Application of Microfluidic Tools for Training Chemical Engineers

Abstract

Microfluidics operates flows of fluids on a micrometer scale. It offers more economically friendly solutions for universities as microfluidic chips cost orders of magnitude lower than conventional laboratory equipment. The “Lab on a Chip” approach offers easily reproducible solutions for simulating chemical processes in a microfluidic confinement. This paper describes development of experimental practicums with microfluidic tools for various chemical processes and their implementation to the education process of Master’s degree students in Polymer Engineering program. The following processes are realized: purification of polymer solutions, synthesis of nanoparticles from polymers and surfactants and control of polymer conformations. Within these practicums, students are involved in entire engineering cycle including all stages from design and fabrication of their experimental tools to final product characterization. They first apply fundamental physical and chemical aspects to the design of new microfluidic devices, then fabricate them, practice chemical processes in microfluidic chips and finally characterize products they obtained. The practicums are strongly interdisciplinary and students need to apply knowledge from physics, hydrodynamics, physical chemistry, polymer engineering and computer-aided design to successfully fabricate and work with microfluidic chips. Not limited to polymer engineering, these practicums are suitable for Master’s students in materials science, nanotechnology and biotechnology.