Technology award for microneedle-optofluidic sensor system

Sahan Ranamukhaarachchi, PhD student from UBC in Vancouver, won the 2016 Brian L. Barge Award for Excellence in Microsystems Integration for his work carried out at PSI in 2015 in collaboration with Dr. Victor Cadarso and Dr. Celestino Padeste. He developed a biosensing platform with integrated hollow microneedles, which can be used to collect interstitial fluid in a minimally invasive manner. The inner lumen of the microneedle is bio-functionalized with specific recognition elements for competitive bioassays. The assay is carried out inside the microneedle and read out through the attached polymeric optofluidic system. As reported earlier this year in scientific reports, vancomycin detection was demonstrated at a remarkable limit of detection (< 100 nM) in extremely low sample volumes of 0.6 nL only.

Sahan Ranamukhaarachchi won the award based on a poster presentation and technology demonstration at a Canadian Microfabrication Conference Innovation 360.

For more information see also "Therapeutic drug monitoring in sub-nanoliter volumes".