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Advances in Lab-on-Chip and Microfluidics Technologies for Drug Discovery and Clinical Diagnostics
Frost & Sullivan, March 2007
This Frost & Sullivan research service titled Advances in Lab on Chip/Microfluidics for Drug Discovery and Clinical Diagnostics provides in-depth information about the various commercial products and technologies developed for drug discovery and clinical diagnostics, currently available in the market and those on the verge of commercialization. In this research, Frost & Sullivan's expert analysts thoroughly examine micro arrays, biosensors, lab-on-chip assays and other emerging technologies.
Lab on Chip/Microfluidics’ Potential to Hasten Drug Discovery Fuels Market Growth
Due to the complex drug development process, only one-tenth of the drug compounds that enter the clinical trial phase succeed in becoming commercially available. Pharmaceutical companies are constantly searching for robust and fast methods to find, refine, and test a probable drug. To this end, the market is excited about microfluidics and use of lab on chip (LOC) devices that are powered by microfluidics. 'Microfluidics can prove valuable for every step in drug discovery– target identification, compound generation, lead identification, and lead optimization,' says the analyst of this research service. 'The integration of microfluidic LOC technologies with the revolutionary advances being made in lifescience technologies such as genomics, proteomics, high throughput screening, and molecular diagnostics-, is expected to provide the flexibility and versatility needed for efficient drug discovery.'
Microfluidics has the potential to enable the efficient screening of more drugs in less time and drastically cut down the costs of drug development that the industry is currently facing. Platforms for cell culture and single cell studies that chips can provide will be helpful in metabolomics and proteomics research, which in turn will accelerate target identification. Microcytometry and cell sorting and the generation and handling of small liquid volumes also find applications in structure-based drug discovery, protein crystallization, and screening of compound libraries, which can aid in lead identification. Further, LOCs can be used for testing the efficacy of drugs, pharmacological profiling, and toxicity testing by studying the effect of drugs on living cells. Realizing the potential of microfluidics, both pharma and drug discovery devices companies world over are gearing up to implement it in their drug discovery pursuits.
Development of Disposable Polymer Smart LOCs Opens New Era for Point-of-care Testing
The recent development of innovative disposable polymer smart LOCs, which include smart passive microfluidics, embedded on-chip power sources, and integrated biosensor array, has opened a new avenue for the point-of-care testing in clinical diagnostics. These LOCs help produce test results in a few hours, as opposed to the current day-long wait, and can make a vast difference in diagnosis and treatment, not to mention patient outcome. 'Presently, LOCs are being developed to test AIDS, tuberculosis, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), malaria, pneumonia, and numerous other infectious diseases,' notes the analyst. 'LOC devices are also likely to be utilized for the screening and detection of many no communicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, leukemia, stroke, and several central nervous system (CNS)-related disorders.'
Overall, LOC and microfluidics technologies’ advantages such as increased sensitivity, mobility, and efficiency are likely to favor its uptake in private and public health sectors. Further innovations such as transition to digital microfluidics rather than the present-day concept of continuous flow microfluidics is expected to attract more attention from pharmaceuticals and diagnostics manufacturers and determine the future of this technology.
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