MASc Seminar:Expanding the Microfluidic Design Automation Capabilities of Manifold: Electrophoretic Cross and Time-Domain Simulation

Tuesday, July 23, 2019 3:00 pm - 3:00 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

Candidate: Joshua Stephen Reid

Title: Expanding the Microfluidic Design Automation Capabilities of Manifold: Electrophoretic Cross and Time-Domain Simulation

Date: July 23, 2019

Time: 3:00PM

Place: EIT 3145

Supervisor(s): Rayside, Derek - Backhouse, Christopher

Abstract:

Lab-on-a-chip devices are finding applications in several different fields, from point-of-care diagnostics to genome sequencing.

However, their development currently lacks a computer aided design (CAD) tool that allows microfluidic designers to express partial designs. Complete design of these devices requires multi-disciplinary knowledge in the underlying physics that is difficult for one designer to have. This results in devices being tested by physically constructing them and performing multiple design iterations should the prototype fail to operate correctly, increasing the time and cost of microfluidic design. The Manifold language was developed to address this problem by allowing the microfluidic designer to specify the parameters that they know and then Manifold solves for the ranges that the rest of the parameters can take, reducing the cognitive load required to design microfluidic devices. This thesis discusses the improvements that were made to Manifold's design capabilities: the addition of electrophoretic cross channel simulation and the ability to simulate designs in the time-domain in MapleSim through the use of Modelica. The Modelica design is generated automatically, creating a feedback loop that allows the designer to see their microfluidic device in operation before manufacturing a prototype. Finally, the software was validated through the comparison of the simulations to data from real microfluidic devices