SBIR Phase II: Innovative Platform Technology for Rapid Three Dimensional Fabrication of Capillary Electrophoresis Chips: Phase II Proposal

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发一种新的方法，在三维无层的情况下大批量制造微型零件。由于没有分型线，该技术在某些应用中代表了当前最先进的成型和3D技术的重大进步。由于这代表了一个全新的研究领域，而不仅仅是固体自由形状制造（SFF）技术的延伸，它在工程和化学学科中开辟了广泛的研究领域。更迫在眉睫的是使用该技术制造毛细管电泳（CE）芯片，大大减少了试剂的数量，提供了以前无法实现的性能，并且价格显著降低。通过这样做，该技术将加速和扩大微流体的采用，微流体目前用于法医、基因组学、药物制造、药物分析、临床诊断、生物传感器和环境测试等无数其他应用。该项目自动化和扩展了一种新的平台技术，以制造高分辨率的微型零件。该技术的重点是一种独特而廉价的方法来制造微流控通道和微流控孔，这是所有微流控芯片的基础。第二阶段的目标是：1)通过将光纤电缆、温度控制毛细管、静态混合器的微流体设计和成型材料的膨胀纳入平台系统来扩展系统的多功能性，2)设计和构建一个试点自动化系统以增加控制和减少可变性，3)测试自动化系统，4)测试通过自动化系统生产的芯片并测试来自(1)的其他多功能性组件，5)继续将产品商业化。该技术成果是一个具有扩展多功能性的自动化系统，将以毛细管电泳芯片的构建为中心，目标是使该系统能够制造各种微流控芯片。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is in developing a novel method of manufacturing micro sized parts in three-dimensions without layers at high volume. With no parting lines, the technology represents a significant advancement over current state of the art molding and 3D technologies for certain applications. As this represents an entirely new field of research, not merely an extension of solid freeform fabrication (SFF) techniques, it opens and enables wide research areas in engineering and chemical disciplines. More imminent is using the technology to create capillary electrophoresis (CE) chips that vastly reduce the amount of reagents, provide previously unattainable properties, and at a significantly lower price. By doing so, the technology will accelerate and broaden the adoption of microfluidics which are currently used in applications such as forensics, genomics, drug making, drug analysis, clinical diagnostics, biosensors, and environmental testing, among countless others. This project automates and expands a novel platform technology to manufacture high resolution micro parts. The technology is focused on a unique and inexpensive method to fabricate microfluidic channels and wells, which form the basis of all microfluidic chips. The objectives for Phase II are to: 1) Expand the versatility of the system by inclusion to the platform system of fiber optic cables, temperature control capillaries, microfluidic design of static mixer and expansion of molding materials, 2) Design and construct a pilot automation system to increase control and reduce variability, 3) Test the automation system, 4) Test chips produced via the automated system and test additional versatility components from (1), and 5) Continue to commercialize the products. The technological outcome is an automated system with expanded versatility that will center on the construction of capillary electrophoresis chips, with the objective of making the system on that can manufacture a wide variety of microfluidic chips.