FMN Lab success at the “Biotechnology: state and development prospects of 2019” Conference
The team of young scientists from FMN Laboratory successfully performed at the International Forum “Biotechnology: State and Development Prospects of 2019”, taking the first place in the competition for young scientists. The report of our researchers on the topic “Membrane-free temperature-compensated flow sensor integrated into a microfluidic chip” named the best in the competition.
Over the past decades, medical diagnosis has undergone significant changes. We switched from the usual test tubes to microchannels, the size of which does not exceed the thickness of a human hair, which, in turn, requires the measurement of ultra-small volumes of samples and reagents for quick and high-precision analysis.
A deeper understanding of biochemical processes leads to an increase in the number of manipulations with reagents on a microfluidic chip, which leads to a sharp increase in the complexity of developing new laboratories on a chip. The development of a reliable system for measuring the fluid velocity on a chip will greatly simplify the process of optimizing the device topology and accelerate its development.
In their report, the FMN Lab team shared the research results, including the development of a new membrane-free flow sensor integrated into the microfluidic chip, based on the modified principle of a constant temperature anemometer with a temperature compensation system. The main advantage of the developed sensor was the lack of a membrane in the structure, due to which it was possible to significantly reduce the cost and complexity of its manufacture. In addition, due to the transition from silicon to glass as a substrate material, it became possible to create optically transparent microfluidic chips with integrated flow sensors.
The developed microfluidic sensor makes it possible to measure the fluid flow in the channels of the microfluidic chip in real time and can be used for experimental verification of computational models of microfluidic chips, rapid prototyping and flow control in the channels of microfluidic bioanalytical systems.