Microfluidics, DNA sequencing, Lab automation, Point-of-care

Since the inception of microfluidic technology in 1990s, various miniaturized and integrated microsystems have been developed and are poised to advance analytical tools in scientific study, and even to change our daily lives. Aiming to bring the microfluidics from laboratories to practical applications, the research in my lab is focused on the development of integrated and miniaturized microfluidic systems for high-performance genetic analysis, cell analysis and laboratory automation. Currently, we have the following projects under development:

1. Fully integrated microsystems for targeted DNA sequencing for clinical diagnosis.

2. Automated and portable microsystems for on-site forensic short tandem repeat analysis.

3. Microfluidic tools for separation and analysis of specific cells, such as circulating tumor cells.

4. Miniaturized and Integrated cell screening platforms for targeted gene editing.

1. Liu, P., Meagher, R.J., Light, Y.K., Yilmaz, S., Chakraborty, R., Arkin, A.P., Hazen, T.C. and Singh, A.K. Microfluidic fluorescence in situ hybridization an d flow cytometry (µFlowFISH) for environmental bacterial detection. Lab on a Chip 11, 2673-2679 (2011).

2. Liu, P., Scherer, J.R., Greenspoon, S.A., Chiesl, T.N. and Mathies, R.A. Integrated sample cleanup and capillary array electrophoresis microchip for forensic sh ort tandem repeat analysis. Forensic Science International: Genetics 5, 484-492 (2011).

3. Liu, P., Li, X., Greenspoon, S.A. and Mathies, R.A. Integrated DNA purification, PCR, sample cleanup, and capillary electrophoresis microchip for forensic human identification. Lab on a Chip 11, 1041-1048 (2011).

4. Thaitrong, N., Liu, P., Briese, T., Lipkin, I.W., Chiesl, T.N., Higa, Y. and Mathies, R.A. Integrated capillary electrophoresis microsystem for multiplex analysis of human respiratory viruses. Analytical Chemistry 82, 10102-10109 (2010).

5. Scherer, J.R.,* Liu, P.* and Mathies, R. A. Design and operation of a portable scanner for high performance microchip capillary array electrophoresis. Review of Scientific Instruments 81, 113105 (2010). * Joint first authors.

6. Liu, P. and Mathies, R. A. Integrated microfluidic systems for high-performance genetic analysis. Trends in Biotechnology 27, 572-581 (2009).

7. Yeung, S.H.I.,* Liu, P.,* Del Dueno, N., Greenspoon, S.A. and Mathies, R.A. Integrated sample cleanup-capillary electrophoresis microchip for high-performance short tandem genetic repeat analysis. Analytical Chemistry 81, 2 10-217 (2009). * Joint first authors.

8. Liu, P., Yeung, S.H.I., Crenshaw, K.A., Crouse, C.A., Scherer, J.R. and Mathies, R.A. Real-time forensic DNA analysis at a crime scene using a portable microchi p analyzer. Forensic Science International: Genetics 2, 301-309 (2008).

9. Beyor, N., Seo, T.S., Liu, P. and Mathies, R.A. Immunomagnetic bead-based cell concentration microdevice for dilute pathogen detection. Biomedical Microdevices 10, 909-917 (2008).

10.Liu, P., Seo, T.S., Beyor, N., Shin, K., Scherer, J.R. and Mathies, R.A. Integrated portable PCR-Capillary electrophoresis microsystem for rapid forensic short tandem repeat typing, < em>Analytical Chemistry 79, 1881-1889 (2007).