Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Developing innovative and versatile platforms based on advanced polymeric materials has been one important research area for a wide range of applications, especially biomedical applications such as point-care diagnostics. Although some promising polymer-based devices have been introduced, successful transition from innovation to daily usage is slow because engineering such polymer materials equipped with desirable smart functions is very challenging. As an attempt to overcome many limitations of current fabrication methods for polymeric materials, in particular membrane hydrogels, Dr. Hwang has developed microfabrication methods that have the ability to produce advanced and highly controllable properties and functionalities, not seen in the current hydrogel membranes. Dr. Hwang has also developed new microfluidic platforms-integrated with these hydrogels, which show enhanced performances when compared to existing platforms. For instance, most conventional platforms to detect proteins take several hours. On the other hand, Dr. Hwang's hydrogel-membrane-microfluidic platform takes about 10 minutes. However, they are still in the early stages of development and their full potential remains unrealized. Quantitative characterization optimization of hydrogels' properties and functionalities, and further development and optimization of the platforms via understanding of the device mechanisms are essential toward real-world applications. In this proposal, Dr. Hwang will design and optimize a hydrogel membrane integrated microfluidic platform with the ability to rapidly detect various biomolecules with high sensitivity. This platform will offer economic, versatile, and rapid sensing for various targets of interest.