Redbud launches chip line for rapid mixing

US-based Redbud has announced an expansion to its MXR (“mixer”) microfluidic chip family with the introduction of MXR Blue.

The MXR Blue line of chips is a new formulation of the company's proprietary Redbud Post technology designed to maintain performance in sample-to-answer cartridges without the need for additives.

MXR Blue is designed for use in a range of applications, especially for system developers seeking to improve diagnostic sensitivity, shorten time-to-result, or simplify the consumable for a multiplexed genomic or proteomic test. With MXR Blue, assay developers can now flood chambers directly with raw biofluids such as blood or urine, cell media, pure water, and other high-surface tension fluids.

“We developed MXR Blue based on customer demand,” said Jay Fisher, vice president of research and development. “Researchers and systems developers alike have been seeking out the mixing advantages of MXR, but were restricted in their ability to utilise surfactants in their assays. Thanks to MXR Blue hydrophilic characteristics this is no longer an issue. Developers can integrate the cartridge-ready chip into their protocols and immediately reap the rewards of MXR-enhanced mixing. With MXR Blue, it's now possible to work directly with non-diluted biological fluids like whole blood, urine, cerebral spinal fluid, saliva, synovial fluid, plasma, serum, etcetera.”

Redbud’s MXR chips are recognised for their rapid mixing capability in microfluidic volumes where reliance upon diffusion kinetics limits the performance of sample-to-answer assays. MXR chip models are assembled microfluidic components, well-suited for use with microarrays, reagent reconstitution and microfluidic cartridges. MXR Blue comes in two standard chip assemblies.