Small and Mighty

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Small and Mighty

5^thAnnual Ontario-on-a-Chip/MATCH Symposium Illustrates the Benefits of Microscale Research

2012 OOAC symposium - Profs Guenther and Simmons

2012 OOAC Symposium - Prof. Paul Matsudaira

Professors Simmons and Guenther Prof. Paul Matsudaira
with Graduate students
(Images by Nina Haikara)

24 May, 2012

In the world of science, sometimes smaller is better—just ask Professor Paul Matsudaira, keynote speaker at the annual Ontario-on-a-Chip /MATCH Symposium held at U of T this past week. Matsudaira presented in an area of expertise so small you've probably never heard of it: nanofluidics , or, the study of "fluid flow through submicron confinements," according to Assistant Professor Axel Guenther of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, cross-appointed to the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME), and co-organizer of the event.

Matsudaira, Head of the National University of Singapore's Biological Sciences Department, was one of four distinguished keynote speakers which also included Professor Elliot L. Chaikof, Harvard Medical School, Professor Hang Lu, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Professor Abraham D. Stroock of Cornell University. Matsudaira admits that this area of research is “a frontier that’s present but not one that’s popular.” But by leveraging nanofluidics methods, Matsudaira can track changes in the behavior of water molecules when studied in such miniscule, confined amounts to great effect. "Such small length scales promote very unique opportunities, for instance for diagnostic and analytical devices," explains Guenther.

Microfluidics—the study and manipulation of minute amounts of fluid towards drug screening and development, as well as the creation of new therapeutic technologies and regenerative medicine—is an important area of study in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and IBBME. But some are also embracing the nano. "Various groups are involved with nanofluidic research at U of T," Guenther says, citing the work of Professor Stewart Aitchison in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering as well as Professor David Sinton of the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.

For Guenther and Associate Professor Craig Simmons —the event's other organizer and faculty at IBBME, the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and the Faculty of Dentistry—the well-attended symposium, now in its fifth year, is a community affair that seamlessly brings together researchers of all scales: graduate students, who also participate in the MATCH symposium as part of the Microfluidics Graduate Training program, faculty, as well as industry partners who help turn microfluidic research into marketable devices.

This year, Mitacs, UHN's Techna and NSERC, bodies that help researchers develop intellectual technologies for the market, presented on the numerous collaborative potentials between the microfluidics and medical communities.

"[We] enjoy very close interactions and collaborations with local companies" Guenther says, citing the participation of CMC Microsystems (Kingston), Abbott Point of Care (Ottawa), and Bio Rad from Mississauga, and pointing out that U of T's Innovation and Partnership Office has also " played an important part both in organizing OOAC/MATCH events and in nurturing startup activities at U of T." A number of companies have been created by microfluidics researchers at U of T, including Kapplex Inc., begun by Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Bioanalytical Chemistry Aaron Wheeler , core faculty at IBBME and the Department of Chemistry, and a former organizer of the OOAC/MATCH event.

Nonetheless, Matsudaira is hopeful that nanoscale research will become an area of greater interest as technologies improve. In particular, he notes advances in new camera technology such as the CMOS and a new "Phase contrast TEM" or electron microscope by which researchers "can soon see things they can’t ordinarily see ."

After all, sometimes small adds up to endless possibilities.

Next year’s OOAC/MATCH Symposium will be held on May 23-24, 2013, again at Trinity College, U of T.

University of Toronto Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering

Small and Mighty

5th Annual Ontario-on-a-Chip/MATCH Symposium Illustrates the Benefits of Microscale Research

5^thAnnual Ontario-on-a-Chip/MATCH Symposium Illustrates the Benefits of Microscale Research