Are you currently facing long drug development cycles, difficulty in protein expression and purification, or challenges in high-throughput screening? Creative Biolabs' Integrated Microfluidic System Development Service helps you accelerate drug discovery and obtain high-quality protein assay data through advanced chip-based automation and miniaturization technology.
Contact our team to get an inquiry now!
Background
Integrated microfluidic systems, also known as lab-on-a-chip technologies, represent a paradigm shift in biomolecular analysis. These miniaturized devices combine multiple laboratory functions onto a single chip, allowing for the precise control and manipulation of fluids at the microliter or nanoliter scale. For protein assays, this technology offers an advanced platform to overcome the limitations of conventional methods like ELISA or Western blotting, which are often time-consuming, resource-intensive, and require large sample volumes.
Fig. 1 An integrated microfluidic platform for protein post-translational analysis (IMPA).1,4
The core principle involves fabricating microchannels on a substrate (e.g., glass, polymer), where reagents and samples can be mixed, reacted, and analyzed in a highly controlled microenvironment. This miniaturization and integration not only conserves valuable samples and reagents but also significantly enhances reaction kinetics and signal-to-noise ratios, leading to higher sensitivity and faster results. Key applications include immunoassays, protein digestion for mass spectrometry, and cell-based protein expression studies. These systems are especially valuable for analyzing complex protein mixtures found in clinical samples like blood plasma or serum.
Applications
The multifunctionality and operational efficacy of our consolidated microengineered platforms enable diverse implementation across pharmaceutical development, diagnostic applications, and basic scientific investigation.
Pharmaceutical Development
Expedite therapeutic candidate screening, enzymatic kinetic profiling, and protein interaction studies through assay automation and miniaturization, permitting substantially greater throughput than traditional approaches.
Clinical Diagnostics & Point-of-Care (POCT)
Create swift, precise, and field-deployable diagnostic tools for identifying biomarkers associated with oncological, infectious, or cardiovascular pathologies. Our technology facilitates on-location analysis of minimal-volume patient specimens, supporting accelerated clinical decision-making.
Proteomic Investigations
Support high-resolution protein characterization and quantitation by consolidating preparatory stages—including on-chip proteolytic cleavage and separation—with mass spectrometric detection.
Protein Functional Studies
Permit examination of protein activity, conformational dynamics, and post-translational alterations within regulated microenvironments, yielding novel perspectives on cellular mechanisms.
What We Can Offer
Creative Biolabs is a full-service provider, offering a comprehensive suite of products and services to support your microfluidics project from start to finish.
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Custom Microfluidic Chip Fabrication: We design and fabricate bespoke microfluidic chips using a variety of materials and techniques tailored to your specific application.
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One-Stop Microfluidic Solution: We provide an end-to-end service, handling everything from initial consultation and design to chip fabrication, system integration, and final validation.
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Microfluidic Chip Products: We offer a range of pre-designed microfluidic chips for common applications to provide a quick and cost-effective starting point.
Leverage our specialized benefits—Request a quotation today
Workflow
Why Choose Us
Choosing Creative Biolabs means partnering with a team of experts dedicated to overcoming your most complex protein analysis challenges. Our deep expertise in both biology and engineering allows us to create solutions that are not only innovative but also practical and reliable. We offer distinct advantages that translate directly into better outcomes for your research and development.
Key Advantages
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Exceptional Sensitivity and Precision: Our integrated systems achieve detection limits that are superior to traditional methods by precisely controlling fluid dynamics and sample-reagent interactions at the microscale. Published Data.
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High-Throughput and Automation: Our platforms are designed to process hundreds of samples simultaneously, significantly accelerating screening and analysis cycles with minimal user intervention.
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Minimal Sample and Reagent Consumption: Our technology operates with microliter or even nanoliter volumes, drastically reducing the cost and effort of working with valuable or limited samples.
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Customization and Flexibility: Unlike off-the-shelf products, our service is tailored to your unique research needs, from the chip's material and design to the integration of specific detection methods.
Published Data
Fig 2. Design and strategy toward protein degradation on-chip.2,4
In a study, researchers developed a microfluidic platform named "pDOC" (protein degradation on chip) to analyze protein degradation in cell-free extracts. This system was designed to address the limitations of conventional, labor-intensive methods like gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting. The core of the experiment involved immobilizing target proteins—specifically Securin-GFP and p27-GFP—onto a microfluidic chip surface. These proteins were then exposed to cell extracts to initiate degradation. By continuously monitoring the fluorescent signal from the GFP tags, the researchers were able to quantify the protein degradation over time. The results demonstrated that the pDOC platform could successfully and quantitatively assay protein degradation with high throughput, using minute amounts of reagents. This proved the system is a sensitive, multiplexed, and fast alternative to classic degradation assays, with a much higher efficiency for biomedical and translational research.
