The National Science Foundation Supports Technology Under Development by SFC Fluidics®, LLC
06/14/2006 - Grant funds further development of novel laboratory-on-a-chip technology. Fayetteville, AR - SFC Fluidics, LLC has received a $100,000 Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer award from the National Science Foundation. This grant will be used for the initial stages of development of a chip-scale device for liquid chromatography, which is a critical technology for isolating desired components (for example, therapeutic proteins) from complex mixtures.
The chromatography chip will use SFC Fluidics' patented and patents-pending magnetohydrodynamic pumping technology that has been exclusively licensed by the company from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of Arkansas. Magnetohydrodynamic microfluidics technology is based on the principle that if a magnetic field and an electric field are applied at right angles to each other within a channel, electrically conductive fluids will flow through the channel. In other words, the magnetic and electric fields create a pumping force that can be controlled to direct fluids along a path. In this case, the path where the chromatography will take place will be a circular loop. The ability to pump a fluid around a circular loop means that the path length is, in theory, infinite. The fluid can be pumped around the path one or any number of times. If a chemical reaction is occurring in the fluid as it flows through the loop, the length of time of the chemical reaction can be controlled by the number of passes around the loop. This novel idea can be used to create a uniquely small and low operational cost device suitable for applications ranging from basic research to point-of-care diagnostics.
The research for this Phase I project will be conducted as a collaborative effort between SFC Fluidics and the University of Pennsylvania. Business development support for SFC Fluidics is being supplied by Virtual Incubation Company. Dr. Calvin Goforth, President of Virtual Incubation says, "One of the important goals of Virtual Incubation is to foster close relationships with our portfolio companies and their partner research institutions. I am consistently impressed with the results of these partnerships and look forward to continued success in the future."