Lab tour

Lab Impressions

We are located in the new BSS building on the Schällemätteli campus in Basel. Here we benefit from top modern facilities and infrastructure of the Department BSSE, and collaborations with surrounding universities and institutes.

Our studies combine microsystems technology, biological or chemical assays, and microscopy. See below photographs for lab impressions and some selected instruments and infrastructure available in the laboratory.

Enlarged view: Photographs of the PDMS room and a wafer, and chips

Several materials are employed for chip fabrication. For preparation of polymer chips made of poly(dimethylsiloxane, PDMS), we use a two-step process. First, master forms are prepared by optical lithography done in the clean room facility (link to cleanroom facility). Second, the final chips are made in PDMS by casting, a process referred to as soft lithography. Valves and pumps are integrated, when two layers are used: a fluid and a control layer. Electrodes can be integrated on a glass support.

We also use other materials, such as thermoplastic polymers.

Larger features, frames and holders are custom-made by means of 3D printers based on fused filament fabrication (FFF) and stereolithography (SLA).

We combine microfluidics with routine optical and fluorescence microscopy as well as specialized fluorescence-based techniques including confocal microscopy. In addition, we have access to the single-cell facility at D-BSSE that provides a wide range of specialized techniques.

We use an open droplet microfluidics platform for encapsulation of analytes or cells on microdroplet arrays. The droplets are directly analyzed by fluorescence spectroscopy, or MALDI-MS.

We use MALDI-MS (Bruker, Rapiflex) to analyze samples on MALDI target plates or directly on microdroplet arrays. The LC-MS (Agilent, Infinity II Quadrupole) is used for off-chip analysis and characterization of samples.

We have two fully equipped mammalian cell culture labs. Here we work with many different cell types such as cancer cells and endothelial cells.

Two rooms of the laboratory as well as two microscopy rooms are assigned as BSL-2 Microbiology laboratory. Here we work with non-pathogenic (BSL-1) and pathogenic bacteria (BSL-2). We have equipment for cultivating and testing bacterial cultures, including, e.g. biosafety cabinets, plate reader, photometer, different incubators, thermo shaker. Standard instruments for molecular biology are available as well.