Edmonton, Alberta, September 25, 2000 - Dr. H. John Crabtree of Micralyne presented data on "Microchip Injection and Separation Anomalies Due to Siphoning" yesterday at the BioMEMS and Biomedical Nanotechnology World 2000" conference in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Crabtree's talk was on work done in collaboration with Dr. Chris Backhouse of the University of Alberta and focused on the effects of fluid flow anomalies owing to pressure effects and ion depletion encountered during the course of normal chip-based capillary electrophoresis separations. Microfluidic chip-based analyses are performed on microliter-volume samples as they move along 20 micrometer-deep channels that are several centimeters long. Little work has been done to characterize or quantify many of these effects, although problems have been known to arise from them. Still other effects being investigated may be entirely new to the field of microfluidic analyses.
"This work is part of our ongoing effort to fully understand the dynamics within a microfluidic environment, so that we can better design and manufacture devices that perform optimally in microfluidic applications", said Graham McKinnon, Micralyne's Vice President of Research and Development.
About Micralyne
Micralyne, a private corporation based in Edmonton, Alberta, will continue to apply semiconductor microfabrication technology to the design and manufacture of devices and systems for biotechnology and telecommunications applications. As Alberta Microelectronic Corporation, the Company has been recognized for its ability to use microfabrication techniques to make microfluidic devices, which are miniaturized components that are enabling radical improvements in genetic analysis, drug discovery and bioinstrumentation. Micralyne will continue building towards its vision of being a leader in supplying the world market for microfluidic and other microfabricated devices.
For further information contact:
Mr. Chris Lumb
President & CEO
Micralyne Inc.
1911 - 94 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada T6N 1E6
Phone: 780-431-4400
clumb@micralyne.com