ABOUT THIS PROJECT:
The SME companies Lead Pharma, LioniX and Surfix and the University of Twente have jointly developed a biological detection platform, BioMEANDER, that is up to a hundred times more sensitive than existing techniques.
Within this project screening and detection platform for biological tests is being developed. The joint technical innovations of Surfix and LioniX lead to an optofluidic platform with a very sensitive material selective surface coating. Because of this the platform can be used for new applications. Two examples of those applications are being worked out within the project: Lead Pharma concentrates on the direct measuring of the bonding of small molecules to proteins to develop (faster) promising, new candidate medication. Twente University wants a faster testing of the in effectivity of different viruses, based on surface gradients and virus modeling systems. They also want to screen newly developed antiviral methods.
THE ROLE OF LIONIX INTERNATIONAL:
LioniX’ tasks within the project are to progress with the optofluidisch sensor platform from TRL 5 to TRL 6. Part of the focus will be on redesign of the Mach Zehnder based sensorchip in terms of design and fabrication process such that sensitivity, reproducibility and signal yield of each sensor is improved. The optofluidic platform itself will see a transformation from manual to semi-automatic operation allowing an easy handover to the project partners who will use the system for candidate medicine screening and viral detection. The biggest change in the sensor platform will be the inclusion of an automated alignment system such that loading and unloading of a sensor into the system becomes a press on a button. The fluidics will be overhauled and turned into a prototype microfluidic system that supplies in the needs of a screening and viral detection platform.
INFORMATION:
Read the BioMEANDER newsletter (in Dutch).
