Microfluidic Valley


Research Projects



High-throughput biological experiments

Monodisperse droplets can be produced inside microfluidic chips thanks to particular arrangement of the channels. These well-defined droplets are used directly to create emulsions for food or cosmetics, but also to recreate and study cell-like vesicles.

N B I C

972 k€

Artificial Cells with Distributed Cores to Decipher Protein Function (ACDC)
Monodisperse droplets can be produced inside microfluidic chips thanks to particular arrangement of the channels. These well-defined droplets are used directly to create emulsions for food or cosmetics, but also to recreate and study cell-like vesicles. Elvesys
Automated high-throughput production of monodisperse emulsions with microfluidics (AutoDropProd)
We aim to apply parallelized droplet generators in combination with controlled automated droplet production to provide monodisperse emulsions despite any fluctuations in the system (for example the clogging of a microfluidic channel or other instabilities). Elvesys
Protometabolic pathways: exploring the chemical roots of systems biology (ProtoMet)
Focus on the construction of compartments that mimic protocellular structures to gain firsthand experience in how those formulations could be exploited as drug delivery vehicles. Elvesys

Lab-on-chip for ultra-fast analysis

The very small volumes of liquid flowing through a microfluidic chip allow a fast and precise detection of biomarkers, even at very low concentrations. Disease diagnosis at an early stage becomes possible with microfluidics, increasing the chance of recovery.

N B I C

1421 k€

Automated functional screening of IgGs for diagnostics of neurodeenerative diseases (AUTOIGG)
The aim of this project is the production of an innovative automated multifunctional device for diagnostics of neurodegenerative diseases. Elvesys
Volatolomics test for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis (bTB-Test)
The project will focus on the development of non-invasive methods for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis in cattle. The approach will be based on the detection of volatile organic compounds (disease fingerprint). Elvesys
Intelligent bracelet for blood pressure monitoring and detection of preeclampsia (i-bracelet)
The project aims to develop a new technology for early detection of blood pressure patterns which may indicate future blood-pressure related medical conditions. Cherry Biotech, Elvesys
3D-printing of microfluidic MEMs for Lab-on-Chip applications (M3D-LoC)
M3D-LoC consortium is gathering 18 industrial and academic partners from 9 countries to develop the next generation of 3D-printed microfluidic devices for diagnosis. Elvesys
Organ-on-Chip for early molecular diagnostic of schizophrenia (Sz-test)
The aim of this project is to decipher schizophrenia at a molecular level, and to identify new relevant biomarkers to elaborate performant diagnostic tools, allowing early stage detection and better disease management. Elvesys
Microfluidic Approaches for High-Throughput Fungicide Screening and Sensitivity Testing (MAHT-FunSST)
High-throughput fungicide screening to combat Alternaria solani infections of potato crops. Elvesys
Microfluidic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Capture (MAPIC) System
Developing new technologies towards high-efficiency waste-water remediation systems. Black Hole Lab

Advanced drug screening on organ-on-chip

Organs-on-chip are microfluidic devices mimicking the function of an organ and recreating the microenvironment of cells. Much more complex than classic 2D cell culture and much more accurate and ethical than animal testing, these structures enable effective and relevant drug screening.

N B I C

2147 k€

Brain-on-a-Chip (BrainChip)
The main objective of this project is to generate and potentially valorize a Brain-on-a-chip instrumentation platform for mimicking brain functions, testing therapeutic molecules and generating objective data. Cherry Biotech
Heart on Chip based on Induced pluripotent stem cell technology for personalized medicine (CISTEM)
The CISTEM project is oriented towards the development of the heart-on-a-chip technology for investigating Duchenne muscular distrophy. Cherry Biotech, Elvesys
Human-on-a-Chip for personalized medicine (Homo Chipien)
The first functional Human-on-a-chip project, an alternative to animal drug testing and breakthrough technology for personalized medicine. Cherry Biotech
Long-term imaging of organ-on-chip cultures: a proof-of-concept for metastatic melanoma-on-chip (IMAGINe)
Development of an organ-on-chip platform for cancer studies. Cherry Biotech
Mechanically tuned lung-on-a-chip model (MECH-LoC)
Advances in microfluidics, and in particular with organ-on-chip, offer a powerful alternative to study the lung membrane, providing a more realistic 3D-cell culture environment and the potential to reduce the number of animal studies. Elvesys
Multi-compartmental Organ-on-a-Chip (MOOAC)
Organ-on-chip technologies have the potential to curtail high experimental costs and complexities associated with in-vivo studies. Elvesys
Multi-compartmental tumor-on-chip to study breast cancer (MTOAC)
Organ-on-a-chip technology, and in particular tumor-on-a-chip, offers a powerful alternative to classic technologies and promises to be more realistic and better for the understanding of breast cancer mechanisms. Elvesys
Standard Collagenous Organs-on-chip Envisaging Advanced Biological Researches (SeCtOR ENABleRs)
The project aims to provide the scientific community with a user-friendly and customization platform able to replicate the complexity of tissues and organs. Cherry Biotech
Spheroid on a Chip (SpOC)
There is an urgent need for more physiologically relevant models (like spheroids) to better predict drug (adverse) effects in vitro during the drug development early phase. Cherry Biotech
Personalised and generalised integrated biomaterial risk assessment (PANBioRA)
The project aims to provide a new set of tools, composed of protocols and instruments, in order to standardize the evaluation of new biomaterials. Elvesys

