Lab-on-a-chip Technology
The concept of shrinking a complete conventional laboratory to the size of square centimetre is a phenomenon which is rapidly becoming a hot research topic in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and life science arena. According to a report by Frost & Sullivan ëLab-on-a-chipí (LOC) development has skyrocketed in the last couple of years due to constant efforts in harnessing micro-fluidics and µTAS (micro-Total Analysis System) to improve the LOC design and function. The driving force behind this technology is to reduce all the capabilities of a conventional laboratory to a microscopic level, circumventing the need for excessive usage of expensive chemicals and reducing analysis to a fraction of the time.
ìWhile conventional laboratory analysis is time consuming, tedious, and requires expensive equipment and highly trained personnel, bench-top analysis in LOCs can be several times cheaper and faster," explains Analyst Katherine Austin from Technical Insights a business unit of Frost & Sullivan.
LOC is a technology which utilises semiconductor-like micro-fabrication and electronic techniques to translate experimental and analytical protocols, developed in software, into micro-chip architectures consisting of interconnected fluid reservoirs and pathways. This process allows total automation and integration of materials handling, eliminating the need for human intervention and reducing sample size requirements. The technology can be made of glass, silicon or polymers and are commonly used for capillary electrophoresis, drug development, High Throughput Screening and biotechnological assays.
Depending on the type analysis being performed, liquid movement may differ. In the case of cell assays (analysis of cell parameters), the controlled movement of cells on the chip is generated by pressure-driven flow. For molecular assays (analysis of RNA, DNA and proteins) the transport of fluid is effected by strategically located electrodes which create electrokinetic forces capable of driving fluids through selected pathways just as fluids are driven by the voltage gradient between electrodes in capillary electrophoresis. Speed and direction of fluid movements can be controlled by the correct balancing and sequencing of voltage inputs. Run times are shortened by the miniaturised fluid pathways and the strong electrokinetic driving forces which can be imposed in the microfluidics environment improve analyte resolution.
In the pharmaceutical industry where drug screening is large-scale and analysis requires automation, the potentials for LOC are enormous. Miniaturisation helps laboratories to cope with higher sample throughputs as well as allowing experiments to be smaller and cleaner. LOC is an appealing solution to many scientific problems, such as, environmental monitoring, detection of biological weapons, blood analysis, protein separation, cell sorting, drug screening and development, portable DNA analysis, monitoring the biostatus of astronauts in space, the list is endless.