Session Nano4Health: Focus on Technologies for Diagnostic purposes
December 2, 11:15-13:00

Abstract title

Roll-to-roll manufacturing of Lab-on-a-Foil Chips for IVD applications
Anja Haase PhD, Joanneum Institute

Abstract

Roll-to-roll UV nanoimprint lithography (R2R-UV-NIL) offers possibilities to manufacture micro- or nanostructures on flexible polymer films with different geometries and configurations in high throughput. In addition, by adjusting the composition of the UV-curable resins used for UV-NIL, various parameters such as surface energy, refractive index and stiffness of the final structure can be tuned. Thus, R2R UV-NIL can address many different application areas, such as drag-reducing structures for aerospace, micro-optical elements in lighting devices, and microfluidic structures for lab-on-chip applications.In the first part of the presentation, the technology of the imprinting line and some applications of UV-NIL structured foils are presented. The second part will focus on the production of microfluidic lab-on-a-foil systems for IVD applications. Our imprinting pilot line enables high-throughput patterning of approx. 4500 biochips/hour on flexible polymer substrates. A second R2R unit is used to print biomolecules such as DNA or proteins onto the pre-structured foils generating sensory elements to the lab-on-a-foil system. After this biofunctionalisation step, a sealing film is laminated onto the fluidic structures, creating closed fluidic channels. Finally, inlet holes and vents are cut into the sealing film with a laser cutter. The lab-on-a-chips produced show similar performance to commercial products, but can be produced with higher throughput and greatly reduced manual handling steps, potentially enabling lower costs in production.

Biography

Dr. Anja HAASE (F) studied chemistry at the University of Technology, Graz and finished her doctoral thesis 1999 with the titel “Automated flow through digestion system”. 1999 – 2000: Postdoctoral position at University of Oviedo, Spain in the field of fiber sensors. Since 2000 she works as a senior scientist at JOANNEUM RESEARCH in Weiz. She was cluster project leader of the Austrian Nanoinitiative Cluster Project “Isotec”, dealing with the fabrication of an integrated organic sensor platform. Her main fields of interest are large-area patterning with UV-based imprint processes and structural analysis via microscopic and profilometric methods. The application fields are biomimetics, microfluidics, the development of lab on chip devices, optics, sensing and flexible electronics. She coordinates national and international, funded and industrial research projects.