Fluidigm has manufactured 250 million microfluidic valves to date

Fluidigm says its Singapore biochip factory has manufactured and shipped more than 250 million microscopic NanoFlex valves to date.

The 250 million valves built into Fluidigm’s integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs) would be equivalent to the number of valves required for all the conventional plumbing – both residential and commercial – in a metropolitan region the size of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Fluidigm’s NanoFlex valves stop or release the flow of liquids containing genetic samples and reagents in microfluidic chips.

These chips are used by life science researchers to conduct endpoint, real-time and digital PCR analyses.

Scientists utilize this technology to explore individual stem cells and cancer cells, to the traits of tomatoes being grown for a local grocery store shelf.