Team:BostonU HW/Notebook
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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Harvard collaboration chip 3 testing
- Troubleshooting the second iteration of the XY-plane
- Worked on Wiki pages
- Ran droplet characterization experiments
- Harvard collaboration chip version 4 designed and tested
- Worked on Wiki Pages
- Created model for droplet characterization
- Ran XY-stage characterization experiments
- 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
- Refined our models for droplet characterization and hardware components
- Worked on Wiki Pages
- Ran experiments to demonstrate the selectivity and automation of TERRA
- 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