Research Projects

• Microscale enzymatic biofuel cells and microbial fuel cells

Biofuel cells and microbial fuel cells convert chemical energy to electrical energy using biocatalysts (for enzymatic biofuel cells) or living organisms (for microbial fuel cells). Biomass or organic materials such as alcohol, glucose, or lactate can be used as the substrates for the oxidation. Dissolved oxygen or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) can act as the substrates for the reduction. Biofuel cells have a promising future as a potentially implantable energy source that utilizes a biological substance like glucose. Our focuses are on the development of microscale biofuel cells and investigation of the scaling effect of biofuel cells for the enhanced energy density.





• Membraneless microscale fuel cell using non-precious metal catalysts

A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts chemical energy into electrical energy. The main motivation of this research is to develop a liquid-based microscale fuel cell with a membraneless structure that can overcome the design limitations caused by the use of the proton exchange membrane. The microscale fuel cell in this research features no proton exchange membrane, inexpensive catalysts, and simple planar structure, which enables high design flexibility and easy integration of the microscale fuel cell into actual microfluidic systems and portable applications.





• Nanovesicles and lipid bilayers in microfluidic systems

Understanding the interaction of proteins in cell membrane is one of the significant tasks in biotechnology. Transmembrane proteins in a biological cell are the key factors in the cell’s metabolisms, for example in cell to cell interactions, signal transductions, transport of ions and so on. The objectives of this research are to develop nanovesicles and planar lipid bilayer membranes in a microfluidic system. The developed nanovesicles and lipid bilayer membranes are to be explored using an electrophysiological method. The outcome of the research will allow further exploration on the functions and properties of transmembrane proteins.





• Microoptic devices for enhanced imaging applications

The focus of this research is on image sensing systems. There is an increasing demand for high-resolution, high-dynamic-range, and low-noise images. Digital cameras, surveillance systems, medical imaging, aerial/satellite imaging, scanning/printing devices, and high-definition TV systems are some of the application areas where high-quality images are desired. Our goal is to develop microoptic devices for image sensing system to produce enhanced images in collaboration with Dr. Bahadir Gunturk’s Group. We are developing a system where image sensor is jittered by microoptic devices in a programmable fashion so that several images are produced.





• Lab-on-a-chip for rapid and low-cost immunodetection

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in developing low-cost techniques for inexpensive, rapid diagnosis of analytes. Our goal is to develop and evaluate a lab-on-a-chip system with integrated microfluidic control for rapid and low-cost immunodetection. The lab-on-a-chip employs passive microfluidic control schemes for sample delivery and reagents handling. The outcomes of this research are to minimize sample volume needed for detection while maintaining maximum concentration available and to increase the sensitivity by ensuring almost all target elements in the sample are captured at the detection zone.