Researchers have designed a lab on a chip capable of being programmed to perform a variety of jobs, a step toward more widespread use of the miniature analytical tools used to measure everything from blood glucose to viruses, bacteria to genes.

Current lab-on-a-chip technology requires that chips, which are palm-sized or smaller, be designed to perform certain assays, or chemical analyses. Purdue University researchers have developed the hardware and software to create a more versatile chip capable of being programmed for multiple tasks, says Steven T. Wereley, associate professor of mechanical engineering.

Doctoral students Han-Sheng Chuang and Ahmed Amin have worked with Wereley to create a prototype programmable chip. The work is part of a National Science Foundation-funded collaboration that also includes assistant professor Mithuna Thottethodi and associate professor T. N. Vijaykumar, both in Purdue's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Stephen Jacobson, an associate professor of chemistry at Indiana University.

Lab-on-a-chip technology currently is being used for various applications in medicine and research. The devices contain two major parts: an electronic control portion and a portion consisting of “fluidic functional units,” or components for storing, transporting, mixing and heating samples. These units are connected by tiny channels in which the fluid path is controlled by using special pumps to open and close miniature valves.

The systems are used for measuring specific types of cells and molecules in a patient's blood, monitoring microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi in the environment, and separating biological molecules for laboratory analyses.

“With conventional technology, you have to design the individual layout of the chip, fabricate it, test it and then redesign it when testing uncovers problems,” Wereley says.

“Wouldn't it be better,” asks Amin, “if you could buy a multipurpose chip and download the software you needed? That's what we're going to do.”