The inaugural MicroTAS video competition, run by microfluidics specialist Dolomite and Lab on a Chip, and supported by the Chemical and Biological Microsystems Society, awarded first prize to an enterprising – and highly creative – entry submitted by Tijmen Hageman from the Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) Europe in collaboration with the University of Twente.
The competition gave delegates pre-registered for MicroTAS 2014, held in San Antonio, Texas, US, the opportunity to win Dolomite microfluidics equipment worth US$2,500 by submitting a fun, artistic, surprising, or simply unusual, scientific or educational short film on micro- or nanofluidics.
The entries were assessed during the event by an international panel of judges.
Hageman received his award and a $2,500 gift certificate to spend on equipment from Dolomite for his short film entitled 'Magnetotactic bacteria', which brought a humorous approach to the science behind the control of magnetically-active bacteria using an external magnetic field.
The winning entry provided a playful demonstration of how, by changing the direction of the field, magnetotactic bacteria can be taught to ‘line dance’ within the channels of a microchip. This has potential applications in areas such as drug delivery, enabling magnetically-active medication to be directed precisely to where it must exert its effect.