HP Innovation Journal Issue 15: Summer 2020 | Page 18

FROM THE LABS: MICROFLUIDICS
The HP D300e Digital Dispenser is a bioprinter
used in life sciences labs to dispense precise
amounts of fluids.
companies such as Cepheid, Mesa Biotech,
and Abbott Laboratories. However, some
current solutions are less than ideal, as they
require specialized equipment and technical
expertise and are limited in how many people
they can test at a time.
Micro expertise
While many people may not realize it, HP
is a world leader in microfluidics. HP has
invested billions of dollars in research and
development, as well as capital equipment,
over the past three decades to create the
world’s largest digital printing company.
The underlying technology developed by HP
for printing can place something as small
as one-fifth the size of a human cell exactly
where we want it, and precisely pump fluids
in picoliters—about 0.001% the size of a
raindrop. All this provides the foundation to
extend this technology into new domains.
HP’s Specialty Printing Systems team is
looking at a variety of microfluidics applications
to leverage our deep expertise,
from non-invasive biopsies of cancer cells
to research applications focused on cancer
treatment, “printing” pharmaceutical samples,
and antibody testing. The team recently
worked with the CDC on a program to accelerate
the testing of new antibiotics designed
to fight antimicrobial-resistant bacteria.
According to the CDC, antibiotic resistance
is a significant health challenge. In the United
States alone, at least 2.8 million people get an
antibiotic-resistant infection every year, and
more than 35,000 people die from it.
“Bacteria continuously develop new ways
to resist antibiotics—once a drug is approved
for use, the countdown begins until resistance
emerges. In fact, resistance has even been
detected before FDA approval,” explains Dr.
Jean Patel, microbiologist and former science
lead for the CDC’s Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory
Network. “To save lives and protect
people, it is vital to make technology accessible
to hospital labs nationwide.”
HP and partner Tecan, a leading global
provider of automated laboratory instruments
and solutions, are aiming to help
researchers in personalized medicine, therapy
development, and virus testing develop
effective solutions even faster. This could
be of great help to universities and pharma
companies around the globe racing to find
effective solutions for the pandemic.
“I think the D300e technology is incredibly
relevant given the COVID-19 crisis,”
explains Dr. Klaus Lun, executive vice president
and head of the Life Sciences Business
division at Tecan. “The types of tests that are
happening today in the clinical setting are
analyzing whether or not a patient has contracted
the new coronavirus. On the research
side, using this technology to miniaturize
the overall reaction volume and increase
throughput will enable a broader analysis of
different strains of viruses to identify potential
treatments.”
The future of testing in place
As microfluidics continue to expedite virological
and epidemiological research and
diagnostics, we might soon see scalable,
rapid point-of-care testing that would allow
us to resume our normal lives in a postpandemic
way.
Imagine a point-of-need test based on
microfluidics technology that can determine
infection in 15 minutes or less. No larger than
a printer, it could be distributed to hospitals,
doctors’ offices, airports, cruise ships, manufacturing
sites, warehouses, offices, schools,
and even homes for quick, precise testing
and wellness monitoring.
Technicians might arrive at the entrance
to an auto factory and be tested and notified
within a brief 15-minute wait before they are
cleared to work on the line. Airline travelers
could experience a similar test before they
clear TSA. Employees, clients, and vendors
could be tested before entering office buildings
or convention halls.
The faster we can affordably test large portions
of our population, the sooner we can get
on with our lives.
1. Why We Must Test Millions a Day, Edmond J. Safra
Center for Ethics.
INNOVATION/ SUMMER 2020
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