[HN Gopher] A Microfluidic D-subminiature Connector (2013)
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A Microfluidic D-subminiature Connector (2013)
Author : trasz
Score : 50 points
Date : 2022-09-18 11:26 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
| exabrial wrote:
| I could see this being useful for control system monitoring
| (monitoring a bunch of hydraulic pressures) or in a lab for an
| automated testing machine (pull in samples at regular intervals)
| Arrath wrote:
| The 15psi that the connector was tested at is a good ways below
| the typical working pressures of most hydraulic systems, I'd be
| curious to see just how high the connector could manage.
| ncmncm wrote:
| It is commendable that they did not ignorantly call it a D _B_ -9
| connector, but lamentable that they did not identify it as the D
| _E_ -9 it really is.
| Scene_Cast2 wrote:
| I remember microfluidics research being somewhat in vogue a
| decade ago. Asking as a complete layman - did any practical
| applications come out of it? Any use in the industry?
| bglazer wrote:
| Single cell RNA sequencing is a very useful technique that
| relies on microfluidics. It allows researchers to isolate
| individual cells then "read" the RNA content of them. This lets
| you identify (very approximately) what behaviors a cell is
| doing in the tissue it came from. Still mostly a research tool,
| but it's going to move into the clinic in the next 10 years,
| I'd guess.
|
| 10x Genomics (https://www.10xgenomics.com/) is the biggest
| company building the machines for this. They're publicly
| traded.
| rubidium wrote:
| Yes, lots of uses.
|
| One of the bigger hits was Berkeley Lights, a big deal in early
| cell line development for monoclonal antibodies:
| https://www.berkeleylights.com/technology/
|
| But there's be numerous others. All have advanced state of the
| art. But as another commenter said, not much for home use. Just
| industry.
| chris_va wrote:
| Yes, mRNA vaccine manufacturing (lipid encapsulation) is a nice
| example
| ros86 wrote:
| There are indeed a few practical applications. Next to Berkely
| lights, there is e.g. the LabChip from PerkinElmer that
| separates DNA and proteins. I had hoped that there would be
| many more examples by now. Most presentations that I see about
| microfluids still go in a lot of detail on how difficult it is
| to make. This hasn't really changed over the last decade, which
| signals to me we still need quite some innovation to make this
| mainstream.
|
| If you want to play around with digital microfluids at home,
| check out the OpenDrop from gaudi.ch
| (http://www.gaudi.ch/OpenDrop/). I haven't played around with
| it yet, as I haven't found a practical use of this.
| jhallenworld wrote:
| According to "Asianometry", common test strips are an
| application of microfluidics. So in one sense they are very
| common.
|
| Aside from these, it sounds like they will become lab tools not
| the Theranos-style lab replacements.
|
| See:
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAESOEjcYfc
| jpopesculian wrote:
| I recently heard of haptx[0] and I think they use microfluidics
| for their haptic feedback stuff
|
| [0](https://haptx.com/)
| dark-star wrote:
| As with many of these "laboratory" technologies, there is not
| much an "end-user" would see of it.
|
| Microfluidics is being used in large scales in biological labs
| for sample analysis etc., so yes, there are practical
| applications but none that any random household needs or could
| even make any use of :)
| kongito wrote:
| If you _really_ want D-sub connectors for fluid pipes, you could
| better use a proper 17W2 shell with fluid pins in the place of
| power contacts: https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/d-sub-
| contacts/6659904 https://www.deltron.ch/produkte/d-sub-
| steckverbinder/combi.h...
| https://www.deltron.ch/downloads/dl/file/id/14/d_sub_combi_p...
| dark-star wrote:
| I think the "micro" in "microfluidic" is kinda relevant here...
| myself248 wrote:
| There are gas and liquid "pins" for a number of standard
| connectors, both the mil-spec circular style and the modular
| Harting style. They're not so "micro" as this, but very much in
| use in industry.
| palijer wrote:
| Pros: existing tools and knowledge transfer over, d-subs have
| been field proven and plenty of experience exists for folks who
| worked with them.
|
| Cons: it is now possible to connect microfluidic connections to
| electrical, or use the wrong sort of couplers, or a bunch of
| other issues that pose risks to new uses and existing usages of
| electrical d-sub connections.
|
| Like, imagine if they used regular Edison power cables, or HDMI
| etc. Sometimes there are good reasons not to use existing
| standards.
| MisterTea wrote:
| > Edison power cables
|
| Edison power cable?
| dekhn wrote:
| standard american power cord for 120V
| elil17 wrote:
| I wouldn't really say that it's a proven technology because the
| core issue for microfluidic applications is having a air- and
| water-tight connection, which is not proven out by electrical
| connectors of any sort.
| dark-star wrote:
| I don't think there is any real danger in connecting an
| "electrical" sub-d to a "fluid" sub-d. You'd just have a non-
| working connection from both sides.
|
| It's similar to many devices having RJ-45 serial console ports,
| that look like network ports, and if you accidentally connect
| the wrong cable to it, nothing bad happens.
|
| On the other hand, I could really see hybrid connectors as a
| solution, i.e. have 4 electrical pins and 5 fluid pins. That
| way you could have some signalling between the devices and not
| start pushing fluid through the tubes unless a "correct" device
| is attached.
| dekhn wrote:
| The fluids contain charges and salts, I could see all sorts
| of corrosion and shorting damage.
| actionfromafar wrote:
| I think the Borg used that.
| yuubi wrote:
| if a pin expects rs232, and you give it 120v ac, or saline,
| dodslaser wrote:
| Why not both?
| kube-system wrote:
| > One of the key barriers to the widespread adoption of
| microfluidic technology outside of specialized research
| laboratories (e.g. in clinical settings) is that microfluidic
| devices are often complex to operate.
|
| If their goal is to make something for clinical applications,
| having an unexpectedly non-working connection could be a
| problem. Non-"standard" RJ45 and DB9 connections are
| _notorious_ for confusing end users.
| nyanpasu64 wrote:
| We're fast approaching HDMI to garden hose connectors in real
| life.
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