EDIT Lab / LSU

Three research directions.

Molecules binding at an engineered electrode. Whole blood changing as it clots. Both of those measured while the sample is moving.

Research

What we work on.

Microfluidic channel with electrodes above and below; red blood cells and platelets flow left to right while a fibrin-rich thrombus builds downstream.
Blood under flow in an electrode-instrumented channel, with thrombus accumulating downstream. Illustration.

Coagulation under flow

Blood coagulation changes under shear, but most clinical coagulation assays are performed under static or near-static conditions. We develop microfluidic sensors that expose blood to controlled flow while continuously measuring its electrical response.

A major application is extracorporeal support. Patients on ECMO or continuous renal replacement therapy can be at risk of both bleeding and circuit thrombosis, while current measurements provide only intermittent information about coagulation. Our goal is to develop sensors that can monitor these changes closer to the circuit and in real time.

  • How does shear rate reshape the electrical signature of clot formation?
  • Can emerging thrombotic changes be detected before they produce measurable circuit dysfunction?
Dense fibrin fibers forming a three-dimensional mesh around red blood cells and activated platelets.
A fibrin network enmeshing red cells and platelets, the structure our measurements track as it forms and contracts. Illustration.

Dielectric sensing of whole blood

The electrical properties of whole blood change as coagulation progresses and cells and fibrin reorganize. We use broadband dielectric measurements to study clot formation, contraction, and structural remodeling beyond conventional clot-time endpoints.

We also study how sensor geometry influences what can be measured. Chamber height, electrode configuration, and sample dimensions can strongly affect sensitivity to contraction. These experiments help distinguish true biological differences from limitations imposed by the sensor itself.

  • Which electrical features map onto contractile behavior, and over what range?
  • How do inflammatory and uremic environments alter contraction independently of clot time?
Gold electrode coated with an imprinted polymer film; shaped cavities sit in the film, one occupied by a matching molecule while differently shaped molecules remain in solution.
An imprinted polymer on a gold electrode: cavities shaped to the target, with non-matching molecules passing by. Illustration.

Electrochemical biosensing

We develop nanomaterial-modified and molecularly imprinted electrodes for detecting circulating biomarkers associated with kidney and cardiovascular disease. Current work focuses on protein-bound uremic toxins that accumulate in chronic kidney disease and are poorly removed by conventional dialysis.

We also apply related sensing approaches to other analytical problems, including chemiresistive ammonia detection and impedance-based characterization of milk adulteration. In each case, the sensor interface and measurement strategy are designed around the target and sample.

  • How can electrode chemistry provide selective detection of uremic toxins in complex biological samples?
  • Can one cartridge report a molecular target and its functional consequence?
Capabilities

What the lab can measure.

Broadband bioelectrical measurement

We run commercial and custom impedance platforms from kilohertz to megahertz, with multiplexed channel switching and repeated sampling, so we get a trajectory for a process instead of one number at the end of it.

Microfluidic models of hemostasis

We set flow, shear, surface chemistry, and coagulation activation independently, which lets us tell a device artifact from a biological effect. Our workflows keep the delay between collection and measurement short.

Sensor and interface engineering

We design capacitive microfluidic sensors, PCB electrode architectures, and nanomaterial-modified electrochemical interfaces. Each one gets its geometry and surface chemistry from the process it has to measure, not from a general-purpose template.

Mechanism-linked analysis

We extract features for clot initiation, fibrin formation, and contraction, then check them against standard coagulation and platelet assays. Where the signal is spread across frequency and time instead of sitting at one point, we use statistical learning to find it.

Platform evolution

ClotChip was introduced during Dr. Maji's doctoral research at Case Western Reserve University, as a microfluidic dielectric sensing platform for whole blood coagulation. That work established that an electrical measurement can capture clinically meaningful changes in hemostasis from a drop-scale sample.

At LSU we have taken that foundation in our own directions: coagulation under controlled flow, blood-contacting extracorporeal circuits, simpler sensor architectures that are easier to manufacture, and electrochemical detection of circulating biomarkers in cardiovascular and kidney disease.

Foundational platform: Maji et al., IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems, 11(6), 1459–1469, 2017.