Aug. 9, 2002 — Four German firms and a research institution have teamed up to develop a modular “microfluidics construction kit” that could be useful in many life sciences applications.
Building such a standardized, modular system should be faster and cheaper than developing single systems for many uses, according to Thomas Stange, marketing manager for thinXXS GmbH, the lead firm in the partnership. He said that such a kit could help in niche markets being explored by small- and medium-sized firms that might not be able to afford building individual prototypes for every potential application.
“Such a microfluidics construction kit would allow (firms) to increase the diversity of their development, and, eventually, production activities,” he said.
The two-year, $3 million plan, begun this month, is partially funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research. Other participants include Clemens GmbH, FRIZ Biochem GmbH, ibidi GmbH and Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering.