CogniFlow-Cyte
...a platform that opens innovative approaches in detecting bacteria, cells, and microparticles in the fight against diseases and for a cleaner environment
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Our mission
Our mission
Currently, when it comes to diagnostic methods and drug development, availability of easily accessible tools is a crucial limitation both in the developed and developing world. Here’s where TalTech Lab-on-a-Chip and Microfluidics group wants to make an impact. We develop bioanalytical and biotechnological tools that are 1) accessible, 2) accurate and 3) scalable. In our approach we use droplets, typically made of water, flowing in a stream of oil. These tiny droplets can each have a different combination of reagents and cells, thereby each acting like an individual test tube. This allows high precision and scalability, as you can always generate more droplets, but the volumes will remain exact. Because of their small size, droplets also decrease reagent use and increase reaction speed. Thus, you can get the results faster and cheaper, with less waste than with widespread methods in the biolab.
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Figure 1: The CogniFlow platform includes a droplet generation and imaging module (A.), which fits workbenches easily and can be carried between labs. The platform can generate droplets of a uniform size at high speed, and image them to visualize the cells, bacteria or microparticles captured inside them for further studies (B.). Also, part of the platform is a machine learning algorithm (C.) cataloguing droplets and classifying the objects inside them based on various criteria, e.g. the number of objects.
What's CogniFlow and how does it work?
What's CogniFlow and how does it work?
In 2020, we set out to develop our modular droplet platform, the CogniFlow-Cyte. This was made possible through the generous financial support of the Estonian Research Council, under grant number PRG620. Key design principles behind CogniFlow stem from the Estonian push to digitalize; we wanted it to be 1) accessible and affordable, 2) scalable and modular, 3) smart and connected. CogniFlow allows more accurate and scalable droplet-based research than currently available instruments and methodologies.
Click on the arrows to unfold the text for more details...The CogniFlow-Cyte platform (Figure 1/A.) combines droplet generation, imaging and analysis. The total footprint of the generation and imaging system is 50 x 40 x 30 cm, which fits workbenches easily. Droplets can be imaged after generation to show the encapsulated objects, and after incubation with reagents to detect results, e.g. bacterial growth (Figure 1/B.). The platform is also light enough to carry from one lab to another, increasing its availability and workflow flexibility. A vital part of the system is an edge AI (artificial intelligence that runs locally on hardware, rather than in the cloud) algorithm, which can catalogue droplets, as well as detect and classify the objects inside (Figure 1/C.). This algorithm is considerably more energy-efficient than widely used cloud-based cell analysis solutions. Furthermore, the CogniFlow platform has wireless communication capability, allowing remote monitoring and reducing the workload of technicians. Compared to other droplet platforms that rely on high-power hardware, CogniFlow uses power-efficient embedded hardware, which allows it to run from a battery. The droplet generation module CogniFlow-Drop uses about as much power as a single LED bulb, or only a little more than a smartphone! In the future, the CogniFlow platform will be upgraded with a droplet sorting module that allows screening and testing useful biomolecules for diagnostics or for therapeutic drug development.
Why are droplets important?
Why are droplets important?
Lots of tiny droplets of similar size can each have a different combination of reagents and cells, thereby each acting like an individual test tube. This allows for bioanalytical tests with high precision, high speed, and low reagent cost.
Key areas of research with droplet platforms include 1) detection of bacterial or viral threats, 2) cancer analysis and treatment, 3) micro-and nano-plastic research.
Click on the arrows to unfold the text for more details...1) Precise and fast detection of pathogens (viral, bacterial or other) is vital for figuring out the correct treatment of a patient, otherwise it puts their lives at risk. CogniFlow platform provides both droplet generation and detection tools for droplet-based digital diagnostic approaches that can detect and quantify even the single copy of pathogenic DNA or RNA in patient samples. Additionally, combined with sorting module the droplet-platform can be used to improve the enzymes used in such diagnostic droplet assays.
2) The process of analyzing cancer and determining the best treatment can be very tricky as cancerous cells can be very rare or diverse. Combination of droplet-technology with modern genomic tools opens the possibility to investigate the DNA and RNA profile of cancer patient samples at single cell level. This in turn provides direction for proper treatment scenarios. For example, this way it is possible to analyze circulating tumor cells, the presence of which pre-indicates cancer metastasis. New highly specific therapeutic drugs can be developed for those treatment scenarios by using droplet sorting capability of the platform
3) Plastic pollution is a serious problem today. Plastic is everywhere around the world and especially the smallest sizes (micro- and nanoplastics) pose an immense threat as they are also found inside all organisms, including humans. Although the long-term effects of micro- and nanoplastics are still not fully understood, it is known that they provide a perfect environment for microbes to develop and spread antimicrobial resistance. By encapsulating plastic samples in miniature water droplets, researchers can conduct many individual experiments simultaneously and with high resolution. This high-speed processing at a microscopic level with droplet microfluidic technology could ultimately aid in better comprehension of the effects of micro- and nanoplastics on the world around us.
Figure 2. Examples of droplet experiments: A) Microalgae encapsulated in droplets for toxicology studies, B) investigation of microplastic in droplets, C) Fluorescent bacteria in droplets
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