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Automated Preparation of Ultra-Precise Chemical Solutions.

Project description

High-precision dispensing solution ensures properly diluted chemicals

Manually mixing concentrated chemicals with water is a common practice but is time-consuming and prone to human errors. Current automated solutions typically employ pipetting robots, but the level of precision, accuracy and repeatability they provide is often insufficient for certain applications. The EU-funded Cal-Mate project has helped Ireland-based company PolyPico Technologies to develop advanced microdrop dispensing technology that outperforms most conventional pneumatic, piston, syringe or valve-based dispensing systems in terms of precision, accuracy and minimum dispensable volume. PolyPico’s liquid dispensing solution is user-friendly, cost-effective and uses disposable fluid cartridges that help eliminate cross contamination as well as the need for cleaning equipment, while also enabling rapid fluid changeover. Properly diluted chemicals are important for safety and for ensuring effective and consistent outcomes.

Objective

There is a need in the lifesciences and industry to create very precise dilution concentrations of chemicals. In general, such dilutions are prepared manually by skilled technicians and scientists and this process of preparing dilution concentrations can consume many hours per week. Furthermore, as with many manual process requiring a high level of skill and concentration, the creation of dilution concentrations is prone to human error and it can be difficult to reliably determine the degree of such errors.
Laboratory instrumentation does exist, which may assist in the creation of such dilutions, however the level of precision and accuracy, which is achievable with existing commercial solutions, is somewhat limited. This limitation is primarily due to the fundamental constraints of the underlying methodology used, which is generally positive displacement. Current automated solutions generally employ pipetting robots, which have a precision, at best, in the region of 500nl. Many applications require a level of precision, accuracy and repeatability, which is well beyond the capabilities of existing pipette based methodologies. Often multiple dilutions are used to achieve the required dilution concentration, which can waste the original stock chemicals, in addition to valuable time.
PolyPico Technologies unique microdrop dispensing technology can dispense reagents with ultrahigh levels of precision and accuracy in the picolitlre volume range. To serve this unmet need PolyPico will offer a fully integrated automated system to prepare dilution concentrations for a broad range of applications. The instrument will incorporate PolyPico’s patented picolitre micro-drop dispensing technology.

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

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SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-EIC-SMEInst-2018-2020

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Coordinator

POLY-PICO TECHNOLOGIES LTD
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 50 000,00
Address
INNOVATION HOUSE, BALLYBRIT BUSINESS PARK
H91X4AY Galway
Ireland

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SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Ireland Northern and Western West
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 71 429,00
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