Abstract

From Microfluidic Components to a true Lab-on-a-Chip - Modular Approaches for Integrated Microfluidics

Holger Becker, Chief Scientific Officer, microfluidic ChipShop GmbH

Microfluidics has developed from a “technology looking for a problem” to a true enabling technology in almost any new product development in diagnostics and the life sciences. In recent years, one of the early promises in the field, the complete integration of a more or less complex analytical workflow on a single consumable, has become reality. However the development process is still characterized by complexity which translates into long development times, residual technological risk and resulting cost. In order to streamline the development process and effectively utilize resources, we have developed a toolbox strategy. This approach employs a modular toolbox comprising generic functional modules which can be combined in a Lego-like fashion in order to rapidly conduct proof-of-concept experiments without the need to generate custom designed microfluidic devices. We have extended this approach also to instrumentation hardware for these early-stage experiments. Examples for both devices and instrumentation from a variety of application fields will be presented in the talk.