Microfluidics for Microbiologists

During this workshop, students will acquire basic knowledge on the different steps involved in microfluidics-based experiments, starting from the scientific question to the video-microscopy experiment.

• Day 1 — April 8 | Theory & Design
  Foundations of microfluidics: governing principles, device design strategies, and an introduction to fabrication workflows tailored for biological applications.
• Day 2 — April 9 | Clean Room Training
  Hands-on training in a certified clean room environment. Participants will be introduced to standard microfabrication protocols and clean room safety procedures.
• Day 3 — April 21 | Grey Room Microfabrication & Abiotic Experiments
  Participants will fabricate their own microfluidic devices in the grey room and perform abiotic validation experiments to characterise device performance.
• Day 4 — April 22 | Biological Experiments & Cell Trapping
  Application of microfabricated devices to real biological experiments, including cell trapping using STAIRS — a technology developed by the Pitchµm team enabling precise trapping of cells in the 0.8–1.2 µm size range.

Guest Speaker: Maxence Vincent, single-cell microfluidics expert at the LCB (Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne) and partner in the development of the STAIRS technology, will be present.

At the end of the workshop, the student will be able to design, fabricate, test, and finally use a microfluidics chip.

Students prerequisites

• Agreement of the thesis director
• No prior microfluidics experience required