Xinyu Liu of Univ. of Toronto

Paper, as a ubiquitous material in everyday life, has been reinvented into low-cost yet effective microfluidic platforms for bioanalysis. In this talk, I will present our research on developing new types of paper-based microfluidic platforms for point-of-care diagnosis outside clinical laboratories, which are particularly useful for healthcare practices in resource-limited and/or remote settings (e.g., in the North). The research has been focused on designing new paper devices, investigating advanced detection mechanisms, integrating functional biosensing (nano)materials, and optimizing analytical performance. These efforts have enabled unique features of the developed diagnostic platforms, including low material and manufacturing costs, superior analytical performance, simplified device operation, and excellent user-friendliness. The paper-based platforms I will discuss include: (i) an electrochemical biosensor array for multiplexed diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection; (ii) a zinc oxide nanowire (ZnO NW) biosensor for ultrasensitive detection of glucose and HIV protein biomarkers; and (iii) a shape memory polymer (SMP) actuated microfluidic platform for autonomous immunoassays. In closing, our ongoing efforts on clinical sample testing of these platforms in Canada and Kenya will also be briefly outlined.

Biography:

Xinyu Liu is an Associate Professor and the Percy Edward Hart Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto. Prior to joining U of T, he was an Associate Professor and the Canada Research Chair in Microfluidics and BioMEMS in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at McGill University. He obtained his B.Eng. and M.Eng. from Harbin Institute of Technology in 2002 and 2004, respectively, and his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 2009, all in Mechanical Engineering. He then completed an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (with George Whitesides) at Harvard University in 2009–2011. At U of T, his research activities primarily focus on microfluidics, bioMEMS, and micro/nanorobotics, with applications in medicine and biology. He received the Canadian Rising Star in Global Health Award (2012), the Douglas R. Colton Metal for Research Excellence (2012), the Award of Excellence for Basic Science Research of the McGill Surgery Department (2013), the McGill Christophe Pierre Award for Research Excellence (2017), the MINE Outstanding Young Researcher Award (2018), and 7 best paper awards at major engineering and biomedical conferences. He is a co-inventor of 16 US/PCT patents (issued or pending). He serves as the Associate Editor of 6 international journals, including IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology, IEEE Robotics & Automation Letters, IET Cyber-Systems and Robotics, Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems, and Journal of Sensors.