Office for Technology Licensing and Industry Collaboration ● http://techtransfer.tufts.edu Tufts School of Engineering Tufts School of Engineering Polymer Discovery Via Polymer Discovery Via Microfluidic Enzymatic Microfluidic Enzymatic Synthesis Synthesis Prof. Peter Y. Wong Prof. David Kaplan Tufts University - Medford, MA October 3, 2006
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Office for Technology Licensing and Industry Collaboration ● Tufts School of Engineering Polymer Discovery Via Microfluidic.
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Office for Technology Licensing and Industry Collaboration ● http://techtransfer.tufts.edu
Tufts School of EngineeringTufts School of Engineering
Polymer Discovery Via Polymer Discovery Via Microfluidic Enzymatic SynthesisMicrofluidic Enzymatic Synthesis
Prof. Peter Y. WongProf. David KaplanTufts University - Medford, MA
October 3, 2006
Tufts School of EngineeringTufts School of Engineering
OverviewOverview
• Markets• Needs• Problems• Solution• Team• Next Steps• Summary
Biochemical Science
Enzyme Polymer science 1970-
Synthesis 1990-
Micro-fabrication
Microsystems Technology
Engineering
Mechanical Electronics
Tufts School of EngineeringTufts School of Engineering
Many MarketsMany Markets
• Any market that benefits from new biochemicals• Improved Foods
– Additives, Modification, Nutrition
• Green Chemistry– Agricultural, Packaging, Analysis
• New Medicines– Topical, Digested, Structural
Tufts School of EngineeringTufts School of Engineering
Markets Needs vs.WantsMarkets Needs vs.Wants
• New products– Better– Faster– Cheaper– Differentiated
• Macro and Micromolecules needed– New material– New processes
• Focus on new polymers and processes
Tufts School of EngineeringTufts School of Engineering
Problems and RisksProblems and Risks
• Current Polymer Discovery Process– Long time with process and people– High costs and large resources needed– FDA, EPA stringent regulations– Limited research to commercialization
• Alternate Approaches– Nanoscience/technologies - far in future?– Biomimetics/Bioinspiration - hit or miss?– Microengineering/fluidics - scalability?
Tufts School of EngineeringTufts School of Engineering
• Enzymatic polymerizations can produce products– via mild reaction conditions w/o toxic reagents– in an environmentally friendly synthetic process– that can be scaled from microscale to macroscale