| This thesis reports a novel integrative way of studying enzyme kinetics, one of the key building blocks of systems biology, using digital microfluidics as a novel platform. EWOD (ElectroWetting-On Dielectric)-based digital microfluidics chips were successfully designed and fabricated for the experiment. Machine vision-based droplet control was demonstrated as a novel way of controlling droplet motion; it drives the droplet in the desired direction as the droplet is recognized by computer vision. A colorimetric enzyme reaction-based glucose assay kit was utilized for the enzyme kinetics study. Enzymatic reactions were initiated by merging two droplets of interest on the chip, and real-time high-throughput imaging was done for the measurement of changing color. Computer simulation based on Michaelis-Menten enzyme kinetics were carried out using MATLAB SimBiology, and the result was compared with that of the experiment. |
