Mechanical Engineering Seminar
Multiphysics Microfluidic Platforms for Label-Free Sensing and Control of Cells and Particles
Karina Torres-Castro
Manager of Research and Innovation, CEAS
Research Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Stony Brook University
Abstract:
Microfluidic technologies have transformed the study and control of microscale systems, offering compact, tunable, and low-sample-volume environments for both analysis and actuation. Microfluidics has also become more attractive as new electronic devices increasingly integrate with biological systems, and as demand for localized cooling solutions in integrated circuits continues to grow. In this context, the ability to sense and manipulate fluid properties and control particles at the microscale is becoming increasingly critical.
In this seminar, I will present a suite of microfluidic systems that integrate electrokinetics, impedance spectroscopy, and acoustic field control for particle manipulation, sensing, and characterization. These systems leverage dielectrophoresis for selective trapping, transport, and separation based on particle polarizability, and employ impedance spectroscopy for label-free, real-time electrical sensing of cells and bacteria coupled with microfluidic separation methods. Separately, acoustic transducers are incorporated to probe fluid properties using surface acoustic waves. By combining these techniques within microfluidic platforms that include imaging-based validation, we enable dynamic particle concentration, measurement of physical and biophysical properties, and enhanced integration with different metrology methods. Collectively, these developments demonstrate how the synergy of electronic sensing and multiphysics manipulation can advance lab-on-chip and organ-on-chip technologies, microfluidic cooling applications, environmental monitoring, and quantum sensing applications.
Bio:
Karina Torres joined the College of Engineering in Fall 2025 as Manager of Research and Innovation and Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Her research focuses on the intersection of microfluidics, computational fluid dynamics, and system integration, with applications in lab-on-a-chip and organ-on-a-chip technologies. She aims to integrate a range of electromechanical techniques such as dielectrophoresis, impedance sensing, and acoustofluidics to advance these systems.
Her interests include fluid metrology, particle manipulation and characterization, microsystem integration technologies, and bioelectronics. Through her role, she promotes collaborative research partnerships between faculty and industry, with strong potential for scalability and technology transfer.