DUBLIN, Calif., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Microchip Biotechnologies, Inc. (MBI) and TEC Edmonton have entered into an exclusive patent license agreement that allows MBI to commercialize a University of Alberta invention that can improve the development of lab-on-a-chip devices and biosampling procedures.
“The licensing of this fundamental patent on manipulating beads on-chip continues to build upon our strong intellectual property position in microfluidic devices,” said Stevan Jovanovich, President and CEO of MBI. “Microfluidic devices will play a critical role in next generation instrumentation in delivering fully automated, cost effective solutions life science, applied sciences, and diagnostic products for laboratory and field based applications.”
California-based MBI will use the technology patented by TEC Edmonton officially called an Apparatus and Method for Trapping Bead Based Reagents within Microfluidic Analysis Systems (US Patent 6,432,290). A team led by Dr. Jed Harrison, Professor and Chair in the Department of Chemistry, invented the technology to allow trapping of beads on-chip, as well as packing and unpacking the trapping zones, which significantly extends the applications of microfluidic analysis systems, such as those used in biodefense and genomics industries.
Microfluidics deals with the behavior, precise control and manipulation of microliter and nanoliter volumes of fluids and is used in the development of devices such as DNA chips, micro-propulsion, and lab-on-a-chip technology. Microfluidic devices are smaller, faster and cheaper than the desktop counterparts that they are designed to replace.
About TEC Edmonton
TEC Edmonton acts as the exclusive technology transfer office for the University of Alberta, the largest research institution in the province of Alberta with nearly 13,000 academic and support staff and over 36,000 students at its campus in the Province’s capital, Edmonton. A joint venture of the University of Alberta and Edmonton Economic Development Corporation, TEC Edmonton is committed to providing investors with access to high-growth, advanced-technology opportunities in the form of new inventions, innovations, or early stage ventures created in the Edmonton region. For more information, visit: http://www.TECedmonton.com.
About Microchip Biotechnologies
Microchip Biotechnologies Inc. is an early-stage privately-held company located in Dublin, California that is developing advanced nanofluidic sample preparation and analytical instrumentation for Life Sciences, Applied Sciences, and Diagnostics markets. These solutions are based on MBI’s proprietary “NanoBioProcessorTM platform and associated “Microscale-on-Chip-Valves” (MOVTM). More details can be found on the Company’s website: http://www.microchipbiotech.com.
Microchip Biotechnologies
CONTACT: Barney Saunders, Ph.D, Chief Commercial Officer for MicrochipBiotechnologies Inc., +1-925-558-2028,barney.saunders@microchipbiotech.com; or Jason Darrah of TEC Edmonton,+1-780-492-3129, Jason.darrah@TECedmonton.com
