biomedical devices, such as separators, detection and analysis systems. Accurate modelling of this process is challenging due to the wide range of physical scales involved. The continuum approach is not valid for low solute concentrations, but the large timescales of the fluid flow make purely molecular simulations prohibitively expensive. A promising multi-scale modelling strategy is provided by the meta-modelling approach considered in this paper. Meta-models are based on the coupled solution of fluid flow equations and equations of motion for a simplified mechanical model of macromolecules. The approach enables simulation of individual macromolecules at macroscopic time scales. Meta-models often rely on particle-corrector algorithms, which impose length constraints on the mechanical model. Lack of robustness of the particle-corrector algorithm employed can lead to slow convergence and numerical instability. A new FAst Linear COrrector (FALCO) algorithm is introduced in this paper, which significantly improves computational efficiency in comparison with the widely used SHAKE algorithm. Validation of the new particle corrector against a simple analytic solution is performed and improved convergence is demonstrated for ssDNA motion in a lid-driven micro-cavity.

We describe a novel technique, low surface energy Gas Expansion Molding (GEM), to fabricate microbubble arrays in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) which are incorporated into parallel plate flow chambers and tested in cell sorting and microcell culture applications. This architecture confers several operational advantages that distinguish this technology approach from currently used methods. Herein we describe the GEM process and the parameters that are used to control microbubble formation and a Vacuum-Assisted Coating (VAC) process developed to selectively and spatially alter the PDMS surface chemistry in the wells and on the microchannel surface. We describe results from microflow image visualization studies conducted to investigate fluid streams above and within microbubble wells and conclude with a discussion of cell culture studies in PDMS.

Leukocyte rolling and adhesion are complex physiological processes that have received a great deal of attention over the past decade. Significant increases in the knowledge base related to how leukocytes adhere in shear flows have occurred as a result of the development of novel experimental and computational techniques. Micro- and nano-fabrication techniques have enabled the development of novel flow devices for studying leukocyte adhesion in simple and complex geometries. Improve-ments in computer technology have enabled simulations of complex flow processes to be developed. As a result of these ad-vances in knowledge related to leukocyte adhesion, numerous novel devices have been developed that mimic the leukocyte rolling and adhesion process. Examples of these devices include cell separation and enrichment devices and targeted ultrasound contrast agents. Future advances related to leukocyte rolling and adhesion processes hold great promise for advancing our knowledge of disease processes as well as development of novel therapeutic devices.

As one of the most important daily motor activities, human locomotion has been investigated intensively in recent decades. The locomotor functions and mechanics of human lower limbs have become relatively well understood. However, so far our understanding of the motions and functional contributions of the human spine during locomotion is still very poor and simul-taneous in-vivo limb and spinal column motion data are scarce. The objective of this study is to investigate the delicate in-vivo kinematic coupling between different functional regions of the human spinal column during locomotion as a stepping stone to explore the locomotor function of the human spine complex. A novel infrared reflective marker cluster system was constructed using stereophotogrammetry techniques to record the 3D in-vivo geometric shape of the spinal column and the segmental position and orientation of each functional spinal region simultaneously. Gait measurements of normal walking were conducted. The preliminary results show that the spinal column shape changes periodically in the frontal plane during locomotion. The segmental motions of different spinal functional regions appear to be strongly coupled, indicating some synergistic strategy may be employed by the human spinal column to facilitate locomotion. In contrast to traditional medical imaging-based methods, the proposed technique can be used to investigate the dynamic characteristics of the spinal column, hence providing more insight into the functional biomechanics of the human spine.

The survival oriented adaptation of evolved biosystems to variations in their environment is a selective optimization process. Recognizing the optimised end product and its functionality is the classical arena of bionic engineering. In a primordial world, however, the molecular organization and functions of prebiotic systems were solely defined by formative processes in their physical and chemical environment, for instance, the interplay between interfacial water layers on surfaces and solar light. The formative potential of the interplay between light (laser light) and interfacial water layers on surfaces was recently exploited in the formation of supercubane carbon nanocrystals. In evolved biosystems the formative potential of interfacial water layers can still be activated by light. Here we report a case of hay fever, which was successfully treated in the course of a facial reju-venation program starting in November 2007. Targeting primarily interfacial water layers on elastin fibres in the wrinkled areas, we presumably also activated mast cells in the nasal mucosa, reported to progressively decrease in the nasal mucosa of the rabbit, when frequently irradiated. Hay fever is induced by the release of mediators, especially histamine, a process associated with the degranulation of mast cells. Decrease in mast cells numbers implies a decrease in the release of histamine. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on the treatment of hay fever with visible light. This approach was inspired by bionic thinking, and could help ameliorating the condition of millions of people suffering from hay fever world wide.

Optimal formation reconfiguration control of multiple Uninhabited Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs) is a complicated global optimum problem. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is a population based stochastic optimization technique inspired by social behaviour of bird flocking or fish schooling. PSO can achieve better results in a faster, cheaper way compared with other bio-inspired computational methods, and there are few parameters to adjust in PSO. In this paper, we propose an improved PSO model for solving the optimal formation reconfiguration control problem for multiple UCAVs. Firstly, the Control Parameteri-zation and Time Discretization (CPTD) method is designed in detail. Then, the mutation strategy and a special mutation-escape operator are adopted in the improved PSO model to make particles explore the search space more efficiently. The proposed strategy can produce a large speed value dynamically according to the variation of the speed, which makes the algorithm explore the local and global minima thoroughly at the same time. Series experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method in solving the optimal formation reconfiguration control problem for multiple UCAVs.

Plasmodium of Physarum polycephalum is an ideal biological substrate for implementing concurrent and parallel com-putation, including combinatorial geometry and optimization on graphs. The scoping experiments on Physarum computing in conditions of minimal friction, on the water surface were performed. The laboratory and computer experimental results show that plasmodium of Physarum is capable of computing a basic spanning tree and manipulating of light-weight objects. We speculate that our results pave the pathways towards the design and implementation of amorphous biological robots.

A review on the research of Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) technology based biomimetic cilia is presented. Biomimetic cilia, enabled by the advancement of MEMS technology, have been under dynamic development for the past decade. After a brief description of the background of cilia and MEMS technology, different biomimetic cilia applications are reviewed. Biomimetic cilia micro-actuators, including micromachined polyimide bimorph biomimetic cilia micro-actuator, electro-statically actuated polymer biomimetic cilia micro-actuator, and magnetically actuated nanorod array biomimetic cilia micro-actuator, are presented. Subsequently micromachined underwater flow biomimetic cilia micro-sensor is studied, followed by acoustic flow micro-sensor. The fabrication of these MEMS-based biomimetic cilia devices, characterization of their physical properties, and the results of their application experiments are discussed.