636-0203-00L  Lab Course: Microsystems and Microfluidics in Biology

SemesterAutumn Semester 2019
LecturersP. S. Dittrich, A. Hierlemann
Periodicityyearly recurring course
Language of instructionEnglish
CommentOnly for Biotechnology MSc, Programme Regulations 2017.


AbstractThis practical course is an introduction to microsystems technology and microfluidics for the life sciences. It includes basic concepts of microsystem design, fabrication, and assembly into an experimental setup. Biological applications include a variety of measurements of cellular and tissue signals and subsequent analysis.
ObjectiveThe students are introduced to the basic principles of microsystems technology. They get acquainted with practical scientific work and learn the entire workflow of (a) understanding the theoretical concept, (b) planning the experiment, (c) engineering of the needed device, (d) execution of the experiment and data acquisition, (e) data evaluation and analysis, and (f) reporting and discussion of the results.
ContentThe practical course will consist of a set of 4 experiments.
Lecture notesNotes and guidelines will be provided at the beginning of the course.
Literature- S.M. Sze, "Semiconductor Devices, Physics and Technology", 2nd edition, Wiley, 2002
- W. Menz, J. Mohr, O. Paul, "Microsystem Technology", Wiley-VCH, 2001
- G. T. A. Kovacs, "Micromachined Transducers Sourcebook", McGraw-Hill, 1998
- M. J. Madou, "Fundamentals of Microfabrication", 2nd ed., CRC Press, 2002
- N.-T. Nguyen and S. Wereley, "Fundamentals and Applications of Microfluidics", Artech House, ISBN 1-580-53343-4
- O. Geschke et al., "Microsystem Engineering for Chemistry and the Life Sciences", Wiley-VCH, ISBN 3-527-30733-8
Prerequisites / NoticeThe practical course will consist of a set of 4 experiments. For each experiment, the student will be required to
- understand the theoretical concept behind the experiment
- plan the experiment
- engineer the devices
- execute the experiments and acquire data
- evaluate and analyze the data
- report and discuss the results
A good quality of the final report will be expected and be an important criterion.