An IFW start-up team developed a new technology for automated blood plasma separation and won the Cluster Prize Life Sciences of the IQ Innovation Competition Middle Germany 2022. With the new technique, blood samples can be effectively purified for the early detection of diseases.
The spin-off project µAcoustiX of the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (IFW) is waiting in the wings with an innovation for automated blood plasma separation. As part of the IQ Innovation Competition Middle Germany 2022, the team won the Cluster Prize Life Science, which was presented at Köthen Castle on June 30, 2022. The team convinced the jury with the new CleanPlasma technology, which uses acoustic waves to separate the individual components of blood samples. The blood samples flow through micro-channels on a chip, where acoustic waves cause the components to vibrate, reliably separating blood cells, bacteria and other particles from the plasma literally in passing.
Crucial for the application of the acoustic selection method in practice is that the procedure can be fully automated and integrated into existing diagnostic equipment, e.g. for polymerase chain reaction (PCR), fluorescence-activated cell analysis (FACS) or point-of-care testing (POCT). Further development work and validation are required to bring the method from the research laboratory to market maturity. The prize gives the four-member spin-off team, consisting of Dr. Stefanie Hartmann, Dr. Andreas Winkler, Dr. Uhland Weißker and Melanie Colditz, a welcomed boost for the search for investors and for the application for transfer projects, with which the further steps can be financed so that the planned spin-off µAcoustiX can go to market.
The cluster innovation competition "IQ Innovation Award Central Germany" is designed by the European Metropolitan Region of Central Germany to promote novel, marketable products, processes and services to increase innovation and competitiveness in Central Germany. The award is given in five branch-specific clusters. The Life Science 2022 cluster award was jointly sponsored by the companies Serumwerk Bernburg AG and IDT Biologika GmbH.
Contact:
Dr. Stefanie Hartmann
s.hartmann(at)ifw-dresden.de
phone: +49 351 4659 206
