Description du projet
Les diagnostics à base de microfluides deviennent une réalité
La microfluidique fabrique des dispositifs miniaturisés dotés de canaux qui traitent des quantités infimes de liquides. Des avancées dans ce domaine ont permis aux scientifiques de reproduire les processus de laboratoire dans des systèmes de laboratoires sur puce (LOC) qui offrent un meilleur rendement et sont plus rapides. L’objectif du projet PiLOC, financé par l’UE, consiste à aborder la complexité et le coût de fabrication des systèmes LOC en intégrant différentes composantes dans les puces microfluidiques à base de polymères. Cette approche pourrait réduire le coût de fabrication des systèmes LOC tout en préservant leur performance élevée. Plus important, elle ouvrira la voie à l’introduction des systèmes LOC dans les diagnostics cliniques et la pratique.
Objectif
Microfluidics technology has revolutionised key applications like drug development, stem cell research, microbiological analysis, medical diagnosis, personalised medicine and chemical biology, just to name but a few. The progress of microfluidics technology has opened a completely new market for Lab-On-Chip systems (LOC), which are miniaturised devices intended to replicate what happens in a real lab, drastically improving cost efficiency, parallelization, ergonomics, diagnostic speed and sensitivity. Considering that the largest majority of microfluidic chips is made of glass or silicon due to the mature manufacturing process and excellent optical properties, surface stability, solvent compatibility, one question is puzzling the LOC industry: how to deal with the increased complexity of systems required by the biotech industry? At Piemacs, a high tech startup company stemming from the pioneering research activities carried out at the EPFL’s Muralt’s lab, we propose a novel technology for the seamless integration of valves, pumps, injectors made with piezoelectric thin films onto polymer microfluidic chips, thus leading to the next generation low-cost and high performance LOC. This will allow monolithic fabrication of LOC using MEMS technology, benefiting from the advancements in MEMS manufacturing. This project will allow us to validate that the technological and business conditions exist to integrate piezoelectric thin films in polymers instead of glass, paving the way to a completely new and revolutionary application, which can potentially reduce the manufacturing cost of advanced microfluidic chips by two orders of magnitude, moving from hundreds of €/chip of most advanced Si-glass chips to few € of fully integrated polymer chips. This would further boost the adoption of LOC devices in research and clinical practice, also favouring the roll-out in regions of the world where fast and reliable microfluidic diagnostic tests are still not economically viable.
Champ scientifique
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesclassical mechanicsfluid mechanicsmicrofluidics
- engineering and technologyother engineering and technologiesmicrotechnologylab on a chip
- natural scienceschemical sciencespolymer sciences
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcoating and films
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectrical engineeringpiezoelectrics
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
CSA-LSP - Coordination and support action Lump sumCoordinateur
1015 Lausanne
Suisse