Microfluidics / Lab-on-a-Chip

The revolutionizing potential of BioMEMS
and Lab-on-a-Chip systems, based on
microfluidics technology, is widely
recognized in Life Sciences and in Industrial
Process Control. Typical benefits
of microfluidics are the reduced costs
and consumption of reagents, faster
mixing and heating, better control
of processes, and the potentially high
degree of automation.

Applications

As a result, innovative R&D equipment based on microfluidics is introduced rapidly. In pharmacy and genomics, for example, experiments can be performed by thousands in parallel, resulting in more efficient discovery of new drugs and the accelerated unraveling of the human genome. In fine chemistry, the optimization of process parameters and production of small quantities is
performed in the very same micro reactor system, bypassing the expensive up scaling stages. Other emerging applications are in instrumentation for food quality and safety detection and in medicine.

Modular integration

A key factor for the successful breakthrough of Lab-on-a-Chip technology in products will be the ability to combine all the functions and components in a user friendly, compact system. In order not to waste all benefits of microfluidics, samples need to betransported from one component to the other without entering the macro-world. In this way, processes like cell lycing, sample amplification and dilution, sample cleaning, fluorescent labeling, process monitoring and optical detection can be incorporated
in one and the same compact system.

MATAS

MATAS, developed by LioniX, is a hybrid and modular integration platform, which enables the building of these complete systems. It uses standardized building blocks (modules), to be placed in a combined electronic and fluidic circuit board. The system is designed and fabricated using standard design rules, CAD-tools and fabrication technologies, resulting in the shortest possible product
development time. All the modules can be tested and exchanged just as quickly as resistors and IC’s on a printed circuit board.

Part of the design philosophy is that the platform is open to a great variety of components from (commercial) suppliers and that it has a freedom in material choice.

References

Projects in this area are being executed for big organizations such as ESA, Netherlands Aerospace Agency and Stork (capillary electrophoresis in space), Siemens and Unilever, and for smaller innovative companies and start-ups. Currently, MATAS is being
applied in the Dutch public-private project ‘Process-on-a-Chip’, in which the Dutch fine chemistry industry is involved.