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September 2002
Latest Lab-on-Chip Research Adds Microfluidics
to Chemical Analysis The lab on a chip is one of the most rapidly developing areas of biomedical technology. Part of the driving force behind its advance must be patients with little patience, those who have medical appointments on Friday after 4 p.m. The laboratory personnel have all gone home, and whatever fluids have been extracted from the sufferer must wait until Monday for any diagnostic work even to begin. (Oh, no—Monday’s a holiday! And what if it’s anthrax?) That tiny lab can’t come to the physician’s office too soon for us.  NVE Corp. has received a $365,000 DARPA contract to develop advanced BioMagnetICs, a recent entry in the rapidly growing field of integrated biochemical diagnostics. Biomagnetic applications include handheld detectors of pathogens such as smallpox, real-time DNA microarray testers, and diagnostic systems. NVE’s contribution to the field will focus on devices incorporating its unique Giant Magnetoresistor (GMR) “spintronics” materials, made of exotic metals only a few atoms thick. In contrast to conventional electronics, which are based on electron charge, spintronics use electron spin to store and transmit information, resulting in devices that are smaller, faster, and more accurate than their precursors. Key advantages of magnetic nanotechnology in these applications include inherent ruggedness, established path of miniaturization, and enhanced rates of operation. NVE’s three-pronged project will consist of fabricating effective GMR sensors and magnetic actuators for the BioMagnetICs community; demonstrating the use of integrated BioMagnetIC tools in flowing systems (combining GMR magnetic devices with microfluidics represents a new direction for the technology); and advancing the state of the art through the addition of advanced fabrication capabilities and magnetics detection instrumentation. Contact Bob Schneider, NVE Corp., 11409 Valley View Rd., Eden Prairie, MN 55344; 952-996-1603, fax 952-996-1600; info@nve.com.
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