Shaorong Liu

Research Keywords: 
development and application of microfluidic systems, bio-separation, bio-analysis, analytical instrumentation 

Our research is focused primarily on capillary and microfabricated systems for bioanalysis. We are especially interested in developing and implementing new separation technologies onto capillary and/or microfluidic devices for DNA and protein analysis. Current active projects include: (1) Development of a hybrid chip-based and automated two-dimensional electrophoresis platform for high-speed, high-throughput and sensitive protein analysis. Our target is to separate more than 10,000 proteins in one run in less than two hours. (2) Narrow capillary for DNA separations in gel-free separations. With a nanocapillary we can separate DNA from a few base pairs to hundreds of thousands of base pairs in a single run. It can be an improved alternative technique for Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis. This project is aimed at identifying a single bacterium for infectious diseases. (3) Nanomaterials: Fabrication, investigation and application of liquid behavior and mass transport in/through nanochannels. We have discovered the ion-enrichment and ion-depletion effect at micro-nanochannel interfaces. We have invented a new separation technique based on unique distributions of ions in nanoscale capillaries — the Nanochannel chromatography. We have developed a nanochannel membrane for fuel cell applications. (4) Inventing new micropumps for lab-on-chip devices. We have developed a flow battery or pressure power source that can be stacked to produce pressures of more than a thousand psi. The immediate goal is to integrate such a pressure power source, along with an injection valve and detector, on a microchip for HPLC separations.

Awards & Honors

Regents' Award for Superior Research & Creative Activity/Scholarly Activity, 2013, University of Oklahoma