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Dolomite joins forces with LioniX
June 2012
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ROYSTON, U.K.—
An offshoot of the Syrris group of companies,
microfluidics specialist
Dolomite Microfluidics was established when it won a
$6 million prize awarded by the U.K. government in a "micro/nano contest," says
Mark Gilligan, Syrris' executive chairman, in announcing its
collaboration with
LioniX BV, a company that specializes in
applications for integrated optics and
microfluidics incorporating a wide range of surface functionality and IO
sensing systems.
Dolomite and LioniX will jointly focus on designing,
developing and fabricating microfluidic devices and systems to
expand the range
of customized solutions offered to their clients.
The agreement between the two
companies establishes four
core areas of collaboration: LioniX will become a distributor for Dolomite's
standard products, including microfluidic
chips, pumps, connectors, valves and
accessories; LioniX will adopt Dolomite's Multiflux standard in future chip
designs, allowing them to be used
with Dolomite's connectors and interfaces to
provide customers with a flexible, cost-effective and time-efficient solution
for reliable multiway
fluidic connections; the companies will combine their
expertise in microfluidics and microfabrication to offer customers a wide range
of innovative
processes, such as deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) of fused
silica down to an etch depth of 50µm, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition
(PECVD)
depositions of silicon oxides and silicon nitrides, as well as the
integration of metal electrodes and insulators, which can be incorporated into
customized microfluidic chips and devices; and, finally, customers will have
access to standard products developed by LioniX via Dolomite's
microfluidic web
shop.
Fluidic systems for manipulation, analysis and control of
small amounts
of materials are becoming increasingly sophisticated. In
addition, there is an increasing trend for these kinds of systems to be
designed at smaller
and smaller scales into the microfluidic domain. At
present, most fluidic connectors only allow the connection of one fluid tube at
a time.
Furthermore, connecting microfluidic devices to macro-scale systems
presents many challenges. If these are not addressed, the benefits of working
within the microfluidic environment may be compromised through time-consuming
assembly and leak testing. Multiflux is Dolomite's solution for anyone
working
in microfluidics. This new range of multi-way microfluidic connectors and
interfaces enables the fast, easy and cost-efficient interconnection
between a
range of fluidic systems and/or bundles of tubing.
The Dolomite Centre Ltd. was
established in 2005—based on a
high level of confidence that the company would be awarded the $6 million
prize, Gilligan notes—as the world's first
microfluidic application center,
focused on working with customers to turn their concepts for microfluidic
applications into reality. With offices in
England and the United States, and
distributors throughout the rest of the world, its clients range from
universities developing leading-edge
analytical equipment to manufacturers of
chemical, life-science and clinical diagnostics systems. With about 70 percent
of its customers in life
science, including drug discovery, diagnostics and
"everything in between," Gilligan says, Dolomite is pioneering the use of
microfluidic devices for
small-scale fluid control and analysis, enabling
scientists and engineers to develop more compact, cost-effective and powerful
instruments.
"We focus on developing 10 times, or even 100 times, more
information from the same experiment," he says,
noting that the problem needs
to be complicated because a Dolomite solution is seldom the cheapest way to go.
In clinical testing, the goal is to bring
testing closer—next to the bed, he
says—and to produce results much more quickly. Dolomite has successfully
developed a system for the encapsulation of
single cells or beads into
droplets, which benefits a wide range of applications including single-cell
analysis, high-throughput screening and droplet
PCR. The new system provides
users with the tools required to perform assays on individual cells in
picoliter volumes.
"We are very excited about the partnership agreement with
Dolomite," says Hans van den Vlekkert, CEO of LioniX. "This new
strategic
collaboration will not only give both partners access to each other's world
leading technologies, but also enable us to extend our services
we deliver to
our clients, especially in the field of microfluidics."
LioniX specializes in
applications of integrated optics,
microfluidics and optofluidics including surface functionality. The company
offers small-volume manufacturing,
second sourcing as well as transfer to
medium- and high-volume manufacturing.
Code: E061212 Back |
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