Increasing numbers of customers in biology, drug discovery, food and cosmetics have witnessed the clear benefits of microfluidic flow processes compared with conventional batch methods such as increased yield and purity.
The drawback to adoption in pilot scale and industrial settings was the lack of a scale up method. This created a need for a scale-up platform powered by the same microfluidic technology that had successfully proved itself for low throughput. The common customer requirements were:
- Capability to produce tonnes of highly monodisperse droplets per month
- The system needed to be modular and flexible
- Easy to use – no tools
- Allow good optical access
- Offer excellent chemical compatibility
- Precise flow control
- Ability to handle high viscosity fluids
- Flexible product collection options – bulk collection as well as well as tube collection