High-resolution microscopy for cell analysis

The combination of super high-resolution microscopy and microfluidics renders single cell analysis more feasable and enables better understanding of cell function and dysfunction.

N B I C

1026 k€

An imaging platform compatible with high-resolution live-cell imaging and yeast synthetic approaches (Cherry 360)
Development of an imaging platform compatible with high-resolution live-cell imaging and yeast synthetic approaches. Cherry Biotech
Super-resolution optical microscopy of nanosized pore dynamics in endothelial cells (DeLIVER)
Development of an innovative microscopy technique which uses periodic interference light patterns to pass the diffraction limit of light, thus imaging nanometric structures. Cherry Biotech, Elvesys
From human oocyte to synthetic biology (DivIDe)
The project aims to investigate the mechanisms and principles of cell division and to reproduce them in vitro with synthetic approaches. Cherry Biotech
Molecular Machines for DNA repair (DNA Repairman)
The project aims at answering the question "What are the statistical properties and molecular mechanisms of the switches and motors involved in critical DNA repair pathways?" Elvesys
Chromatin organization profiling with high-throughput super-resolution microscopy on a chip (ProChip)
Understanding 3D-organization of cancer-associated chromatin domains could help unravel tumor heterogeneities and develop targeted therapies.Elvesys

Microfluidics for Physics & Chemistry

The small size of microfluidic channels allows the development of powerful tools for use in physics and chemistry. As an example, the temperature inside the microfluidic channels can be precisely fine-tuned and parameters of complex chemical reactions (quantities of reagents, pH, temperature...) can be easily controlled.

N B I C

895 k€



Phase-change cooling of high-power electronic devices (ThermaSMART)
The Objective of the Project is to create an international and intersectoral network working on a joint research program in the area of phase-change cooling of high-power electronic devices. Cherry Biotech, Elvesys
Chemical Reaction Networks: signal amplification, spatiotemporal control, and materials (CReaNet)
We aim at unraveling the principles for chemical reaction networks, finding pathways to modulate them from the outside, and develop them towards applications. Elvesys
Chemical Reaction Networks: signal amplification, spatiotemporal control, and materials (CReaNet)
We aim at unraveling the principles for chemical reaction networks, finding pathways to modulate them from the outside, and develop them towards applications. Elvesys
Magnetics and microhydrodynamics (MaMi)
The MaMi project combines expertise in the field of magnetism with knowledge of bioinspired local flow control, in order to create novel concepts and technological solutions that could revolutionize the field of microfluidics. Elvesys

Past projects


Multiplex qPCR for kidney disease multifunctional diagnosis (Multidet)
The development of fast multiplex quantitative PCR (qPCR) technologies will offer a unique opportunity to propose a Point of Care Test (PoCT) able to perform new multifunctional and cost-efficient diagnostics. Elvesys
Identify and detect key ocular biomarkers towards personal medicine (Biocudet)
This system will enable any practitioner to propose a diagnosis based on the simultaneous measurement of ocular disease biomarkers in less than 10 minutes. Elvesys
Automatic generation of high-throughput well-defined microdroplets (AutoMonoDroplet)
Development of a fully automated droplet production system, which can monitor droplet size, adjust flow rates and pressures of the liquids and maintain a high droplet production uniformity. Elvesys
Precision micro-mechanical lever for next-generation cell culture systems (MicroMechCell)
Development of an easy to use system for cell culture under confinement. Elvesys