Microfluidics under the spotlight at the eleventh Polymers & Medical Applications conference

On 26 May, the Leartiker technology centre will be holding another edition of the “Polymers and Medical Applications” conference, which has become an unmissable annual event for people with an interest in this field. The event, which has now reached its eleventh instalment, aims to explore the opportunities and innovations that new technologies can bring to the field of health.

This year, Leartiker has placed the spotlight on microfluidics as the main topic of the conference, a multidisciplinary technology that encompasses knowledge in areas such as physics, chemistry, engineering and biotechnology. This technology studies the microscale behaviour of fluids, making it possible to design components in which small quantities of fluid are used, thus making them easier to handle.

One of the new areas in which microfluidics is being applied is clinical pathology, where biochips are becoming increasingly common, above all in the diagnosis of diseases near to the point of care, (PoC)). Advances in microfluidic technology are also revolutionising molecular biology, as the development of these devices makes it possible to reproduce an organism's complex and dynamic 3D environments, accurately reflecting the structure, function and mechanical characteristics of living tissue. With in vitro assays, using 2D monolayer cells, it is difficult to achieve these results. The new microfluidic devices have been dubbed Organ-on-a-Chip and they make it possible to test the efficacy of drugs and thus avoid, insofar as possible, the use of animal testing.

An outstanding panel of speakers at the 11th Polymers & Medical Applications conference

The event, which is being held on 26 May at Leartiker (Markina-Xemein), will have an outstanding panel of experts in this field.

Firstly, Asier Albizu, President of the Basque Health Cluster, will be focusing his talk entitled “Difficulties in obtaining CE marking due to the new medical device regulation”, on the problems that companies are having in certifying all medical devices in order to comply with the new European regulation, Regulation (EU) 2017/745. This rule addresses widespread concerns about the safety of medical devices. Moreover, it aims to establish a regulation that ensures the availability of safe and effective medical devices on the market.

Next, Dr Denis Vandormael, Senior Project Manager at SIRRIS (Belgian research institute), will be giving a brief presentation on different micromanufacturing technologies such as micromachining, 3D microprinting, microreplication, selective microdeposition of materials, etc., in his talk entitled “Micromanufacturing solutions to accelerate the prototyping of polymer microfluidic devices”. Technologies that will allow us to accelerate the prototyping of microfluidic chips, a huge plus when it comes to optimising the design of these devices.

The next presentation will be on “New grades and innovation in materials (COC) for microfluidics” by Jana Zietzling, Head of Product Management at Medical IMCD Advanced Materials. The excellent properties of these copolymers (COC) make them exceptional materials for the manufacture of microfluidic devices: outstanding chemical resistance to common laboratory solvents and exceptional light and UV transparency, with very low autofluorescence.

Another highly interesting talk will be given by Dr Leire Etxeberria, a researcher at Leartiker. Entitled “Technologies for the mass production of microfluidic devices” , she will discuss the technology needed to manufacture microfluidic chips on a large scale, a necessary step to progress from designing the concept to manufacturing the device.

Finally, Dr Amaia Cipitria from IIS Biodonostia, a researcher with a PhD in Bioengineering and Materials Science, will be giving a talk on “Application of biomaterials and microfluidics in regeneration and cancer", in which she will present some of the applications of microfluidics in biomedical research.

If you are interested in attending this event, you can view the programme and sign up for it on our website: www.leartiker.com/scientific-divulgation/91

Microfluidic devices, a growing line of research

Looking to the future and given the undeniable benefits of this technology, for a number of years the Leartiker technology centre’s specialised Health area has been focusing its efforts on the development of microfluidic devices. The technology centre has an ISO Class 7 clean room that allows it to design and develop these devices, in addition to a Zeiss LSM 900 confocal microscope for their micrometre-scale characterisation. These facilities cover all of the bases in a growing line of research that Leartiker will continue to pursue in the coming years.

* Event funded through the Basque Government's "Ikerbilerak" programme.