FAQs
Q: What types of proteins and sample matrices are compatible with these microfluidic systems?
A: These systems are highly versatile and can be designed to analyze a wide array of proteins, from therapeutic antibodies and diagnostic biomarkers to enzymes and other recombinant proteins. Their design allows for effective analysis of both simple, purified protein solutions and highly complex biological matrices like cell lysates, plasma, and serum by incorporating on-chip sample preparation steps.
Q: What are the core scientific advantages of microfluidic protein analysis over conventional methods?
A: The fundamental scientific advantages stem from miniaturization. By performing assays within microchannels, diffusion distances are shortened, which significantly accelerates reaction kinetics and reduces assay time. The high surface-area-to-volume ratio also leads to enhanced signal-to-noise ratios, resulting in superior sensitivity and lower detection limits. Additionally, the precise control over fluid flow at the microscale minimizes sample and reagent consumption while increasing reproducibility.
Q: How are variations in sample complexity and analyte concentration handled by the system design?
A: System designs are engineered to manage these challenges. We can integrate features such as on-chip sample pre-concentration to enrich low-abundance analytes before detection. For samples with a wide range of concentrations, the system can be configured with a detection module that has a broad dynamic range or can employ parallel assays to quantify both high and low-abundance proteins accurately.
Q: Can these systems be adapted for different assay formats, such as immunoassays or enzymatic assays?
A: Yes, the core microfluidic platform is a highly flexible foundation. By changing the surface functionalization within the microchannels—for example, immobilizing specific capture antibodies for an immunoassay—the system can be tailored to a different assay format. Similarly, integrating a micro-reactor with an immobilized enzyme allows for precise control of enzymatic reactions, making the technology highly adaptable for a variety of biochemical applications.
Q: What technical considerations go into designing a microfluidic chip for a specific protein assay?
A: The design process is a collaborative effort that relies on several key technical considerations. This includes selecting the optimal chip material, such as glass for its optical transparency or a polymer for low-cost mass production. The channel geometry is precisely engineered to control specific fluidic behaviors, such as mixing or droplet generation. Finally, the chip must integrate with a suitable detection modality, whether it's fluorescence, electrochemistry, or another method, to ensure the analytical output meets the requirements of the assay.
At Creative Biolabs, our Integrated Microfluidic System Development Service is more than just a product; it's a partnership dedicated to accelerating your scientific breakthroughs. By providing customized, high-performance systems for protein analysis, we empower you to achieve rapid, reliable results with minimal resources. Our expertise, combined with our commitment to innovation and client success, makes us the ideal partner for your next project.
Featured Services
Feature Products
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CAT No
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Material
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Product Name
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Application
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MFCH-001
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Glass
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Herringbone Microfluidic Chip
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Processing samples and reagents in Nucleic acid analysis, blood Analysis, immunoassays and point-of-care diagnostics.
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MFMM-0723-JS12
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Glass
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Double Emulsion Droplet Chip
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Our double emulsion microfluidic chip, incorporating localized modifications and a classic flow-focusing structure, is specifically designed to generate stable and uniform double emulsion droplets.
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MFCH-005
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PDMS
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3D Cell Culture Chip-Neuron
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Neuron cell culture and study of axon transport, axon protein synthesis, axon damage/regeneration, signal transduction of axon to somatic signal.
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MFCH-009
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PDMS
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Synvivo-Idealized Co-Culture Network Chips (IMN2 radial)
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SynBBB 3D Blood Brain Barrier Model/SynRAM 3D Inflammation Model/SynTumor 3D Cancer Model/SynTox 3D Toxicology Model
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MFMM1-GJS4
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COC
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BE-Doubleflow Standard
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Studying circulating particles, cell interactions and simple organ on chip system construction.
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MFMM1-GJS6
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COC
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BE-Transflow Custom
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Used to construct cell interface or Air-Liquid interface (ALI) to study more complex culture systems.
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Click here to Explore our complete product catalog.
Consult our specialists for detailed insights and project-specific deliberations.
References
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Noach-Hirsh, Meirav et al. "Integrated Microfluidics for Protein Modification Discovery." Molecular & cellular proteomics : MCP vol. 14,10 (2015): 2824-32. https://doi.org/10.1074/mcp.m115.053512
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Brio, Lev et al. "Affinity microfluidics enables high-throughput protein degradation analysis in cell-free extracts." Communications biology vol. 5,1 1147. 28 Oct. 2022, https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-022-04103-3
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Fergola, Andrea et al. "Droplet Generation and Manipulation in Microfluidics: A Comprehensive Overview of Passive and Active Strategies." Biosensors vol. 15,6 345. 29 May. 2025, https://doi.org/10.3390/bios15060345
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Distributed under Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification.
