FSRM - Cours: Microfluidic Application Platforms

Microfluidic Application Platforms

course photo

Objectifs du cours

Over a period of roughly two decades, an impressive portfolio of microfluidics-based technologies has emerged. Their potential to miniaturize, automate, integrate and parallelize complex tasks in various fields such as point-of-care diagnostics and research in the life sciences has been clearly identified. However, many potential users are still confused which technologies are really available to solve their particular problems. These problems are often highly user-specific, thus requiring custom-tailored solutions. If such specific developments have to start “from scratch”, they involve an appreciable investment paired with hardly assessable technological risks and long times-to-market, thus scaring off many potential customers or investors.

Beginning with a brief survey of microfluidics, this course describes how these techno-economical barriers can be overcome by the concept of microfluidic application platforms. To allow a cost-efficient and timely development of full-fledged custom solutions, these platforms comprise a set of validated microfluidic and non-microfluidic components, unit operations, design rules, materials, fabrication technologies and development tools. Several examples of microfluidic application platforms are outlined.

Public cible

Researchers, engineers, and business developers with activities or interest in the design, manufacturing, application development or commercialization of microfluidic lab-on-a-chip technologies.

Contenu

Principles of Microfluidics
Business Needs & Platform Concept
Platform Example: Centrifugal Microfluidics (working principles, unit operations & system integration, development tools, materials & fabrication, pros & cons, applications)
Platform: Electrokinetics
Platform: Microfluidic Large Scale Integration
Platform: Droplet Based Microfluidics
Other Platforms

Enseignant(s)

Dr Jens Ducrée, Biomedical Diagnostics Institute, Dublin City University, Ireland. Dr Jens Ducrée is a Principal Investigator for "Microfluidic Platforms” in the Biomedical Diagnostics Institute (BDI). He was recently appointed as the founding director of the newly established Polymer MicroNanoFab at the National Centre for Sensor Research (NCSR).

Before joining DCU in 2008, Dr Ducrée initiated and led the groups "Lab-on-a-Chip Technologies" and the "Lab-on-a-Chip Foundry Service" at the HSG-IMIT in Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany. Since 2005 he has also been a member of faculty at the world renowned Institute for Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK) at the University of Freiburg, Germany.

Dr Ducrée has published more than 40 papers in peer reviewed scientific journals, presented about 50 times at all major international conferences in the field of microfluidic lab-on-a-chip technologies and authored several books and book chapters, among them the best selling market study "FlowMap - Microfluidics Roadmap for the Life Sciences". His application oriented approach is documented by more than 25 patent applications and numerous collaborative RTD projects with industrial partners.

Dr. Ducrée’s main research interests are micro- and nanofluidic lab-on-a-chip technologies and associated polymer fabrication schemes for applications in point-of-care diagnostics, systems biology and the life sciences.