Industrialization of Microfluidic Chips
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Microfluidic chips, also known as lab on a chip (LOC) or micro-total-analysis-system (µ-TAS), can concentrate multiple steps of reaction on a small chip, integrate these operations through the size and curvature of the flow channel, micro-valves, cavity design, and ultimately make the whole detection integration miniaturization and automation. Microfluidic chips show significant advantages due to simple production, low cost, portable, easy storage and transportation, simple and fast operation, and they have been applied in single-cell analyses, molecular diagnostics, in vitro tissue models, and many other fields. Therefore, the industrialization of microfluidic chips will become a development trend in the future.
Industrialization Challenges of Microfluidic Chips
Most of the academic work in microfluidics concentrates on applications, and only very few concentrates on the actual manufacturing technologies suited for industrialization. The industrialization of microfluidic chips incorporates the adjustment of manufacturing procedures, the outline of particular surface molecules, stream control framework and so on. Therefore, researchers need to focus more on the challenge of integration, standardization, the economy of scale for mass-market appeal and, perhaps more importantly, the added value to the application of the device.
Industrialization of Microfluidic Chips
The commercialization of microfluidic chips from fundamental research to mass manufacturing is long and tortuous.
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Each microfluidic project requires a custom-designed chip that needs to be manufactured on demand using advanced technologies capable of producing these intricate parts accurately. The most common microfluidic chips include glass, silicon, paper, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The manufacturing and development of microfluidic chips vary on the methods, such as photolithography, micro-thermoforming, micro-injection molding, CNC machining and 3D printing.
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Microfluidic analysis systems include the original continuous flow systems relying on electroosmotic pumping for liquid motion, the large diversity of microarray chips currently in use, and the newer droplet-based devices and segmented flow systems. Microfluidic analysis systems have the potential to achieve faster analysis times, improve automation, consume fewer reagents, gain more information from fewer samples, and significantly increase throughput by running parallel analyses.
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In the future, microfluidic chips will enter a more in-depth basic research, widely expand the application field, and the depth of industrialization of the transition period. With years of experience and advanced microfluidic platforms, Creative Biolabs is continuously optimizing our microfluidic platform to help the industrialization of microfluidic devices. We are dedicated to developing high-quality microfluidic chips for nucleic acid solution, protein solution, small molecule solution, cell solution, immunoassays solution, etc. If you are interested in our services, please do not hesitate to contact us for more detailed information.
Reference
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Law, Huang, et al. " Detection of Circulating Tumor Cell-Related Markers in Gynecologic Cancer Using Microfluidic Devices: A Pilot Study." International Journal of Molecular Sciences 24.3 (2023): 2300.
For Research Use Only. Not For Clinical Use.
