MicroTAS 2023 | 15-19 October 2023

An exciting opportunity is available for exhibiting and sponsoring companies eager to contribute more to the Conference on the Industrial Stage!

These 20 minute presentations should focus on issues of broader interest to this large audience, such as:

Scientific and technological challenges which have/ had to be solved
Design and application-related solutions in product development
Experiences learned in transitioning scientific results to a commercial product
Manufacturing solutions for microfluidic-enabled products
Market experiences
Performance of microfluidics-enabled products in comparison to conventional solutions

Each presentation will be listed on the website and in the Conference program.

Exhibiting companies interested in participating should complete the contract on page 6 of the Exhibitor/Sponsorship Prospectus.

Participating Companies

Presentation Schedule

Monday, 16 October

Industrial Stage 1a
Title: CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPING HIGH-PRECISION FLUID MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS BASED ON STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGIES FOR LIFE SCIENCES AND DIAGNOSTICS
Affiliation: Fluigent
Presenter: Raphael Kassab
Time: 12:25 - 12:45

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In the highly dynamic environment of Life Sciences and diagnostics - where new applications and systems are regularly being developed - the technologies used play a decisive role in determining the success of an application or a protocol. Fluid management and measurement are part of those decisive parameters, specifically in microfluidics.

Yet bringing highly disruptive technologies into reliable products is not an easy path and several challenges need to be handled along the way.

During this presentation, you will discover the main challenges faced when developing a fluid management product based on unique technologies dedicated to microfluidics, and how Fluigent tackles them through strong R&D development and industrialization steps. This will be illustrated through real case studies from our latest product developments, including non-invasive flow sensing.

Industrial Stage 1b
Title: WHERE PHOTONICS MEET MICROFLUIDICS - CONSUMABLES FOR LIFE SCIENCES MADE OF GLASS
Affiliation: IMT Microtechnologies
Presenter: Tobias Bauert
Time: 12:45 - 13:05

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Fluid manipulation on the micro-scale allows new applications in various fields including life sciences and diagnostics. Glass sometimes is the only applicable material due to limiting optical specifications or very harsh operating conditions. By harvesting the power of CMOS manufacturing technologies with non-CMOS compatible materials on glass, cost effective consumables for life sciences become reality in all volumes from prototyping to large scale manufacturing. At the overlap of semiconductor manufacturing technologies and microfluidics a multitude of added functionality can be incorporated into glass chips, enabling a new class of consumables for life sciences and diagnostic applications.

Industrial Stage 1c
Title: STANDARDIZATION LEADING MICROFLUIDICS TOWARDS LABORATORY ROUTINE
Affiliation: microfluidic ChipShop GmbH
Presenter: Claudia Gärtner
Time: 13:05 - 13:25

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In the life sciences, medicine and diagnostics, there is currently a strong trend towards miniaturization and functional integration. The key technology for this trend is microfluidics. Standard dimensions are required to ensure reproducibility in the application. In this presentation, standard formats, spacings, and interfaces of microfluidic chips will be introduced. This standardization allows microfluidics to be fully integrated into daily laboratory routines.

Tuesday, 17 October

Industrial Stage 2a
Title: BIOCOMPATIBLE, HIGH- RESOLUTION, 3D PRINTING IN THE PRESENCE OF LIVING CELLS
Affiliation: UpNano GmbH
Presenter: Henrik Akesson
Time: 12:45 - 13:05

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In this seminar, UpNano GmbH will present their NanoOne 3D printing technology and highlight several recent case studies where the machine has been used to extend what is currently achievable in high-resolution manufacturing. NanoOne is unique from other commercial 2PP systems because of the significantly higher speed, piezo precision stage and mesoscale build volume. This talk will feature recent work in bioprinting whereby 2PP was used to generate microvascular structures directly on-chip. It will also highlight a study where 2PP was used to build high-purity conductive platinum nanostructures, which applications in mictroheathers, thermocouple sensors and Lab-on-a-Chip systems. Future work to fully-integrate connectors into complex 3D-printed microfluidic systems and the microfactory concept will also be discussed.

