When academic leaders from the
field of acoustofluidics descended on Northumbria University to explore emerging
biological uses of acoustic waves, they made an impact in more ways than one.
They’d been invited to the University
to take part in the International Acoustofluidics Forum and Olympics, to explore
new and emerging uses of acoustic waves and microfluidics.
Acoustofluidics is a field of multi-disciplinary
physics which examines what happens when acoustic waves and liquids interact,
and explores how those interactions can be applied for use in society including
in the fields of medicine and biological technology.
Expert speakers from Germany,
Australia, France, China and Austria joined academics from 15 UK universities
for the event, which was also attended by industry leaders alongside GCSE and
A-level pupils.
The symposium included a
special ‘Acoustofluidics Olympics’ where academics came together to demonstrate
the wide range of applications for acoustofluidics - such as moving, propelling,
and jetting objects in liquid, on solid surfaces, or through air. Invited
guests were able to see academics working to create the most exciting impacts
with their experiments. These included the creation of a ‘nano earthquake’ for
fluidic actuations, levitating the heaviest object using sound waves, atomising
liquid for drug analysis and manipulating cells, particles and droplets for
various biosampling and tissue engineering applications.
The focus of the forum was to
discuss new and developing ways in which microfluidics and acoustofluidics
could be used in the fields of biological science and medicine, including
biosampling, microanalysis and medical diagnosis.
The forum also provided
opportunities for attendees from business and industry to speak to the University’s
Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) advisors about potential funding and
partnerships. It closed with a brainstorming session around the future
challenges facing acoustofluidics and how experts could come together to tackle
those challenges.
The event was the third meeting of the UK Fluidic Network’s
Acoustofluidics Special Interest Group. It was organised by Prof. Richard Fu from
the Department of Maths, Physics and Electrical Engineering, who leads this
Special Interest Group, along with Dr Julien Reboud from Glasgow University and
Dr Jeremy Hawks.
Prof. Fu said: “Acoustofluidics are generated in
piezoelectric materials and can be used in a huge variety of ways, from biosampling
to chemical microanalysis, and from drug analysis to tissue engineering, making
it a vital area of research.
He added: “The work of the Acoustofluidics Special Interest
Group is to explore engineering
and applications of acoustofluidics in diagnostic systems, biotechnology and
biomedicine. It’s a fascinating, emerging field and the fact that we managed to
attract such a large number of academic experts from around the world is a
testament to the growing interest in this area and Northumbria University’s
influence as an authority in this field of research.”
