Education: A modular approach to microfluidics in the teaching laboratory

Abstract

This article seeks to educate the reader about the role played by the microfluidics teaching lab in the education of science, technology, engineering and mathematics for students of all ages. The discussion is intended to serve as a general guide to educators about the lab philosophy, goals, lab experiments and required equipment and reagents necessary for a successful microfluidics teaching laboratory. We hope that this article will stimulate other groups and companies to describe what they are doing to encourage education in this sector. At LabSmith we have developed a modular approach for teaching and demonstrating microfluidics that allows the end user to tailor the laboratory to course goals without an impact on the package of experimental equipment required and available to them. Thus, it is possible to educate students either in the art of microfluidics or use microfluidics to educate students about fundamental physical, chemical, or biological principles. The laboratory experiments discussed here are for students with educational experience at high school, undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate levels.