When it comes to microfluidics , precision is everything . Researchers in this battlefield — which take apart the behavior and mastery of flyspeck measure of fluids — can apply a miniscule , flat chip etched with canal ( a " lab - on - a - chip " ) to moderate the intermixture of liquid at a microscopical level . Now , Co. Designreports thatMIT scientistshave devise a organization that accomplish the same results using material that most people would agnize : LEGO block .
In theirstudypublished in the journalLab on a Chip , the scientist excuse how LEGO fits utterly into their research . They set out out chip at groove into LEGO bricks about 500 micron astray — about the breadth of smattering of human hairs — and seal them with decipherable picture show . Next , they build pathways for fluid by interlocking the blocks so the end of one channel delineate up with the start of another .
Assembling a tradition microfluidics lab this way takes seconds , which is nothing compared to the involved and dear summons of build a lab - on - a - microchip from excoriation . The same blocks used in one shape can also be deconstruct and rearranged to produce a whole young design . As is the vitrine with the traditional fries , the LEGO - based laboratory can be used in biomedical research to filter fluid , sort cells , and set apart corpuscle .
The scientists did n’t choose LEGO blocking just because they ’re fun — they’re also virtual . The plastic toy block are some of the most uniform materials available for building modular systems . The molds used in LEGO factories have to come across strict standard , so only 18 piece of every million created are technically imperfect .
But LEGO toys are n’t the idealistic edifice blocks for every microfluidics study . They do n’t mould for experiment perform on the nano - floor , and their plastic structure is n’t sturdy enough to stand up to some chemicals . The MIT scientists are looking into develop protective coating and possibly molding their own Lego from stronger materials to start the doorway to even more research in the future .
[ h / tCo . invention ]
