omation mbers - Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening

12:00 pm Wednesday, February 4 Microfluidics Room A4
Helene Andersson
Silex Microsystems
Electrum 222
Kista, 16440 Sweden
helene.andersson@silex.se
BIOMEMS Solutions at Silex Microsystems
At Silex Microsystems we are applying micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) technology and manufacturing
techniques to design and make components, such as sensors, actuators, and precision structures, for integration
with customers’ end products. Miniaturization makes it possible to create life-saving applications that were
impossible before. Lab-on-a-chip devices that conduct standard techniques such as electrophoresis, PCR and
DNA sequencing have advanced significantly in the past few years. We’ve designed and manufactured a number
of standard applications that can be used separately or together as a lab-on-a-chip. We have also created a
number of devices for medical applications. For example, spiked electrodes for measuring bio-signals for Datex-
Ohmeda. The individual spikes are designed to penetrate the human skin and are typically 40 µm wide and 150 µm
high. The spike array is fabricated using deep reactive ion etching and is a promising alternative to standard
electrodes in biomedical applications. For drug delivery applications we develop and manufacture a micropump
for the company Debiotech in Switzerland. The pump chips are 6x10 mm and the pump demonstrates linear
and accurate (±5%) pumping characteristics for flows up to 2 ml/h. We also develop chip-based solutions for
high throughput ion-channel characterizations for Sophion Bioscience in Denmark. Silex is also manufacturing
a pressure sensor that is used for measuring the blood pressure inside coronary arteries. The chip size is
0.1x0.1x1.3 mm and is developed for a Swedish company called Radi Medical. In addition, we design and
manufacture a variety of microfluidic devices for biotech applications.
3:30 pm Wednesday, February 4 Microfluidics – Detection Room A4
David Cliffel
Vanderbilt University
VU Station B Box 1822
Nashville, Tennessee 37235-1822
d.cliffel@vanderbilt.edu
Automating a Multichamber, Multianalyte Microphysiometer for Metabolic Responses
Using Labview
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Co-Author(s)
Sven Eklund
Eduardo Lima
John Wikswo
Commercial microphysiometers have been limited to the analytical detection of acidification rate using a
photoelectrochemical pH sensor. We have built a multianalyte microphysiometer by modification of a commercial
Cytosensor instrument that detects multiple analytes involved in the metabolic physiology simultaneously.
Monitoring the uptake of glucose and oxygen, and the production of lactate and acid gives a more complete
picture of the metabolic processes within the cell than just acidification alone. Metabolic processes such as
glycolysis, mitochondrial ATP generation, and glycogenesis are all directly related to the flux of these analytes.
The metabolic response of sub-lethal concentrations of toxins has been measured. We have recently modified 2
Cytosensor microphysiometers with independent multipotentiostat control for each chamber using Labview. This
allows us to record 4 analytes simultaneously per chamber for all 4 or 8 chambers. Metabolic response analysis
is performed in real-time as the raw electrochemical data is recorded. This talk will outline the modifications
necessary, the calibration of the various sensors, biofouling problems of cells undergoing chemical stress, and
the metabolic rate responses of Fibroblast and CHO cell lines to low concentrations of toxins and other agents
including cyanide, fluoride, dinitrophenol, deoxyglucose, paraoxon, and antimycin. Temporal resolution of
metabolic responses is much faster than conventional well-plate studies, leading to dynamic metabolic data. The
generation of toxin dose response curves for multianalyte responses offers a big advantage to the detection and
identification of toxins using cellular metabolic activity as the initial analytical sensing tool.