Caliper's liquid integrated circuit technology honored by IndustryWeek magazine as "Technology of the Year".PALO ALTO Palo Alto, city, California Palo Alto (păl`ō ăl`tō), city (1990 pop. 55,900), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1894. Although primarily residential, Palo Alto has aerospace, electronics, and advanced research industries. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 23, 1996--A new technology developed by Caliper caliper Instrument that consists of two adjustable legs or jaws for measuring the dimensions of material parts. Spring calipers have an adjusting screw and nut; firm-joint calipers use friction at the joint to hold the legs unmoving. Technologies Corporation for moving minute amounts of fluid through microscopic channels on a microchip (1) Another term for a microminiaturized integrated circuit (a "chip"). (2) To insert an RFID tag beneath the skin of an animal. It is expected that some day, humans will be microchipped. was named by IndustryWeek (IW) as one of 25 "Technologies of the Year." Called liquid integrated circuitry, Caliper's technology allows it to reproduce miniaturized versions of devices such as pumps, valves, reactors and separation systems, and link them together, creating complete chemical processing systems on a chip no larger than a dime. Applications for Caliper's LabChips(TM) range from miniaturized versions of laboratory procedures used in medical, scientific and environmental analysis and drug discovery, to uses in potential consumer products. "There is growing recognition that a very broad-based platform of technologies will be necessary to realize the full potential of miniaturized laboratory methods," said Michael R. Knapp, Ph.D., Caliper vice president of science and technology. "Aside from performing analyses, microchip devices will need to prepare specimens, handle reagents, partition molecules and perform other activities that pertain to pertain to verb relate to, concern, refer to, regard, be part of, belong to, apply to, bear on, befit, be relevant to, be appropriate to, appertain to a broad range of different information needs. Most groups working on laboratory miniaturization min·i·a·tur·ize tr.v. min·i·a·tur·ized, min·i·a·tur·iz·ing, min·i·a·tur·iz·es To plan or make on a greatly reduced scale. min are focused on nucleic acid nucleic acid, any of a group of organic substances found in the chromosomes of living cells and viruses that play a central role in the storage and replication of hereditary information and in the expression of this information through protein synthesis. analysis -- a small market today. In contrast, Caliper's technology is sufficiently broad to encompass that opportunity in addition to a wide range of other laboratory applications, including the high throughput drug discovery that is the focus of our collaboration with Hoffmann-La Roche." "Just as the incorporation of integrated electronic circuitry in a microchip format led to that technology's use in a wide variety of applications-- from computers and telecommunications, to automobiles and microwave ovens -- we are seeing that liquid integrated circuits Integrated circuits Miniature electronic circuits produced within and upon a single semiconductor crystal, usually silicon. Integrated circuits range in complexity from simple logic circuits and amplifiers, about 1/20 in. (1. offer the same broad potential for use in many clinical, research and even consumer applications," Dr. Knapp concluded. Caliper designs and fabricates its LabChips(TM) using microchip technology  Microchip Technology (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a manufacturer of microcontroller, memory and analog semiconductors, founded in 1989 when that has been applied for years in the semiconductor industry. But instead of moving electrons across tiny wires on a microchip, minute amounts of fluid, as small as three million millionths of a liter, are moved through the microscopic channels on the chip surface using electrokinetic forces. Changes in voltage across portions of the chip govern the rate and direction at which liquids flow through various portions of the chip. Specially designed computer programs control the electrical voltage that is applied to microscopic fluid reservoirs in the chip, creating functional valves and pumps with no moving parts Moving parts are the components of a device that undergo continuous or frequent motion, most commonly rotation. "Parts" only include the mechanical components which does not include fuel, or any other gas or liquid. . IW selected Caliper's technology for recognition based on its "potential impact on the future of management and/or society." The publication featured Caliper and other Technology of the Year winners in its December 16 publication, the fourth annual special issue on technology and innovation. IW will present its Technology of the Year awards to the winning companies at the publication's "Managing for Innovation" conference, to be held April 7 - 8, 1997 in Charlotte, North Carolina “Charlotte” redirects here. For other uses, see Charlotte (disambiguation). Charlotte is the largest city in the state of North Carolina and the 20th largest city in the United States. . IW is a management magazine that helps senior executives in manufacturing and its supporting industries build, safeguard, and expand the wealth of their companies. Now in its twenty-seventh year, IW has an audience of more than half a million readers. It is the flagship of Penton Publishing, a Cleveland-based publisher of more than 90 business and professional titles. Caliper Technologies Corporation was founded to develop and commercialize new automated tools for biochemical bi·o·chem·is·try n. 1. The study of the chemical substances and vital processes occurring in living organisms; biological chemistry; physiological chemistry. 2. analysis that offer the functional equivalent of a chemistry laboratory on a microchip. The company is applying advanced microfabrication from the semiconductor industry to the automated handling of fluids in order to develop rapid, affordable and easy-to-use systems for a variety of research, industrial and medical diagnostic applications. In doing so, Caliper expects to fundamentally change the way that chemical, biological and clinical information is generated and used. CONTACT: Caliper Technologies Corporation Michael R. Knapp, 415/842-1960 or J. Kureczka Associates Jesse Fisher, 415/821-2413 Kate Alderete, 415/355-3692 |
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