Image from Closed-Loop, Axial Temperature Control of Etched Silicon Microcolumn for Tunable Thermal Gradient Gas Chromatography, J. Microelectromech. Syst. 29, 76 (2020).
Faculty: Robert Davis, Richard Vanfleet
We build microsystems that separate the molecules in a sample and identify them. This work grows out of more than a decade of microfabricated chromatography: carbon-nanotube-templated thin-layer chromatography plates, HPLC particles, silicon gas chromatography columns with tunable temperature gradients and, most recently, 3D-printed high-temperature microfluidic interfaces.
Current Projects
- Nucleic acid purification: microsystems for extracting and purifying nucleic acids from samples.
- Breath-based health analysis: compact systems that combine gas chromatography with Raman spectroscopy to detect health-related compounds in exhaled breath.
Selected Publications
- Binder-jet printing and pressure-controlled infiltration for fabrication of high-temperature, low-dead-volume microfluidic interfaces, Addit. Manuf. Lett. 16, 100344 (2026)
- Sacrificial Powder Pressure Control for Infiltration of Microscale Binder Jet Printed Metal Parts, J. Manuf. Sci. Eng. 146, 051002 (2024)
- Closed-Loop, Axial Temperature Control of Etched Silicon Microcolumn for Tunable Thermal Gradient Gas Chromatography, J. Microelectromech. Syst. 29, 76 (2020)
- Relative Raman scattering cross sections of aqueous glucose, Proc. SPIE 14197, 1419709 (2026)
- Microstructure quantification of oblique angle sputtered porous a-Si thin films as a basis for structure-property relations of solid phase microextraction coatings, Surf. Coat. Technol. 473, 130014 (2023)
- Stable, microfabricated thin layer chromatography plates without volume distortion on patterned, carbon and Al2O3-primed carbon nanotube forests, J. Chromatogr. A 1257, 195 (2012)
- Carbon-Nanotube-Templated Microfabrication of Porous Silicon-Carbon Materials with Application to Chemical Separations, Adv. Funct. Mater. 21, 1132 (2011)
- Pellicular Particles with Spherical Carbon Cores and Porous Nanodiamond/Polymer Shells for Reversed-Phase HPLC, Anal. Chem. 83, 5488 (2011)
Complete publication and student thesis lists for each professor are on the People and Publications page.