Microfluidics

Microfluidics is a base technology for precise liquid handling in microchannels and reaction compartments. It enables the realisation of fundamental operation units for assay miniaturisation, such as:

• Volume definition in the pL to µL range
• On-chip reagent transportation
• Rapid mixing
• Controlled switching
• Separation and enrichment
• Incubation
• Aliquoting
• …

We call these fundamental units “microfluidic unit operations”. Combining these operations, we can establish complicated process chains for complete sample preparation. These process chains may include, for example, blood cell separation, cell lysis, and subsequent extraction and amplification of DNA.

There is a vast variety of possibilities for implementing specific unit operations, making it difficult for an end user to keep track of them. The highest priority in the development of unit operations is their suitability for a specific platform. Therefore our unit operations are designed so that they can be easily combined within a given platform. This allows us to reliably implement assays using inexpensive manufacturing technologies at low development risk. We thus support two platforms among dozens being investigated in the research field:

• The “centrifugal microfluidics” platform, which is suitable for batchwise analysis of samples, can be easily handled by untrained staff, and enables fast point-of-care diagnoses using portable or bench-top devices.
• The “pressure-driven microfluidics” platform, which is advantageous for continuous sample injection and processing, and is suitable for applications such as continuous monitoring of fermentation processes.