Lilliput® - Chip

The stamp-sized Lilliput® analysis laboratory was developed for Merlin Diagnostika.

The chip has 96 reaction cavities each with a volume of 1.8 µl. This corresponds to one hundredth of the volume of conventional titer plates.

The cavities are connected to the central sample reservoir via micro channels. A special surface treatment allows the use of cell suspensions. After feeding in a reagent, simultaneous, uniform and automatic filling of the reaction cavities is completed within a minute.

The Lilliput® chip is used in clinical microbiology to identify microorganisms and to screen resistance to antibiotics. In this case, specially prepared Lilliput® chips with different antibiotics for the 96 reaction cavities are used. After a defined incubation time the bacterial growth in the reaction chambers is determined using a specially designed 12-channel microspectrometer system by Boehringer Ingelheim microParts. Any antibiotic resistance of the microorganisms is thus quickly and reliably identified.

Lab-on-a-Chip systems

Microstructured reaction platforms allow control of very small amounts of liquid with volumes in the pico- to milliliter range. The sophisticated design of our microstructures allows high level of integration of functions on a single plastic chip. Fluidic processes such as re-suspension of dried chemicals, metering, allocation and mixing are performed on an extremely small space.

The capillar attraction enables the accurate movement of liquids without the need of any active drive mechanism. This is a positive side-effect of miniaturization. Boehringer Ingelheim microParts uses this know-how to develop Lab-on-a-Chip systems in which complex chemical reactions run their course using only little reagent while maintaining a high sample throughput. The mobile laboratory with the format of a credit card has thus become a reality - with a testing precision equal to that of conventional laboratory examinations. 

Factsheet Lilliput®-Chip

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