Rapid development of a Revolutionary Microfluidic Assay Platform

RainDance Technologies Ltd aim was to develop a gold standard assay development platform using a revolutionary microfluidic assay format. They selected Cambridge Consultants as their development partner.

The innovative assay format, developed by Raindance Technologies, uses tiny droplets of reagent within a microfluidic cartridge. These droplets can be combined, interrogated and sorted at speeds of up to 10 KHz, allowing a significant increase in throughput over conventional methods, while at the same time minimising reagent use. Ultimately RainDances' aim is to develop a revolutionary 'Personal Laboratory System' that will transform the way assays are run, and have application across markets as diverse as drug discovery and clinical diagnostics.

Working with RainDance, Cambridge Consultants developed the instrument that will transport this new technology from the test bench to the labs of large pharma & diagnostic companies. In working to develop this instrument platform Cambridge Consultants has balanced conflicting demands of specification, timescale and cost to meet RainDance's needs. In addition to providing the required engineering skills to achieve leading edge detection sensitivity, Cambridge Consultants also provided the project management, system design and documentation, allowing RainDance to concentrate on the microfluidics as their core competency. Working together, the final instrument was developed from concept to beta prototype in 6 months.