US buys Dutch lab-on-chip
Delft researchers will remain involved in the further development of the technologies at WaferGen. Professor Dr IT Young, leader of the ‘Intelligent Molecular Diagnostic Systems research programme at TU Delft, expects that it will take one and a half to two years for the chips to reach the market. Applications for the chips can be found in the medical sector, the bio-technological industry and in a number of research fields such as biology and pharmacology. PhD student Ventzeslav Iordanov developed the chips at the faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science.
One of the ‘labs on a chip measures the presence of the substance NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), which plays a role in the conversion of sugars into energy. The second chip registers conversion of ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) molecules, which deliver energy to cells. For the third chip, Iordanov developed a system that quickly replicates small pieces of DNA through the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process that is used to amplify samples for gene analysis.
These labs on a chip can work with much smaller samples than regular equipment and measurements are expected to be quicker and cheaper. Bio-reactors will be created with a content of only a few nanolitres.
