UT-Battelle, LLC, acting under its Prime Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the management and operation of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), is seeking a commercialization partner for a new microfluidic imaging sampling system for mass spectrometry. The ORNL Technology Transfer Office will accept licensing applications through July 1, 2022. Biology-on-a-chip devices are increasingly being used to mimic real-world biological systems with reduced cost and increased experimental control. However, current technologies provide limited chemical information, especially for small molecules, and often destroy the device in the process. Given the chemically complex and dynamic nature of biological lab-on-a-chip devices, new technologies are needed to enable in situ mass spectrometric characterization of components within microfluidic devices. ORNL’s ChemSitu microfluidic technology provides a new analytical capability to solve the problem of elucidating the complex chemistry occurring within microfluidic devices. This technology uses the combination of a porous membrane-microfluidic chip and a liquid microjunction-surface sampling probe with mass spectrometry to enable broad chemical characterization and chemical imaging of contents of microfluidic chips in situ, at any point within the device and without destroying the device in the process. Uniquely, the porous membrane layer on the device allows normal microfluidic operation, but when in contact with the sampling probe, it allows extraction of nanoliter volumes of liquid through the porous membrane at that location. The extracted liquid is then chemically characterized by mass spectrometry. Knowledge of the chemical constituents (e.g., lipids, metabolites, proteins) inside microfluidic devices is valuable for understanding cell function and the mechanisms of molecular transport in living systems. Society and industry rely extensively on our chemical understanding of living systems to diagnose disease and to develop new and more effective therapeutics. Industries such as cancer diagnosis and pharmacokinetics need to evaluate therapeutic effectiveness in living systems, and biology-on-a-chip devices with a broad chemical analysis capability represent an ethical, cost-effective means to assess therapeutics. The collective features of the ChemSitu microfluidic technology make it more versatile than any other chemical analysis capability in the microfluidic device market, opening the door to numerous applications that require mass spectrometric chemical analysis of such devices. This technology was originally developed using federal funds and selected for further development under the laboratory's Technology Innovation Program (TIP). TIP supports technology development using royalties from existing technology licenses to accelerate the market readiness of high potential technologies. License applications will be evaluated based on prospective partners' ability and commitment to successfully commercialize the technology, with a preference for United States based businesses and small businesses. If a license is executed, the ORNL researchers developing the technology will be eligible to compete for additional TIP funding to further advance the technology. For additional information and license application, contact Jennifer Caldwell, Group Leader, Technology Commercialization, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 865-574-4180,
[email protected]. Intellectual Property US Patent Application 16/744,980 entitled “Porous Membrane Enabled Mass Spectrometry Characterization of Microfluidic Devices” filed on July 22, 2021 (UTB ID 201904446). Publications J. F. Cahill, M. Khalid, S. T. Retterer, C. L. Walton, and V. Kertesz, “In Situ Chemical Monitoring and Imaging of Contents within Microfluidic Devices Having a Porous Membrane Wall Using Liquid Microjunction Surface Sampling Probe Mass Spectrometry,” J. Am. Soc. Mass. Spectrom., 2020, 31 (4), 832-839. R&D 100 Award “ChemSitu Microfluidic Technology for In Situ Mass Spectrometric Characterization of Microfluidic Devices,” ORNL Press Release, October 2, 2020, https://www.ornl.gov/news/four-ornl-technologies-win-rd-100-awards. Resources and Announcements Additional background on the Technology Innovation Program and technical business opportunities may be found on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory website https://www.ornl.gov/content/tip-talks Licensing Guidelines with National Laboratories can be found https://www.ornl.gov/sites/default/files/2019-02/LicensingGuide.pdf June 6, 2022 – TIP Day at Oak Ridge National Laboratory interested parties can come to ORNL for a conference wherein presentations are given by all inventors further highlighting the licensing opportunities, laboratory visits will be possible demonstrating the technologies, and breakout sessions will be available with commercialization/licensing associates.