Building on the Success of Project 105617; New Features, Components and Material Construction Towards Commercialising Novel Cell Concentration Devices

This project is to develop and test a change to the material and construction of uFraction8's stacked microfluidic bioseparation system prototyped in partnership with Smallfoood Inc, Canada, for the production of novel protein sources (from microbial culture) supported by InnovateUK project 105617\. uFraction8's technology enhance the productivity of food production processes.

The design of uFraction8's core microfluidic components changed dramatically over the course of the previous project and has led to potential complications with manufacture at scale of the new designs. Though the proof of concept (PoC) demonstrated the desired performance benefits to Smallfood Inc. and the broader market, it requires further innovation and development to find a scalable manufacturing solution to be able to economically produce the newly developed design.

This project will explore the use of polymer materials to replace the stainless steel used in the PoC. By changing the material, several engineering aspects need to be reconsidered around patterning, construction, alignment and sealing of the stacked microfluidic modules.

Using rapid prototyping and specialist subcontractors to explore the two identified approaches to patterning and three types of bonding, validation testing will be carried out in the same manner as the original PoC was tested and validated. The test platform built during 105617 will be re-used. Initial performance testing will be characterised in-house using representative precision microbeads and analytical equipment (spectrophotometry and haemocytometry). Subsequently, a full-scale batch of culture will be grown through our subcontractor and analysed by dry weight and flow cytometry.

By establishing a new process for the economical manufacture of stacked microfluidic bioseparation systems, uFraction8 will enhance productivity for food processing technologies. The efficient bioseparation performance demonstrated by the PoC will be deployed into the market at scale, maximising the impact of the innovation developed through the previously supported work.