Bio-compatible electrostrictive smart materials for future generation of medical micro-electro- mechanical systems

Project Information

BioWings

Grant agreement ID: 801267

DOI

10.3030/801267

Project closed

EC signature date 3 May 2018

Start date 1 June 2018

End date 30 November 2022

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)

Total cost

€ 2 995 855,75

EU contribution

€ 2 995 855,75

Coordinated by

DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET
Denmark

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - BioWings (Bio-compatible electrostrictive smart materials for future generation of medical micro-electro- mechanical systems)

Reporting period: 2020-12-01 to 2022-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The past years research in the acoustofluidics field has rendered a vast number of important medical diagnostic applications. With the global threat of the increasing level of antibiotic resistant bacteria strains, rapid and accurate identification of pathogens is key to combat the accelerating frequency of sepsis-induced deaths worldwide.

Here, BioWings project has made a breakthrough based on progress in advanced thin film material science, that has an immediate impact on industrial development within the field of acoustofluidics. The major results of this project include both the technological and the fundamental aspects

Technological:

1. We have developed a technology for films of Al0.75Sc0.25N. This technology is comparable with the best lead-based thin films, which are, in contrast to Al0.75Sc0.25N poorly compatible with Si-microfabrication.
2. We have developed a state-of-the-art model for describing bulk- or thin-film-actuated acoustofluidic devices. The results of this model have led to the design of new acoustofluidic operations using thin film ultrasound transducers (Patented in BioWings).
3. New type of actuating membrane based on CGO was design, fabricated and tested successfully. The long-term behaviour of the membrane was evaluated and confirmed.
4. We have successfully demonstrated that the new thin film devices were able to acoustically focus blood cells for determining the hematocrit.

Fundamental:

1. We discovered a new concept to engineer electrostrictive materials using artificial interfaces. For the first time we show that ultrathin oxide multilayers of CGO yield an extraordinary electrostriction that outperforms any reported electrostrictive materials (organic or inorganic compounds) (Published in Nature 2022).
2. We reported a new concept to engineer non-piezoelectric materials into piezoelectric materials using external field. For the first time we show that centrosymmetric non-piezoelectric materials yield an extraordinary piezoelectricity that outperforms any reported commercial piezoelectric materials (Published in Science 2022).

Altogether, the outcome of the BioWings project yields a disruptive breakthrough in the development of new lead-free thin film actuators as well as a paradigm shift in acoustofluidic component design and manufacturing. BioWings generated two spin-off EIC Transition projects: Prisma (prisma-horizon.eu) and Acousome (acousome-horizon.eu).

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The key objectives of the BioWings project are dealing with exploring the fundamental boundaries of the electrostriction phenomenon in ceria, understanding the mechanism underlying it, and defining the methodology to design and implement actuators with the characteristics required by the specific medical applications. During this reported period, we have implemented and carried out activities to achieve the project objectives and deliver results and outputs as described in the project proposal. Monitoring and control of the project implementation to keep the project on track and achieve the results of the project were carried out through monthly meetings between the WPs, and 6 months meeting of the whole consortium. During this period, DTU who is the project coordinator and responsible for the regular monitoring of the project, ensure that the partner contributes actively to the project as described in the project description and track any deviation and redirect activities to get back on track.

We have delivered a detailed report which includes information about activities carried out, outputs delivered, and expenditure incurred. Here we will only describe selected important results achieved during this reporting period:

1. Dissemination and communications: website, different social media, participating in 4 different international events to promote Biowings, published scientific publications
2. Discovered new electrodes with excellent mechanical integrity
3. Extend our understanding of how to control and tune the frequency of the materials via doping
4. Develop a generic model for 3D numerical simulation of the acoustofluidic device
5. Developed a protocol for fabrication of MEMS-based CGO
6. Discover the relationship between the film thickness and the ability to excite different resonances in the material
7. Designed different new acoustofluidic separation devices

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

BioWings will have a three-fold impact at research, industrial and societal level: on one side, it opens a new path for electrostrictive materials and prepares the ground for investigating other highly defective oxides’ properties in magnetostriction, ferroelectricity, and electro-optical coupling. At the industrial level, BioWings will validate a new and more effective, biocompatible and environmentally sustainable concept of MEMS, for its subsequent transition to the industrial stage. In turn, this is poised to open a range of new applications benefitting the society, like implantable devices like cochlear implants, artificial retinas, neural interfaces, implantable blood pressure sensors, and drug delivery systems, or novel micro-nano biosystems for diagnostics, just to name only those relating to the healthcare domain.

With regard to the specific project outcomes, the possibility to realise integrated biocompatible thin micropumps with BioWings materials has been confirmed and will be further explored in the frame of the EIC Transition project called PRISMA started mid 2022 (https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/how-to-participate/org-details/999999999/project/101057436/program/43108390/details).


The anticipated and confirmed step-change in acoustophoretic systems validated in the project opens the possibility to realise breakthrough in microfluidic platforms for sensing microorganisms, DNA strands, molecules, viruses and cells. Further technology development will be pursued through the EIC Transition project called AcouSome starting January 2023 (https://acousort.com/the-european-innovation-council-eic-awards-the-acousort-project-acousome-sek-26-million-to-develop-groundbreaking-technology-for-exosome-based-diagnostics/).


With this approach, BioWings achieved the following expected impacts:

Demand-driven innovation: The interaction of scientists with the enterprises grouped in the Industrial Board allowed the scientific group to take into consideration the actual industrial needs and future development strategies yet during the initial development phase, thus overcoming the typical entry barrier of classic “technology push” approaches towards industrial end-users.

Open Innovation eco-system: The above interaction between end-users and scientists enabled the conceptualization of several industrial applications adopting the core technology, which in turn can give rise to the launch of various products in the medium term.

Long-term vision: The expected and actually achieved TRL4 at the end of the project has indeed stirred a host of spin-off innovation projects, aimed to raise the maturity level of the BioWings technology in each specific field of application (3 EIC Transition project 2 of which funded and 3 FET Launchpad projects, all funded).

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