Microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip technology
Microfluidics is the fast-growing technology behind many of today’s groundbreaking medical innovations. The technology facilitates the flow of liquids inside micrometre-size channels, enabling medical devices to be smaller and have more precise control.
Our expertise in the field
ITL has many years of experience in the design and development of microfluidic chips, cartridges and their associated instruments and we can develop and manufacture complex microfluidic chips for a number of applications.
Our expert team can also design on-instrument custom fluid pump mechanisms for moving and mixing chemicals within in vitro diagnostic devices.
With nearly 40 years of industry experience, our track record makes us the right partner to incorporate microfluidic devices into your instrument.
From lab-based instruments to handheld devices
To give you some background, we originally started off developing large, lab-based instruments with wet lines and bottled reagents like these:
Now, many of our projects are based on newer, smaller technologies including point-of-care devices and microfluidics chips:
Function | Experience examples | |
Sample Collection | - By finger prick - From a tube - Various sample types, blood, urine etc. - Sample loading methods |
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Pumping | - Peristaltic - Air pressure - Syringe pumps |
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Reagent Storage | - Wet and dry storage - Blisters - Tanks |
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Mixers | - Active stirrers - Passive flow patterns |
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Valves | - One-way valves - Active valves - External actuators |
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Heaters | - Hot blocks - Peltiers for heating and cooling - Air heating |
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Detectors | - Optical - Electrical - Fluorescence - Spectroscopic - Sensors |
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Waste Containment | - Pouches - Vented tanks |
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Dispensing | - Nozzles - Microlitre droplets - Steady stream (without spray) - Clean shut-off |
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Labelling | - Barcodes - Product ID - Patient ID |
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Applications:
- Portable point-of-care diagnostic devices
- Laboratory diagnostic devices using dry instruments and single use disposables
- Instruments with closed containment of samples and reactions to prevent contamination and carryover
- Lab-on-a-chip devices
- DNA-based tests including amplification and detection
- Immunoassays using small sample volumes
Our Recent Microfluidics projects
Head over to our Vivacta case study to see how we developed and prototyped a Point-of-Care diagnostic device and microfluidic cartridge.
Speak to our experts
If you are interested in applying microfluidics technology to your medical device, please get in touch.
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