Industrial Stage 2b
Title: TWO-PHOTON-POLYMERIZATION AS THE KEY ENABLING TECHNOLOGY FOR LIFE SCIENCES
Affiliation: Nanoscribe GmbH & Co. KG
Presenter: Alexander Legant
Time: 13:05 - 13:25

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The achievements of the two-photon polymerization based world’s highest resolution 3D micro-printer will be presented. The device offers a defined control on the feature sizes and resolutions ranging from nanometer to micrometer scale and accessible print area of ~ cm2. Subsequently, the printed structures can be transferred into metal, semiconductors or ceramics by electro-plating or coating techniques. This versatility has opened new frontiers in the field of microfluidics, photonics, biomedical engineering, plasmonics, micro-optics, mechanical metamaterials, biomimetics, life sciences, and micro-robotics. All this is made possible by the advancements in the software and hardware design of the printer that enables the realization of ideas only with few clicks. The decade of trusted use of this technology has found its way in labs like Imperial College London, Harvard University, University College London, ETH Zurich, University of Oxford and to several industrial applications as well. This presentation will therefore cover the latest advances utilizing this art of 3D microprinting that has made small things matter across the globe.

Industrial Stage 2c
Title: A GENERIC MICROFLUIDIC CONNECTION SYSTEM BECOMES A REALITY
Affiliation: The Microfluidics Association
Presenter: Henne van Heeren
Time: 13:25 - 13:45

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Some of the biggest technical hurdles in the assembly and performance of microfluidic devices are the incompatibility and lack of reliability of microfluidic chip-to-world liquid interfaces. The development of a new connection system, supported by over 30 companies and other organizations led by the Microfluidics Association, offers a reliable, low-cost generic solution to this problem. This new system was designed for conditions most commonly used in microfluidics: pressures below 2 bar, a temperature range of 4-50 °C and aqueous flow of 1-100 µl/min. The system is designed such that the same components can be used in a manifold, essential to moving from laboratory experimentation to industry mass-production. A roadmap towards tubeless connections, extending the range of components that meet this standard and increasing the application/market area by making the connection system suitable for other solvents, higher pressures, higher flows, and a larger temperature range is under consideration.

Wednesday, 18 October

Industrial Stage 3a
Title: PRIMO, BIOENGINNEERING TOOL FOR 2D AND 3D CELLULAR MODELS
Affiliation: Alvéole - Sygnis
Presenter: Matthieu Opitz
Time: 12:05 - 12:25

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Alveole presents PRIMO, a bioengineering UV-projection tool that allows the creation of complex in vitro cellular microenvironments for more relevant and reproducible 2D & 3D cell culture models. PRIMO was initially developed to functionalize cell culture substrates by micropatterning biomolecules for controlled cellular adhesion, however with our recent innovation it can also be used for 3D models. Being the foremost tool for 3D cell culture with the structuration of hydrogels, it can reproducibly create spheroids and organoids with precise control over the shape and size . The flexibility of PRIMO accelerates the cumbersome process of photolithography, making it fast and easy to prototype microfluidic devices or organs-on-a-chip, and going even a step further with the grayscale photolithography potential. Taken altogether, these applications make PRIMO a unique and powerful tool to customize novel and complex 3D cellular models.

Industrial Stage 3b
Title: MULTI-ELECTRODE ARRAYS FOR CMOS BIOSENSORS
Affiliation: X-FAB MEMS Foundry GmbH
Presenter: Christine Dufour
Time: 12:25 - 12:45

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Multi-electrode arrays (MEAs), for the characterization of complex biological systems, enable innovative solutions for pharmacological studies and individual medicine, as well as for food quality control and gas sensing. X-FAB offers a noble metal standard process module targeted at lab-on-chip applications, which allows to combine dense arrays of electrodes directly on top of CMOS devices. The electrodes at the surface of the silicon die act as electro-chemical transducers between the analyte and the electronic circuitry. They can be further functionalized for customized applications. The CMOS circuit locally controls the reaction, detects, and processes small signals with very high sensitivity. Using proven silicon technologies, the arrays of electrodes are manufactured in a reproducible and cost-efficient manner. Additional microfluidic layers can be deposited and patterned on top of the CMOS based wafer to enable integration of the biosensors in a microfluidic cartridge or customized package.