Imagine a tiny, plastic-based filter that sorts blood components like a high-tech sieve using swirling water patterns. This replaces expensive, bulky lab equipment with a cheap chip that can be mass-produced like a roll of stickers. It helps doctors get a clear picture of a patient's diabetes health, even for people with rare blood types that usually confuse standard tests.
Current gold-standard HbA1c tests are expensive, lab-bound, and inaccurate for 7% of the global population who carry hemoglobin variants. This leads to poor diabetes management and high healthcare costs.
A low footprint demonstrator featuring plastic pillar array columns fabricated via UV-nanoimprint lithography and a miniaturized detection system using UV absorption and SERS.
If you are a device manufacturer dealing with the high cost of laboratory HPLC equipment — this project developed a plastic pillar array column that is much cheaper than packed bed columns and compatible with roll-to-roll manufacturing.
If you are a chip producer dealing with low precision in high-volume plastic fabrication — this project developed UV-nanoimprint lithography and plasma technology to create porous coatings with an aspect ratio of 4.
If you are a lab chain dealing with inaccurate HbA1c readings for the 7% of the population with hemoglobin variants — this project developed a system combining UV absorption and SERS detection for precise identification of analytes.
It replaces expensive packed bed columns with plastic pillar array columns that are compatible with mass roll-to-roll industrial manufacturing.
Yes, the fabrication processes including UV-nanoimprint lithography, plasma technology, and lamination are designed to be scaled to roll-to-roll industrial manufacturing.
Based on available project data, specific patent or licensing details are not provided, though the project focuses on developing a low footprint demonstrator.
The system is designed as a low footprint instrument that allows for integrated sample preparation and miniaturized detection.
The project period runs from 2022-03-01 to 2026-02-28, suggesting the demonstrator is currently in development and testing phases.
The consortium consists of 4 partners across 4 countries (AT, BE, EL, FR), showing a strong European research footprint. With a 25% industry ratio (1 industry partner, 1 university, and 2 research organizations), the project balances academic discovery with a clear path toward industrial application, specifically targeting roll-to-roll manufacturing.
Contact Vrije Universiteit Brussel regarding the VortexLC demonstrator
Contact us to explore licensing opportunities for the nanoimprint lithography process.
