PFI-RP: Mass-Manufacturing of Low-Cost, Lower Environmental Impact Microfluidics

该创新研究伙伴关系（PFI-RP）项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发利用现有美国传统大规模制造基础设施和知识的新方法，以提供可用于从诊断到水消毒的生物技术应用的新材料。虽然该项目不会直接制造诊断或消毒设备，但它将为此类设备的制造商提供新材料，并有助于解决必要材料的可负担性和可用性的关键差距。作为这项工作的一部分，产生的知识将使新技术的快速开发和测试成为可能，这些技术利用微流体的力量来改善生活并产生可操作的信息。拟议的方法将直接利用缅因州造纸商的技术能力和设施，定位缅因州和传统造纸厂工人参与生物技术革命。最后，该项目将培养学生所需的技能，不仅开发可以改善生活的技术，而且还可以弥合从实验室到市场的差距，激发在工业-学术界工作的兴趣和舒适度。该项目将导致使用工业规模的功能微流体原型的构建和风险降低，美国制造的卷对卷铸造微流体通道系统。为了最大限度地发挥研究的潜力，将针对不同长度尺度的三个概念验证应用：微滴生成，细胞分选和水消毒。这些原型将用于促进与全球微流体行业的整合。通过开发过程，该团队将阐明能够制造原型微流体设备的机械设计规则，使有兴趣开发新产品的行业领导者更容易快速测试与工业规模卷对卷工艺兼容的设计。为商业微流体行业创建的这套工具将弥合学术台式微流体设计与可转移到大规模制造的平台之间的历史鸿沟。除了为微流体技术的成本效益扩大创造途径之外，在卷对卷兼容的原型制作过程中快速测试可扩展的微流体装置的原型的能力具有很大的潜力，可以为传统诊断测试和/或小规模液体处理市场之外的广泛应用提供新的先进材料的设计，包括可穿戴技术和低成本传感器系统等新兴和快速增长的市场。该项目由创新合作伙伴计划（PFI）和刺激竞争力研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation – Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) project is to develop new ways of leveraging existing US-based legacy, mass-manufacturing infrastructure and knowledge to provide new materials that can be used in biotechnology applications ranging from diagnostics to water disinfection. Although this project will not seek to directly create diagnostic or disinfection devices, it will provide new materials to manufacturers of such devices and serve to address the critical gap of affordability and availability of the necessary materials. The knowledge generated as part of this work will enable the rapid development and testing of new technologies that leverage the power of microfluidics to improve lives and generate actionable information. The proposed approach will directly leverage the technological capabilities and facilities of Maine-based paper manufacturers, positioning Maine and traditional paper mill workers to participate in the biotechnology revolution. Finally, this project will train students in the types of skills sets needed to not only develop technology that can make lives better, but also to bridge the gap from the lab to the market, sparking interest in and comfort with working at the industry-academia interface.This project will result in the building and de-risking of functional microfluidic prototypes using industrial-scale, US-manufactured roll-to-roll cast microfluidic channel systems. To maximize the potential of the research, three proof-of-concept applications at different length scales will be targeted: microdroplet generation, cell sorting, and water disinfection. The prototypes will be used to facilitate integration with the worldwide microfluidic industry. Through the development process, the team will elucidate mechanistic design rules that enable the fabrication of prototype microfluidic devices, making it simpler for industry leaders interested in developing new products to quickly test designs compatible with industrial-scale roll-to-roll processes. The set of tools created for the commercial microfluidics industry will bridge the historically wide gap between academic benchtop microfluidic designs and platforms which can be transferred to mass-manufacturing. In addition to creating a pathway for cost-effective scale-up of microfluidic technology, the ability to quickly test prototypes of scalable microfluidic devices in roll-to-roll compatible prototyping processes has great potential to inform the design of new advanced materials for a broad range of applications beyond the traditional diagnostic test and/or small-scale liquid treatment markets, including new and fast-growing markets such as wearable technology and low-cost sensor systems.This project is jointly funded by Partnerships for Innovation program (PFI) and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.