Unsolved Questions and Failure Modes in Microfluidics. A Basis For The MFA Microfluidic Roadmap Holger Becker Qw27oo

Unsolved questions and failure
modes in microfluidics
A basis for the MFA microfluidic
roadmap?
Holger Becker
1
COPYRIGHT microfluidic ChipShop 2021
Everyone experiences failures in their
microfluidic system, but they are rarely
investigated in a systemic fashion and
much less publicized
Same holds true for unsolved problems
This looks like a perfect task for an

industry association!
2
Failure modes and unsolved questions in
microfluidic chips
3
Failure modes
Some kind of categorization:

1. Failures in microfluidic functions
(bubbles, liquid goes the wrong way or not at all, etc…)
2. Failures from manufacturing
(channel blockage, leakage, bonding problems…)
3. Failures from application
(reagents do not work as intended, cells or proteins stick to
surfaces, primers not selective…..)
4
Failure modes
1. Failures in microfluidic functions
• Compared to early times in microfluidics time less

fundamental, more small effects
• Material and manufacturing often influential
• Lack of system-level simulation
• Material data often not “high quality”
• Solved by experience and design iterations
5
Failure modes
2. Failures from manufacturing
• Error library
• Go against yield
• Mostly comparatively easy to spot
• Metrology limits in speed, resolution and 3D data
6
Failure modes
3. Failures from application
• These are the failure modes we see increasingly in recent

years:
a) with increasing device/cartridge complexity
b) more “microfluidically unskilled” groups
• “Simple” assay transfer does not work
• Valuable IP
7
Failure modes
What role can MFA play?
Would it make sense to try to come up with a standardized

error categorization?
8
Unsolved problems
It’s not Christmas yet, but….

1. Fast, high resolution 3D metrology for enclosed structures
2. Full system simulation/modelling
3. Low-cost, high resolution electrodes
Biomicrofluidics,
2011, 5(2), 024107
9
Unsolved problems
It’s not Christmas yet, but….
4. Heterogeneous assembly
methods for medium volume
production (between
Low volumes High volumes
adhesive tapes and two-

component molding
5. Liquid reagent storage <5 µl
10
Conclusion
• This seems to be an underanalyzed area in microfluidics

• Challenge is how to separate corporate know-how from
general interest
• Looks like a good area for MFA

Failure modes in microfluidics
commercialization
13
Microfluidics commercialization is moving at full speed
14
Motivation
The field of microfluidics is littered with bodies of dead

companies.
1. This is nothing specific for microfluidics but rather typical for

any new technology
2. You learn more from the failures than from successes
3. We see more projects fail for non-technical reasons than for

technical reasons
15
L Steinmetz, Karen
& Edward, Spack,
The basics of
preclinical drug
development for
neurodegenerative
disease indications.
BMC neurology. 9
Suppl 1. S2. (2009).
This is the usual diagram shown for the transition between development and
product
1. Project goal COPYRIGHT microfluidic ChipShop 2021
This diagram however mainly looks at the situation from a purely
financial point-of-view
More interesting is a more holistic view on reasons for

corporate/project failures
Naive hypothesis: Success rate is a factor of company size
Experience: Success rate is independent of company size
It is the failure modes which differentiate between company size

Failure modes of „small“ companies and Start-Ups
1. They develop the „wrong“ product because they do not understand the market -
missing market acceptance
Too disruptive, not user oriented, no integration into existing workflows…..
Raindance RDT 1000

Gamera Lab-CD
2. Running out of money….underestimation of time, too high burn rate,

overpromising….
BACTERIA DIAGNOSTICS
LILLIPUT-ANALYZER
Merlin Diagnostika GmbH
3. „The curse of too much money“ (mostly an American problem…….) losing focus
Nanogen

4. Personell

Failure modes of big corporations
1. Management decisions
Mergers, selling of company division, new CEO, new strategy, concentration on core
business……
No direct champion = no successful product development!
Philips Minicare: development started around 2000, 2016 on market, 2017 closed, 2019 bought by
Siemens…let‘s see

Failure modes of big corporations
2. Not-invented-here syndrome

Common failure mode
Overengineering Rube Goldberg machine
Small companies: Large companies:

Too high expectations/tight Too many features
tolerances Cost expectations

Lessons learned?

1. Be patient
(and realistic)
Commercialization of microfluidic point-of-care diagnostic devices. Curtis D. Chin,

Vincent Linder and Samuel K. Sia. Lab Chip, 2012,12, 2118-2134

2. Be aware of failure modes!

A task for MFA?
Peabody J, Burgon T,
Paculdo D, et al.,
Postmortems on
diagnostic testing
start-ups: reports of
commercial
successes and
failures and the case
of the Zombie life
science company,
BMJ Innovations
2021;7:11-17

Unsolved Questions and Failure Modes in Microfluidics. A Basis For The MFA Microfluidic Roadmap Holger Becker Qw27oo

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Unsolved questions and failure

Same holds true for unsolved problems

This looks like a perfect task for an

Some kind of categorization:

1. Failures in microfluidic functions

• Compared to early times in microfluidics time less

2. Failures from manufacturing

3. Failures from application

• These are the failure modes we see increasingly in recent

What role can MFA play?

Would it make sense to try to come up with a standardized

It’s not Christmas yet, but….

It’s not Christmas yet, but….

adhesive tapes and two-

• This seems to be an underanalyzed area in microfluidics

COPYRIGHT microfluidic ChipShop 2021

The field of microfluidics is littered with bodies of dead

1. This is nothing specific for microfluidics but rather typical for

2. You learn more from the failures than from successes

3. We see more projects fail for non-technical reasons than for

More interesting is a more holistic view on reasons for

Naive hypothesis: Success rate is a factor of company size

Experience: Success rate is independent of company size

It is the failure modes which differentiate between company size

1. Project goal COPYRIGHT microfluidic ChipShop 2021

Too disruptive, not user oriented, no integration into existing workflows…..

Raindance RDT 1000

2. Running out of money….underestimation of time, too high burn rate,

1. Project goal COPYRIGHT microfluidic ChipShop 2021

1. Project goal COPYRIGHT microfluidic ChipShop 2021

No direct champion = no successful product development!

1. Project goal COPYRIGHT microfluidic ChipShop 2021

1. Project goal COPYRIGHT microfluidic ChipShop 2021

Overengineering Rube Goldberg machine

Small companies: Large companies:

1. Project goal COPYRIGHT microfluidic ChipShop 2021

COPYRIGHT microfluidic ChipShop 2021

Commercialization of microfluidic point-of-care diagnostic devices. Curtis D. Chin,

COPYRIGHT microfluidic ChipShop 2021

COPYRIGHT microfluidic ChipShop 2021

COPYRIGHT microfluidic ChipShop 2021

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