Precision micromechanical lever for next-generation cell culture systems

ended

Instruments to culture cells under confinement conditions are not yet available in the market, yet there is a clear need to culture cells in conditions that most closely mimic in vivo conditions. In particular, such a tool would allow the study of cells in a mechanical environment that resembles the high pressure inside tumours. Based on studies of the market and our designs, we estimate a yearly market of 25 million euros from academic cancer research labs alone. We will further expand these tools for applications in white blood cell maturation and stem cell differentiation. For this project, we need to hire a researcher capable of designing a high-precision instrument to exert confinement on the cells uniformly without crushing them. The basic design has already been validated, but the current method to exert pressure is unreliable and cannot be commercialized. We do not have the precision instrumentation knowledge in-house to build a better tool and we have been unable to find a suitable candidate in the local market. We propose to find an associate who is enthusiastic about entrepreneurship, has expertise in precision instrumentation and experience in microfluidics and cell culture. We will train this candidate in entrepreneurship from the perspective of a start-up company and encourage them to start their own spin-off company with the instruments they build. At Elvesys, we have already created two successful spin-off companies. With these tools, Elvesys will gain an opening in the market of next-generation cell culture tools. We can then establish ourselves as the preferred partners of academic researchers in providing microfluidic solutions to cell culture problems. We will also position ourselves in a pioneering position to become a key player in a strategic sector. Our long-term strategic goal is to develop tools for medical diagnostics, personalized medicine and organ-on-a-chip technologies.