Micro and Nanosystems for Biotechnology and Health Applications

Micro and nanotechnology has radically transformed the fundamental studies in many fields of biology and medicine by catalyzing a paradigm shift in methods toolbox available to researchers. However, its full potential has yet to be explored and harnessed for applications in translational medicine, in specific, diagnostics and therapeutics. To this end, I plan to combine ultra-sensitive optical imaging and detection techniques with microfluidic methods to engineer and implement enabling technologies towards addressing key questions and challenges in clinical diagnostics, systems biology, developmental biology and translational medicine. I am specifically interested in developing integrated micro and nanosystems for i) Molecular diagnostics ii) Micro and nanomanipulation of particles, cells and embryos for high throughput screening iii) Studying microbial communities related to infectious disease and immunology. In this presentation, I will summarize my previous research efforts on developing microsystems with applications to biosensors and micromanipulation of micro and nanoparticles; and briefly provide an overview of my proposed research program as a tenure-track faculty member.

Over the past two decades, development of micro and nanomanipulation methods based on optical, electrokinetic, magnetic, acoustic fields has revolutionized many fields of science and engineering by enabling investigations of a wide array of physical and biological problems including biophysical studies of individual molecules, particles and living cells. Recently, we developed an alternative flow-based method to confine, manipulate or isolate single particles and cells in free-solution [1, 4-5]. Based on a stagnation point flow generated in a microfluidic device, this novel method allows for trapping, 2-D manipulation, stretching and sorting of objects ranging from single molecules to individual cells in free-solution. Importantly, hydrodynamic trapping is feasible for any particle with no specific requirements on the material composition or the chemical/physical nature (optical, magnetic, surface charge) of the trapped object. In addition, hydrodynamic trap enables confinement of nanoscale particles because the trapping force scales linearly with particle radius, whereas the trapping force for optical or magnetic traps scales with particle volume. Hydrodynamic trapping inherently enables confinement of a single target nanoparticle in a concentrated sample suspension, provides the ability to change the surrounding medium of a trapped nanoparticle in real time and enables fine-scale particle manipulation in free solution for extended time scales. Overall, the hydrodynamic trap offers a new platform for observation of nanoparticles without surface immobilization. We anticipate that this microfluidic-based technique will enable new scientific studies in the fields of cellular mechanics, colloidal science and fluid dynamics.

Integrated micro and nanosystems offer several key advantages for diagnostic and therapeutic applications, including reduced amounts of sample and reagents for analysis, and integration of assay steps such as sample preparation (processing of physiological fluids), post-processing (e.g. reagent mixing, labeling, separation), detection and analysis into a single device. Specifically, rapid multiplexed assays based on integrated microdevices could significantly improve the quality of healthcare by reducing turnaround time and analysis cost, and speeding up the decision making process for diagnosis and treatment. Towards this goal, we developed a combinatorial screening chip for high sensitivity, sequence-specific screening and detection of viral nucleic acid markers (ssDNA) encoding for conserved regions of the genomes of four common viruses [2]. The combinatorial chip represents a versatile platform for the development of clinical diagnostic tests for simultaneous screening, detection and monitoring of a wide range of biological markers of health and disease using minimal sample size. In addition, during my graduate studies, I developed an ultrasensitive label-free sensing scheme based on optical resonances in microdroplets [7] which was employed in a number of chemical and biological sensing applications including single bacterial cell detection [6].

Postdoctoral Advisors:

Prof. Charles M. Schroeder, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Prof. Paul R. Selvin, Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PhD Advisor:

Prof. Ian M. Kennedy, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, University of California, Davis

Publications:

1.  M. Tanyeri, M. Ranka, N. Sittipolkul, C. M. Schroeder, "A Microfluidic-based Hydrodynamic Trap: Design and Implementation", Lab Chip, 11 (10), 1786-1794 (2011).

2.  B. R. Schudel, M. Tanyeri, A. Mukherjee, C. M. Schroeder, P. J. A. Kenis, "Multiplexed Detection of Nucleic Acids in a Combinatorial Screening Chip", (in press, Lab on a Chip).

3.  Y. Kim, S. Kim, M. Tanyeri, J. A. Katzenellenbogen, C. M. Schroeder, "Dye-conjugated Dendrimers as Bright and Photostable Molecular Tags for Fluorescence Microscopy and Imaging", (submitted, Journal of the American Chemical Society).

4.  E. M. Johnson-Chavarria, M. Tanyeri, C. M. Schroeder, “A Microfluidic-based Hydrodynamic Trap for Single Particles” (http://www.jove.com/details.stp?id=2517), Journal of Visualized Experiments, 47 (2011).

5.  M. Tanyeri, E. M. Johnson-Chavarria, C. M. Schroeder, "Hydrodynamic Trap for Single Particles and Cells", Applied Physics Letters, 96, 224101 (2010).

6.  M. Tanyeri, I. M. Kennedy, “Detecting Single Bacterial Cells through Optical Resonances in Microdroplets” (cover article), Sensor Letters, 6 (2), 326-329 (2008).

7.  M. Tanyeri, R. Perron, I. M. Kennedy, “Lasing Droplets in a Microfabricated Channel”, Optics Letters, 32 (17), 2529-2531 (2007) (Highlighted in photonics.com and Photonics Spectra, October 2007).