NanoMixer
Fluids
Laser Cutting
3D Printing
A modular, stackable microfluidic device for the high throughput manufacturing of lipid nanoparticles for RNA vaccines.
The Problem
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are an important component of RNA vaccines. Current methods for fabricating LNPs have either low throughput or produce particles of inconsistent sizes.
NanoMixer seeks to use microfluidic mixing to produce LNPs with both high throughput and accuracy.
Explorations in Rapid Prototyping
4 methods of rapid prototyping were tested in the process of creating this device. Laser cutting was used to fabricate the clear mixing chips, and powder-based 3D printing was used to fabricate the bottom structural plate.
Optical Microscope Inspection
2D and 3D imaging of surface features for each rapid prototyping method.
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
Validation of new designs using fluid simulations of water and ethanol.
Final Assembly
Combining the laser-cut mixing layers with top and bottom plates using hardware, O-rings, and microfluidic tubing.
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