Call for Speakers 2025

Motivation: Precise single-cell dispensing is essential for advancements in biomedical technology and personalized medicine, enabling applications like cell-level drug screening and microstructure assembly in artificial organs. Addressed Problems: Current single-cell bioprinting methods face limitations in isolation, dispensing rate, precision, and viability, hindering their effective application. Five minimum requirements for cell-by-cell bioprinters have been identified. Proposed Solution: The “TrapJet” paradigm combines microfluidic cell-traps with thermal-inkjet printing to meet these requirements, significantly increasing deposition rates and resolution while being scalable for various applications. Results: The proof-of-concept TrapJet demonstrated a threefold increase in print rates compared to existing technologies, confirming fulfillment of all identified requirements. A patent application was submitted in July 2023. Outlook: Ongoing optimization will enhance TrapJet's performance for high-precision biomanufacturing, addressing challenges in cell supply and automation, with potential applications across the biomedical spectrum.

The HydroChip2 project (FFG No. 883914, https://researchproject.at/hydrochip2/home.php) is presented, which focusses on the development of a foil-based rapid test system for the identification of periodontal pathogen by the detection of nucleic acids. The development steps include: 1) the realisation of bacterial lysis using ionic liquids, 2) the reduction of handling complexity by introducing hydrogel reagent reservoirs, and 3) the realisation of bacterial identification by detecting ribosomal RNA using three different analytical methods, namely chemiluminescence (CL), electrochemical (EC) detection and electrochemiluminescence (ECL). While CL is the state-of-the-art method, EC and ECL integrated in a microfluidic system are very promising methods for reducing system complexity and costs as well as for increasing sensitivity. The presentation provides a comprehensive overview of the manufacturing technologies employed, details the reagent embedding process using a hydrogel reservoir, and presents the results of CL and EC-based bacterial detection.

NanoPredict (FFG-Nr.:FO999899038) targets the sensitive and selective detection of the three predominant PIK3CA point mutations (H1047R, E545K, and E542K), for the treatment of metastatic hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. For this purpose, a point mutation-specific detection assay on multi-channel screen-printed gold sensors combined with isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) was developed. With this assay, a limit of detection (LOD) of 224 copies/µL and a PIK3CA point mutations’ specificity of >20% could be reached. Based on these results, different amplification methods were compared to improve the sensitivity and specificity of PIK3CA mutation detection in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) obtained from plasma samples. In addition to the assay development, the presentation addresses the research towards the realization of a POC-compatible, highly scalable chip platform. Results on screen-printable thermal elements, high-purity nanomaterial inks, nanozymes and printable surface modifications (DNA probes) will be presented.

We introduce Vita-Chip, a novel microfluidic platform for the dynamic culture, analysis, and monitoring of 3D cellular spheroids. Initially validated via micromilled PDMS prototypes, the device was reengineered through single-step SLA 3D printing, enabling rapid, low-cost, and scalable fabrication. Its U-shaped trap ensures stable retention of spheroids of varying diameters, allowing high reproducibility across different experimental models. Combined with CFD simulations, the chip precisely controls shear stress, oxygen gradients, and nutrient diffusion. With unit costs below $10, Vita-Chip supports nanoparticle exposure assays, tumor modeling, and nanotoxicology studies. This ready-to-use, accessible, and versatile platform contributes to developing more physiologically relevant in vitro models for preclinical research.

Cancer diseases often require a combined therapy, e.g. chemo- and radiotherapy. We have developed a modular droplet-based microfluidic approach, which offers as a high-throughput technology a promising possibility for the verification of IC50 values for drugs with high statistical certainty and the assessment of cell sensitivity to X-ray radiation. For this we have transferred the CellTiterBlue® assay, a well-established method for evaluating cell viability, to our platform. Additionally, we have generated tumor spheroids in the droplets and used them for a first combined therapy, as a 3D cell culture forms cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions and mimic the in vivo situation better compared to monolayers of cell suspensions. Thus, we have taken a decisive step forward in the fight against cancer.

Disposables – Single use - Waste - Environmental protection How does this fit together? The two partner companies, Bürkert Fluid Control Systems and Green Elephant Biotech show what resource-saving technology can look like today. We will explain that biochips are more than just plastic parts and how new innovative disposable products can be manufactured in an environmentally friendly way by integrating sensor technology and other functions. We provide an insight into the development processes and show various technologies and algorithms. It becomes clear how reducing complexity and efficiency in development and production can be of great benefit to device manufacturers. Our technologies reduce risk and effort!

Increasing integration and miniaturisation of biological processes in microfluidics require new analytical technologies for measuring parameters of two- or more advanced three-dimensional cell growth of spheroids. Important analytes are oxygen, pH, ion strength etc., but also excreted molecules like antibiotics, growth factors or exosomes should be analyzed label free. We will show several possibilities for analyzing such analytes by optical adressable micro- and nanoparticles as well as by label free analytics with a new method based on Whispering Gallery modes.

The talk provides and overview and insights into the state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies for bio sensor micro-chips. The topic covers the background behind multi-channel surface-acoustic-wave bio-sensors, material choices like glas, silicon and piezo-materials, thin-film deposition technologies for bio-compatible electrodes, nano-structuring, microfluidic systems for on-chip control of samples, as well as medical cartridge assembly to medical product standards.