Team:BostonU HW/Notebook

Argon Design System - Free Design System for Bootstrap 4

Argon Design System - Free Design System for Bootstrap 4

Notebook

Explore what we've accomplished:

May 20 - May 26:

  • Literature review of the current and past microfluidics
  • Brainstormed ideas of what the goal of the project would be and how we would accomplish it
  • Familiarized ourselves with the fabrication protocols and software tools (such as 3DuF) of the Boston University DAMP Lab
May 27 - June 2:

  • Milled and assembled an initial version of a 3 parallel droplet generator system
  • Tested and created our first droplets
  • Designed a continuous flow, single transposer chip
  • Started cell free master mix protocol for future use in proof of concept experiments
  • Milled and tested the single transposer chip
June 3 - June 9:

  • Finalized the idea for a automated system to streamline the output from the a microfluidic chip
  • Designed the initial version of a 3 parallel droplet generator/mixer system
  • Researched translational planes on the market for the active XY-plane
  • Created initial CAD files of parts for XY-plane
  • Became trained in a makerspace in Boston University
  • Manufactured prototypes of parts for the XY-plane
June 10 - June 16:

  • Researched various motors and decided to utilize stepper motors for the XY-plane and servo motors for the syringe pumps
  • Started designing chips with smaller feature sizes
  • Created a project description
  • Revised designs for the XY-plane supports in order to fit the stepper motors, timing belts, pulleys, and rods
  • Finished CAD files and CAM files for the XY-plane supports
June 17-23:

  • Designed, milled, and tested the 3 parallel droplet generation/mixer system chip with PEEK tubing in an effort to lower volume
  • Iterated through 17 milling/design attempts before deciding the extra time and effort going into chip preparation and stuck with standard port sizes
  • Learned how servo motors work and controlling via duty cycles
  • Purchased servo motors for control syringes
  • Ran initial programs on the stepper motors
  • Machined parts for the XY-plane and sent STL files to makerspace for 3D printing in order to evaluate the effectiveness and accuracy of the parts
June 24 - June 30:

  • Successfully created parallel streams of different mixed color droplets using the 3 parallel droplet generation/mixer with selector chip
  • Planed C++ classes to use for necessary control syringe software
  • Learned about WebSockets
  • Outlined flow of information from user to final motor action to plan data processing
  • Optimized PWM values for servo motors to hold each state
  • Ran tests to confirm that control syringes controlled by servo motors don’t cause leaky valves
  • Concluded that 3D printed parts must be made of ABS on the UPrint instead of resin on the Form2 does not allow for tight tolerances and accurate models
  • Created new CAD and STL files for 3D printing since the holes cannot be tapped and replaced them with clearance holes
  • Completed preliminary version of the Lab Safety form
July 1 - July 7:

  • Hosted and participated in the Northeastern iGEM (NEGEM) conference with the BostonU, UConn, Harvard, and MIT teams
  • Plan UI design using high-level flow charts and block diagrams
  • Plan how flow of information from user should move through UI
  • Learn web design (HTML5/CSS/Javascript/Bootstrap) to create UI
  • Refined the CAD models of the XY-plane
July 8 - July 14:

  • Started designing the serial dilution chips for BostonU Wetlab collaboration
  • Milled a ran a mixer test chip
  • Plan out UI skeleton and simple GUI structure
  • Design layout of UI and list of pages
  • Began to assemble the first prototype of the XY-plane
July 15 - July 21:

  • Designed and tested the 3 consecutive 1:20 serial dilution chip
  • Designed and tested the 2 consecutive 1:10 serial dilution chip
  • Contacted Cap City Biohackers to discuss TERRA and potential applications for TERRA
  • Contacted to Fraunhofer, a industry company that incorporates microfluidics into their designs, and discussed TERRA and how it could be incorporated into the field of microfluidics
  • Work on first iteration of UI (pages, backend logic, aesthetic, etc)
  • Tested the translational system of the XY-plane and began correcting design flaws such as the negative features in the 3D printed parts
July 22 - July 28:

  • Started designing and testing the Harvard collaboration chip
  • Implemented data communication between UI and TERRA via Peripheral Manager
  • Fixed bugs in sending data to TERRA from UI
  • Started work on documentation
  • Implemented error check functionality via regular expressions
  • Began work on second iteration of UI
  • Continued to correct the design of the XY-plane and reordered broken parts
July 29 - August 4:

  • Harvard collaboration chip testing
  • Serial Dilution Chip testing, and new version designed
  • Designed first TERRA Adapter
  • Fixed bugs in sending data to TERRA from UI
  • Worked on second iteration of UI
  • Tested the first iteration of the XY-plane to check for accuracy and functionality
  • Ran small experiments to create designs on the XY-plane to demonstrate selection of location on a 96-well plate
August 5 - August 11:

  • Designed more TERRA Adapter for various inputs
  • Tested TERRA Adapter
  • Adjusted the plate support of the XY-plane to include counterbores for screwheads
  • Created a nozzle for the XY-plane’s upper layer in order to secure the output tube of a microfluidic device
  • Began to create Wiki pages using a Bootstrap theme
  • Visited Phenomyx, an industry company that creates microfluidic devices, and discussed the applications of TERRA to the microfluidic field
August 12 - August 18:

  • Tested the TERRA system and Harvard collaboration chip with the Harvard iGEM team
  • Received feedback on the first iteration of the UI and used the XY-plane during the Harvard meeting
  • Began to plan CAD files for a second iteration of the XY-plane to include contact switches and updated supports
August 9 - August 25:

  • Started running droplet and continuous flow fluid through TERRA
  • Began 3D printing parts for the second iteration of the XY-plane
  • Worked on Wiki pages
  • Began to integrate User Interface with back-end software framework
August 26 - September 1:

  • Harvard collaboration chip version 2 designed and tested
  • Ran droplet characterization experiments
  • Ran modeling experiments
  • Created assembly instructions for TERRA
  • Started creating drafts for Wiki pages
  • Began constructing the second iteration of the XY-plane
September 2 - September 8:

  • Harvard collaboration chip version 3 designed and tested
  • 3 Parallel dropgen/mixer system to work and 3 input droplet-based TERRA Adapter designed for cell free proof of concept experimentHarvard collaboration chip 3 testing
  • Created video for assembling XY-stage
  • Created documentation for XY-stage assembly
  • Worked on Wiki pages
September 9 - September 15:

  • Harvard collaboration chip 3 testing
  • Troubleshooting the second iteration of the XY-plane
  • Worked on Wiki pages
  • Ran droplet characterization experiments
September 16 - September 22:

  • Harvard collaboration chip version 4 designed and tested
  • Worked on Wiki Pages
  • Created model for droplet characterization
  • Ran XY-stage characterization experiments
September 23 - September 29:

  • Tested harvard collaboration chip version 4
  • Worked on Wiki Pages
  • Troubleshooted the second iteration of the XY-plane
  • Created a preliminary set of specifications for TERRA
September 30 - October 6:

  • Ran final test on harvard collaboration chip version 4
  • Milled 3 parallel dropgen/mixer system for cell free proof of concept
  • Milled 3 output TERRA Adapter for droplet-based systems
  • Fixed the stepper motors for the XY-plane
  • Worked on Wiki Pages
October 7 - October 13:

  • Refined our models for droplet characterization and hardware components
  • Worked on Wiki Pages
  • Ran experiments to demonstrate the selectivity and automation of TERRA
October 14 - October 17:

  • Ran experiments to demonstrate the selectivity and automation of TERRA
  • Worked on Wiki Pages
  • Refined final documentation for all microfluidic chips, hardware, and software components