Abstract

Droplet-Based Microfluidics: Towards Ultra-Hight Throughput Experimentation

Andrew J deMello, Principal Investigator, ETH Zurich

Biologists and clinicians typically do not have access to microfluidic technology because they do not have the engineering expertise or equipment required to fabricate and/or operate microfluidic devices. Furthermore, the present commercialization path for microfluidic devices is usually restricted to high-volume applications in order to recover the large investment needed to develop the plastic molding processes. We are developing microfluidic devices through stereolithography, a form of 3D printing, in order to make microfluidic technology readily available via the web to biomedical scientists. Our lab presently focuses on developing 3D-printable microdevices that facilitate the advancement of basic neuroscience and translational cancer applications. The lab's long-term mission is to make microfluidic devices as intuitive to use as smartphones and make them easily available to clinicians in order to enable novel cancer diagnostics and therapies.