In diesem Semester wird die im WiSe 2022/23 erfolgreich gestartete Vortragsreihe Medical Information Sciences fortgesetzt. Renommierte Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler unterschiedlicher Fachdisziplinen und Forschungsstandorte geben jeden Donnerstag ab 16:00 Uhr Einblicke in aktuelle Fragestellungen und Anwendungsgebiete des breiten Forschungsfeldes Medical Information Sciences.

The development of microfluidic "lab-on-a-chip" (LOC) systems offers enormous potential for a wide range of applications in biotechnology, bioprocess engineering, and medicine. Demand for the use of microfluidics for biotechnological applications continues unabated, as such systems enable precise and rapid manipulation of living cells and other biological samples. Three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies are an attractive alternative to conventional microfabrication techniques because they can produce complex structures with high resolution in a short time. Therefore, 3D printing is particularly driving the development of LOC prototypes. The availability of biocompatible printing materials also enables the fabrication of customized microsystems for biological and biomedical applications. Our research at the Chair of "Technical Biology" focuses on the development of 3D-printed microfluidic systems that can be directly integrated into bioprocesses. In my talk, I will present some examples of the current developments and applications. For instance, 3D-printed micromixers enable rapid and homogeneous mixing of cells, particles, and detergents. By integrating 3D-printed spiral separators, continuous separation of animal cells at the end of a cultivation is achieved. Another focus is the development of 3D-printed biosensor systems, which are used for online detection and monitoring of analytes in cell culture processes through specific aptamer sequences and show great potential for use in medical diagnostics (point-of-care).