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Science at the Edge
Friday December 2, 2011
11:30 BPS 1400
Pore Network Microfluidic Habitats and Structures for the Visualization and Study of Microbial Communities and Carbon Sequestration
Jay W. Grate
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Microfabrication of planar microfluidic flow cells patterned with an array of pillars creates a pore network in a two-dimensional format that can be visualized through a transparent cover. These pore networks provide a representation of
porous media that can enable study of chemical and biological processes in microenvironments, to control advection (flow) and diffusion, to create gradients, and to investigate pore-scale fluidic processes such as the displacement of one liquid with another
immiscible liquid. The ability to apply a variety of imaging methods to processes within these microfluidic structures is a key feature enabling diverse research applications. At PNNL spatially-structured microhabitats are being developed as research tools
for studying microbial communities, with a focus on cellulose degrading organisms, as well as fluid displacement and geochemical processes related to geological carbon sequestration. Gas concentration sensing using fluorophores deposited within the micromodel
enable measurement of oxygen concentrations and gradients. Methods for imaging the depletion of solid cellulose by cellulose-consuming organisms are under development. The displacement of pore water by immiscible fluids including liquid carbon dioxide has
been visualized and quantified using fluorescence microscopy, demonstrating pore-scale processes and displacement instabilities that have consequences to geological carbon sequestration at the macro scale.
To schedule a meeting with the speaker please contact: [log in to unmask]
Shawna Prater / Secretary
Astrophysics Group
Michigan State University
3261 Biomedical Physical Sciences Bldg
East Lansing, MI 48824-2320
Ph: (517) 884-5601 Fax (517) 432-8802
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