Via Boston Globe we’ve discovered RainDance Technologies, Inc., a Lexington, Massachusetts company that is developing high throughput microfluidic technology to deliver, sort, and analyze individual liquid droplets at 3,000 units per minute.
From the company:
RainStorm technology creates an island of simplicity in the controlled chaos of the laboratory. It utilizes simplicity and speed to inspire scientists to design experiments in ways previously unaffordable or unimaginable. The platform is aligned with current applications to accelerate workflow and throughput. This approach has generated quantifiable benefits:
Individualized reactions based on proven methods with minimal opportunity for process induced bias or error, while avoiding the disadvantages and limitations of multiplexed assay formats Full control of the discrete droplets with our microfluidic elements and advanced signal processing, providing operators simple and streamlined workflows Picoliter reaction volumes providing favorable reaction kinetics and efficient utilization of precious samples Physical characteristics that allow the flexibility to meet the needs of a variety of applications The speed and higher precision of millions of reactions per hour in a compact instrument footprint, avoiding the need for large automation solutions Increased statistical confidence provided by large numbers of replicate measurements The ability to easily capture the output of on-chip processes, empowering the technology with both preparative and analytical capabilities By deflecting the costs inherent in large automation solutions and circumventing the complexities of multiplex assays, the RainStorm droplet-based technology platform easily adapts to applications in high-growth life science markets.
Here’s a video, slowed down by a factor of 1,000, showing RainDance’s droplet sorting system:
RainDance technology page…
More from Boston Globe…