This SBIR Phase I project will reduce health costs and increase accessibility to diagnostics by reducing the cost of manufacture, and increasing manufacturing volume of superior quality microfluidic devices. The proposal seeks to develop a platform technology that produces the same manufacturing benefits as rapid prototyping and rapid manufacturing, though the resolution and surface finish will be optical grade on the micro scale. This may enable a variety of things including less expensive drug making, to faster disease diagnosis, to health benefits to the third world, to eliminating the backlog of rape-kits awaiting analysis. The end results - the lowering of medical expenses, faster diagnosis of disease, a boost in research, lowered pharmaceutical costs - are likely to be broadly beneficial. The technical innovation is a leap forward in the conceptual basis of Small Form Factor designs. The novelty of the idea opens and enables new research areas in engineering and chemical disciplines.
The project will address manufacture of very low cost (~1/10th the current market price) capillary electrophoresis (CE) chips by developing a platform technology for fast prototyping microfluidic chip layouts. The technology allows the formation of a three dimensional ?shell? of micron sized scale parts. The research will take a two-pronged approach: developing an improved understanding of interactions of the prototyping components and combining it with experimental development of a prototype ?T-shaped? CE chip. The theoretical aspect of the microfluidic molding, which has been demonstrated by a laboratory proof-of-concept experiment, will focus on understanding the feasible operating range and defining the performance limitations of the system. The experimental aspect will be dedicated to manipulation of the system to reveal the configuration required for the ?T-shaped? CE chip.
