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James D. Sterling535 Watson Drive
Claremont, CA 91711 Phone: (909) 607-9253
Email: jim_sterling[at symbol]kgi.edu
Microfluidics Research
Microfluidics and Microfabrication
There is a need to miniaturize, automate and simplify nucleic acid tests, immunoassays, and other bio-molecular assays in order to achieve desired levels of specificity, sensitivity, detection speed, and long-term stability. The Microfluidics Research Lab is exploring the use of electrostatically actuated motion of sub-micro-liter droplets, i.e. electrowetting, to develop biosensors and to automate laboratory processes that have traditionally been performed using liquid-handling robots, micro-titer plates, and translation stages. The lab is equipped with state-of-the-art microfabrication instruments to make electrowetting and microfluidic chips for performing biological and chemical protocols with the aim of incorporating them into compact handheld systems, small footprint laboratory instruments, and lab automation-compatible systems. In addition, miniaturized systems are being engineered to perform sample preparation steps for nucleic acid analysis including lysis, purification, amplification and detection.
Engineering of Compact, Automated Systems for Pathogen Detection
Biothreat detection research at KGI is being conducted in several multi-disciplinary, multi-team efforts. With funding from DHS, NIH and DARPA, the focus of the research is on bioanalytical methods and engineering instrument/device development for nucleic acid diagnostics. The projects are focused mainly on: (1) sample preparation methods including electrical and mechanical sample lysis and nucleic acid purification components, (2) thermally-controlled DNA amplification systems integrated with compact lateral-flow or optical fluorescence systems, and (3) chip-based free-solution capillary electrophoresis of short oligonucleotides. The efforts address primarily the ability to detect-to-protect by diagnosing the presence of bacterial and viral pathogens in swab or air-filtered samples.
Digital Microfluidics/Electrowetting
There is a need to miniaturize, automate and simplify nucleic acid tests, immunoassays, and other bio-molecular assays in order to achieve desired levels of specificity, sensitivity, detection speed, and long-term stability. The Microfluidics Research Lab is exploring the use of
electrostatically actuated motion of sub-micro-liter droplets, i.e. electrowetting, to develop biosensors and to automate laboratory processes that have traditionally been performed using liquid-handling robots, micro-titer plates, and translation stages. The lab is equipped with state-of-the-art microfabrication instruments to make electrowetting and microfluidic chips for performing biological and chemical protocols with the aim of incorporating them into compact, handheld systems, small footprint laboratory instruments, and lab automation-compatible systems.
Sample Preparation for Molecular Diagnostics
The focus of this research is on bio-analytical methods and device development for nucleic acid diagnostics. We have ongoing projects on: (1) sample preparation using miniaturized mechanical lysis methods, (2) thermally-controlled DNA amplification systems integrated with compact optical fluorescence systems, and (3) chip-based free-solution capillary electrophoresis of short oligo-
nucleotides. The efforts address the ability to rapidly detect the presence of bacterial and viral pathogens in various samples.
Mathematical and Computational Modeling in Systems Biology
We apply methods from the theory of nonlinear dynamical systems to model the interactions of genes and proteins within a cell. Both deterministic and stochastic methods are used to examine models that arise based on biological knowledge of the complex feedback systems within such networks.