Production of [F]DPA-714, [F]fallypride and [F]LBT-999 using iMiDEV, a fully automated microfluidic platform: towards clinical radiopharmaceutical production.

Background: Positron emission tomography is widely used to study biological processes without disrupting normal physiological functions. Traditional radiotracer synthesis and industrial market is focused on producing large batches of F-labelled tracers, especially [F]FDG. Accessibility to smaller quantity of diverse radiopharmaceuticals is a key to enable a more personalised approach in nuclear medicine.

Advancements in Microfluidic Cassette-Based iMiDEV™ Technology for Production of L-[C]Methionine and [C]Choline.

Microfluidic technology is a highly efficient technique used in positron emission tomography (PET) radiochemical synthesis. This approach enables the precise control of reactant flows and reaction conditions, leading to improved yields and reduced synthesis time. The synthesis of two radiotracers, L-[C]methionine and [C]choline, was performed, using a microfluidic cassette and an iMiDEV module by employing a dose-on-demand approach for the synthesis process.

[F]fluoride Activation and F-Labelling in Hydrous Conditions-Towards a Microfluidic Synthesis of PET Radiopharmaceuticals.

F-labelled radiopharmaceuticals are indispensable in positron emission tomography. The critical step in the preparation of F-labelled tracers is the anhydrous F-18 nucleophilic substitution reaction, which involves [F]F anions generated in aqueous media by the cyclotron. For this, azeotropic drying by distillation is widely used in standard synthesisers, but microfluidic systems are often not compatible with such a process.

Microfluidic-based production of [Ga]Ga-FAPI-46 and [Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC using the cassette-based iMiDEV™ microfluidic radiosynthesizer.

Background: The demand for Ga-labeled radiotracers has significantly increased in the past decade, driven by the development of diversified imaging tracers, such as FAPI derivatives, PSMA-11, DOTA-TOC, and DOTA-TATE. These tracers have exhibited promising results in theranostic applications, fueling interest in exploring them for clinical use. Among these probes, Ga-labeled FAPI-46 and DOTA-TOC have emerged as key players due to their ability to diagnose a broad spectrum of cancers ([Ga]Ga-FAPI-46) in late-phase studies, whereas [Ga]Ga-DOTA-TOC is clinically approved for neuroendocrine tumors.

Production of [C]Carbon Labelled Flumazenil and -Deprenyl Using the iMiDEV™ Automated Microfluidic Radiosynthesizer.

In the last decade, microfluidic techniques have been explored in radiochemistry, and some of them have been implemented in preclinical production. However, these are not suitable and reliable for preparing different types of radiotracers or dose-on-demand production. A fully automated iMiDEV™ microfluidic radiosynthesizer has been introduced and this study is aimed at using of the iMiDEV™ radiosynthesizer with a microfluidic cassette to produce [C]flumazenil and [C]-deprenyl.

Open microfluidic gel electrophoresis: Rapid and low cost separation and analysis of DNA at the nanoliter scale.

Gel electrophoresis is one of the most applied and standardized tools for separation and analysis of macromolecules and their fragments in academic research and in industry. In this work we present a novel approach for conducting on-demand electrophoretic separations of DNA molecules in open microfluidic (OM) systems on planar polymer substrates. The approach combines advantages of slab gel, capillary- and chip-based methods offering low consumable costs (<0.

Quantitative characterization of non-contact microdispensing technologies for the sub-microliter range.

This work describes how to effectively compare non-contact dispensing technologies for automated liquid handling under high-throughput screening (HTS) conditions in the range of 0.05-10 μl. Exemplarily, we characterize five established technologies and categorize them into valve-based and positive displacement-based technologies.

Numerical investigations on electric field characteristics with respect to capacitive detection of free-flying droplets.

In this paper a multi-disciplinary simulation of a capacitive droplet sensor based on an open plate capacitor as transducing element is presented. The numerical simulations are based on the finite volume method (FVM), including calculations of an electric field which changes according to the presence of a liquid droplet. The volume of fluid (VOF) method is applied for the simulation of the ejection process of a liquid droplet out of a dispenser nozzle.

Completely superhydrophobic PDMS surfaces for microfluidics.

This study presents a straightforward two-step fabrication process of durable, completely superhydrophobic microchannels in PDMS. First, a composite material of PDMS/PTFE particles is prepared and used to replicate a master microstructure. Superhydrophobic surfaces are formed by subsequent plasma treatment, in which the PDMS is isotropically etched and PTFE particles are excavated.