LabDisk pilot line for patient-side testing

The Institut für Mikro- und Informationstechnik of the Hahn-Schickard-Gesellschaft e.V. (HSG-IMIT) doubles the space of its Freiburg branch: in addition to 750 m² of office and 250 m² of lab space, the research, development and service provider adds about 1,000 square meters of high-quality cleanroom space. In the new premises, a pilot line with machinery for the production of lab-on-a-chip systems for the patient-side diagnostics will be installed.

Lab-on-a-chip systems are disposable polymer prototypes with the diameter of a compact disc. In contrast to ordinary cds, the „LabDisks“ are pervaded by fine micro channels and cavities in which fluids are being moved, mixed and analyzed by centrifugal forces. Thus, the rapid detection of complex disease patterns is enabled directly at the patients' side – without costly and extensively equipped laboratories. All necessary analysis steps are integrated on the disk thus securing a fully automated run.

LabDisk is the name of a technology platform developed by HSG-IMIT, which can conduct immunoassays und nucleic acid analyses. As a pilot application, the time-critical diagnosis of inflammatory reactions caused by bacteria in newborns as well as the quality control of food and water by the detection of genetically modified or falsely declared components in food chains are currently in the focus of interest. The pilot line enables the production of batches from 10,000 up to 50,000 tests. Such lots are required for a proof of performance of a certain lab-on-a-chip technology in clinical trials.

Contact: Katrin Grötzinger, HSG-IMIT
katrin.groetzinger@hsg-imit.de