Bioflux

Inspiration & History

In the last decades we’ve been observing subsequent and dramatic technological shifts that enabled the emergence of peculiar features in the evolutive nature of firms.

Deep capillarity of ICT in our daily lives along with networked automation make now possibile to potentially connect everyone with everything. Simultaneoulsy, lower barriers to production means along with componentization of recombinable infrastructural bricks and utility services lead to an increasing shrinking of coordination-transaction costs.

Moreover, the increasingly easier access of multiple networked users that tend to gather around digitally-enabled platforms of tools and processes to accomplish specific mission-driven purposes is allowing for massive collaborations across geographic boundaries, unleashing an unprecedented convergence of multidisciplinary backgrounds to embrace specific engineering and scientific endeavors faster than traditional firms and research facilities.

We come from an international network of passionate scientists, hackers and artist whose focus is to make biotechnology more accessible to everyone. Already two years ago we wanted to develop the Arduino equivalent for biology so that anyone could easily prototype novel applications in this field. After almost one year of meetings, iterations, and prototypes, our “head of engineering (!)” Urs Gaudenz, came up with OpenDrop. To take a step further in the development of this technology we are developing an ecosystem of contributors (like in this event). OpenDrop can further be developed by a growing ecosystem of contributors in order to expand its applications and to fully integrate the procedures needed during molecular biology experiments (e.g. sensors, actuators, electric and optic technology, temperature and magnetic bars). It’s a truly remarkable success for us that at least half of the teams in this hackathon are using OpenDrop to protoype their project ideas.

OpenDrop is an electrowetting on dielectric-based (EWOD), open source, micro-electro-fludics hardware device, able to control droplets of fluids such that they mix, split or move from one location of the operating array to another.

In biology laboratories hours of manual work are considered a compulsory part of the experiment. In the past decade, a big effort has been done to develop machines (e.g. pipetting robots) that would automate some of the recurrent tasks in a molecular biology lab (pipetting, mixing, splitting, handling, labeling etc.).

Despite the effort, these machines are: large sized, task-specific, difficult to use, and most importantly, extremely expensive. With OD, we propose an advancement from automated biology to digital biology.

In our vision, digital biolab should be:

fully integrated, running all the tasks on the same machine; general-purpose, allowing easy reconfiguration for design of new experiments; low-cost and accessible, offering affordable (around € 300-2000) and do-it-yourself assembly kits. easy to use, with an intuitive user experience for software and hardware control;

Lab-on-a-chip devices reduce by many folds the quantity of samples (scarce and expensive to produce) and reagents (expensive) in order to perform biochemical reactions. Moreover, such devices reduce the reaction time by increasing the surface-to-volume ratio, and they allow for exquisite controllability of reaction conditions providing high end stimulation and sensing (e.g. electrical or optical) mechanisms. Once slow and difficult to setup even for an average end consumer (e.g biomolecular researcher), now the industry is moving towards general purpose, high speed, and easy multiplexing devices.

Digital microfluidics (DMF) is now a huge and mature trend in the field of nanobiotechnology, and after more than 20 years of development it is now showing to outperform on several dimensions other microfluidics systems, making it the best candidate for mass production for a wide range of commercial applications. It is suitable for a large plethora of biological assays, from high precision sample preparations, to lab-on-a-chip applications as well as point-of-care applications.

Ultimately, OpenDrop modularity makes it suitable for coupled setups with continuous microfluidics devices such as together they can perform programmable high throughput sample processing.

What we do

In house, we are creating a system to quickly design general-purpose disposable cartridges with preloaded reagents and integrated sensing. Such systems are meant to work along with software protocols that are specific for the given biological assay.

Each protocol will design through CAD software according to the rationale that – given hardware constraints – any bio-protocol consists of: objects (samples, probes, reagents, solvents, buffers, salts, etc.); moves (dispense, merge, mix, split, incubate , detect etc.) that can be clustered into cycles; timings (each move is –to a certain degree– time-dependent).

Trojok, Rüdiger et al.. (2016). Auryn: adaptor for general-purpose digital microfluidic Biochips. Zenodo. 10.5281/zenodo.56924

How we built it

The cartridge scaffold is made out of Poly (methyl methacrylate). The scaffold design allows for inlet and outlet channels and other reservoirs. The scaffold host the substrate for the electrodes which is made of engraved Indium-tin coated plastic polymer foil. This foil contain the specific topological architecture of electrodes array that is suited for the given protocol. In order to perfom electrowetting on dielectric effect, and therefore to move droplets, the electrode foil is covered with a dielectric plastic polymer sheet Nowofol et6235z 20 um thick, which subsequently treated with the fluoroalkene Flouropel. To perfom “sandwich setup” the cartridge is ultimately shielded with Indium-Tin coated glass. The cartridge is electrically connected with the OpenDrop through a ribbon-cable interface.

Sensing was integrated with a modified version of Public Labs Spectrophotometer, which requires the following materials: DVD Disk 1 Web camera 1 Mirror 15*10 1 Screws 4 Led 2W 1 Electric Wires(50cm) 2 Mini TOSLINK adapter,
JIS F05 (JIS C5974-1993 F05 2 *TOSLINK(50cm) 1

Public Labs is an online collaboration platform where people whether researchers, technologists or even normal people can post their solutions to problems. People identify problems, think of solutions and then work on their projects and post it online with complete details about the design, purpose, and results. Such an open platform where people can post their projects and read about projects of other people, means that people can build upon each other projects and with time create a useful product which solves a problem.

Challenges I ran into

AstraZeneca Challenge

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Moving droplets on the biochip, and integrating an improved version of the spectrophotometer with fiber-optic, which our first sensing device on this platfrorm.

What I learned

To work at a fast pace with a diverse team of individuals.

What's next for Bioflux

Integrate a proper light source for the spectrophotometer, Optimizing reliability of data, Integrating CAD software and diversifying protocols applications.

– 2x High Voltage Driver Chip HV507 – 16×8 electrodes array, 2.75mm2 in size – Arduino Micro – 4 buttons – tiny OLED Display – WIFI module – fancy LEDs – Liquid connection ports – prepared for Peltier Element / Sensors / Pad Heating – micro USB – 10×10 cm PCB – NixiePSU (voltage readable or controllable) – Design on open source KiCAD

The current prototype of OD deploys a double layer Printed Circuit Board (PCB) designed as a modular (multiple of 8×8 electrode array) originally designed as a shield for the highly-standardized Arduino AVR-based microcontroller platform10.

The current version it's cased with an Arduino Micro. The core hardware technology of OD is based on a gold coated array of electrodes, covered by a disposable general-purpose use cartridge which is made of a dielectric layer sheet coated for superamphiphobicity and a inkjet printed conductive paper.

The control of the electrowetting capabilities of the device is provided by two High Voltage Driver Chip HV507 on the back of the PCB. OD integrates the required voltage step-up circuit to generate the high voltage needed to modulate the electrowetting properties of the cartridge setup.

The hardware of which OD platform is consisted, is digitally controlled by an intuitive software interface that allows to standardize and share lab protocols among users.