Microfluidic flow control
Controlling microfluidic fluid flow can be crucial for many biological assays, chemical analysis, and material synthesis applications. Microfluidics is the technology that controls liquids at the micro scale where laminar flow dominates. Its pattern predictability and low mixing capabilities allow researchers to perform complex liquid manipulations at a very precise rate.
Different pumping systems can generate various flow profiles, each with unique characteristics suited to specific experimental requirements. Steady flows are useful for applications requiring high precision while pulsatile flows can mimic physiological systems. Choosing the right one depends on your end goal.
At the MIC, we develop microfluidic flow control with the end user as the guiding star. You can see some examples of our recent developments below:
Caterpillar, the modular and incubator-friendly pump for Thor
An incubator-friendly pressure-driven pump that does not require an external compressed-air source, the Caterpillar is modular and ideal for organ-on-chip experiments.
It provides a range of flow profiles and flow rates, increasing the possibilities of mimicking physiological systems without penalizing precision.
It was developed in the frame of the Thor project to continuously perfuse brain organotypic cultures inside the incubator (GA no. 101099719).
Beetle, the gas-keeping pump for incubator-independent work for Tumor LN-on-Chip
Sometimes we need to think outside the box, or rather, outside the CO2 incubator. The Beetle was designed to help you do exactly that.
This pressure-driven pump can be connected to any pre-mixed gas bottle (95% air/5% CO2, for example) and it will pressurize your liquid with it without altering the gas composition. Why is it different from other pressure-driven pumps? Because most pressure-driven pumps mix the gas input with atmospheric air, thus the gas composition pressurizing your liquid is actually unknown.
If you are not working with cell biology and don’t need a CO2 incubator, but your experiments require precise gas input, this is your pump.
The Beetle was initially developed in the frame of the Tumor-LN-on-chip project. The first version of this technology was validated by our collaborators from the National Technical University of Athens, who successfully cultured Lewis Lung Carcinoma cells outside the incubator for 16 days. You can see our joint results in the Lymph-node on chip pack (GA no. 953234).
A second version of this technology, with improved gas efficiency, compact integration and pH monitoring add-on is now under development for the Bio-HhOST project, to ensure the long term culture of brain organoids by our collaborators from the University of Trento (GA no. 101130747).
If you want to know more about it or the projects it supports, just follow the links!
Minipump, the compact and incubator-friendly pump for BioProS
If you have a crowded brain and CO2 incubator, simplicity and small footprint are the words of the day!
The Minipump acts similarly to a peristaltic pump, with 1/10 of the size and considerably more precision. It has one way in, one way out, a screen to control everything and it fits on the palm of your hand.
The minipump was developed in the frame of project BioProS to recirculate media in a compact setup. It is part of one of the sections of the industrial process for virus production and detection, as low footprint was one of the main requirements of the future platform conceived by Fraunhofer IPA. As a bonus, we made it incubator-friendly to cover a larger range of uses for this pump (GA no. 101070120).
Galileo, the next generation flow sensor
Wide range of flow rates without having to buy several flow sensors? That’s only one of Galileo’s upsides. We have separated the electronics of the flow path, so you keep the same base and only change the sensing cartridges.
It also detects when something is wrong inside the flow sensor, alerting you of possible clogging. Moreover, the technology is the most precise and stable from 0.01 µL/min to 30 mL/min.
Too good to be true? All of that is possible because of a brand new technology we developed to address common issues of flow sensor users worldwide. This technology was funded by the EIC Transition GA no. 101113098.