Future of Engineering
Friday, February 8, 2008
Microfluidic “Lab-on-a-chip” Devices - MRI/NMR to Microreactors
Lab-on-Chip Technology: Scientists Bring MRI/NMR To Microreactors
In a significant step towards improving the design of future catalysts and catalytic reactors, especially for microfluidic “lab-on-a-chip” devices, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) at Berkeley, have successfully applied magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to the study of gas-phase reactions on the microscale.
A team of researchers have developed a technique in which parahydrogen-polarized gas is used to make an MRI signal strong enough to provide direct visualization of the gas-phase flow of active catalysts in packed-bed microreactors. This work, the first application of gas-phase MRI to microfluidic catalysis, shows that parahydrogen-enhanced MRI can be used to track gases and liquids in microfluidic devices as well as in the void spaces of a tightly packed catalyst reactor bed.
Full report here
Related blogposts
Berkeley scientists bring MRI/NMR to microreactors
In a significant step towards improving the design of future catalysts and catalytic reactors, especially for microfluidic “lab-on-a-chip” devices, researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) at Berkeley, have successfully applied magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to the study of gas-phase reactions on the microscale.
A team of researchers have developed a technique in which parahydrogen-polarized gas is used to make an MRI signal strong enough to provide direct visualization of the gas-phase flow of active catalysts in packed-bed microreactors. This work, the first application of gas-phase MRI to microfluidic catalysis, shows that parahydrogen-enhanced MRI can be used to track gases and liquids in microfluidic devices as well as in the void spaces of a tightly packed catalyst reactor bed.
Full report here
Related blogposts
Berkeley scientists bring MRI/NMR to microreactors
Labels: Bio-engineering, Chemical-Engineering
PermaLink - Microfluidic “Lab-on-a-chip” Devices - MRI/NMR to Microreactors posted by Ecacofonix : 5:13 AM
