High-throughput screening using droplet-based microfluidic platform
The integrated droplet‑based microfluidics platform enables end‑to‑end, high‑throughput workflows for single‑cell encapsulation, large‑scale screening, and selective recovery of target droplets, providing experimental resolution and throughput that are not achievable using conventional plate‑based or bulk culture methods.
A key strength of the platform is its ability to compartmentalize single cells into highly monodisperse picoliter‑ to nanoliter‑scale (pL–nL) droplets, with generation rates of up to 30,000 droplets per minute. This represents a significant advance over classical culturing by enabling isolation and analysis of individual cells from complex agricultural and environmental samples. Such capabilities enable a wide range of biological processes to be conducted at scale, including nucleic acid amplification, microbial growth, enzymatic assays, and protein expression, while minimizing reagent consumption and experimental variability. The second major advantage is the integrated real‑time optical detection and active droplet sorting capability, based on user‑defined criteria such as fluorescence intensity, droplet size, and light‑scattering properties, with sorting throughputs of up to 1,000 events per second.
About North Dakota State University (NDSU)
North Dakota State University is a comprehensive public land‑grant research university (R1) in Fargo with a pragmatic, industry‑engaged culture. Companies engage through an adjacent research and technology park offering incubator space and prototyping resources, and shared high‑performance computing supports data‑intensive work. Pilot‑scale processing facilities and co‑located labs in the Peltier Complex and the campus pilot plant help de‑risk scale‑up and validate manufacturing processes. A statewide Extension network provides access to field sites, stakeholders, and dissemination channels for real‑world testing and deployment. Research is backed by competitive federal funding from agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and a dedicated technology transfer office streamlines IP, licensing, and startup formation.
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