MNMT-Dublin Symposium
MNMT-Dublin Symposium is a series of events on latest developments of design, manufacturing, metrology, and applications in bio-medical, photonic, optic, and relevant areas organized by UCD Centre of Micro/nano Manufacturing Technology since 2016.
INVITED SPEAKER
Prof Jens Ducrée
Fraunhofer Project Centre for Embedded Bioanalytical Systems at Dublin City University. School of Physical Sciences.
MNMT-Dublin Symposium V: Microfluidics-enabled Bioassay Automation
On November 21st, Prof. J. Ducrée, the founding director of Ireland’s first Fraunhofer Project Centre for Embedded Bioanalytical Systems at Dublin City University (DCU), was invited to give a talk on design for manufacturing for microfluidics-enabled bioassay automation. He holds a Full Professorship of Microsystems in the School of Physical Sciences at DCU. The Fraunhofer centre is a joint initiative by the Science Foundation Ireland and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. He is also an academic member of the National Centre for Sensor Research and the 3U Joint Institute of Global Health, and a principal investigator for Microfluidic Platforms at the Biomedical Diagnostics Institute since 2008.
MNMT-Dublin Symposium V: Microfluidics-enabled Bioassay Automation
In this presentation, Prof. Ducrée talked about the approach of the Fraunhofer centre to accelerate and de-risk development of microfluidics enabled solutions for bioassay automation towards high-technology-readiness levels. In a platform approach adopted from established industries, manifold applications can swiftly be derived from a single set of unit operations and design rules. This can quasi-seamlessly be scaled-up from prototyping to pilot series and eventual mass production. This strategy was explained along with the centre’s centrifugal microfluidic Lab-on-a-Disc platform which automates and multiplexes multi-step / multi-reagent bioassay protocols in a robust, user-friendly and cost-efficient manner. Prof. Ducree also talked about potential collaboration between UCD and DCU in the area of micro/nano manufacturing and mass production of polymeric microfluidic devices.