Lab-on-Chip: small chips with a big impact

A promising development in this area is Lab-on-Chip technology: a technology that performs complex laboratory processes on chips a few centimeters in size. This enables new applications in diagnostics, drug development, and food safety, which are faster, more affordable, and more sustainable. 

This was demonstrated in the previously published  ‘Deep Dive into Lab-on-Chip: Microfluidic Applications in Nanotechnology’, which mapped the Dutch Lab-on-Chip ecosystem. This analysis forms the basis for this story about how the technology works, the opportunities for the Netherlands, and the steps needed to bring innovations to practice more quickly. For this deep dive, close collaboration took place with Stanleyson Hato and the rest of the Life Sciences & Health team. 

The Netherlands holds a leading position internationally in this technology. Researchers, startups, and companies are working on applications that could have a significant societal impact. But translating that knowledge into practical solutions requires collaboration. 

That is why parties such as NXTGEN Hightech, Health~Holland, and Invest-NL are working together in this domain to establish shared facilities, public-private partnerships, and appropriate financing. Ingrid Relou, domain lead at NXTGEN Hightech, and Carmen van Vilsteren, Chair of Health Holland, share more about this in the video above. 

Lab-on-Chip brings laboratory research back to a small chip where liquids and reactions are precisely controlled. This results in faster and more consistent analyses, while using less material. The technology has diverse applications. In healthcare, Lab-on-Chip enables rapid diagnostics such as glucose measurements. In agriculture, it helps in the early detection of plant diseases, while in the bio-based industry, it optimizes fermentation processes. 

A related technology is Organ-on-Chip (OoC), where chips mimic the functioning of human organs. This allows researchers to test medicines more realistically, contributing to more effective treatments and reducing animal testing. 

Although the Netherlands has a strong knowledge base, the leap from research to large-scale application often proves challenging. A significant bottleneck is regulation and validation of new models. New technologies must demonstrate that they are reliable and reproducible, which requires time and extensive testing.  

Additionally, funding plays a role. Lab-on-Chip technology is capital-intensive and has long development times, causing traditional investors to often be cautious. Researchers, startups, and larger companies also still frequently operate separately, while knowledge and facilities are not always easily shared. As a result, the transition from prototype to application often takes longer than necessary.  

According to Yvonne Greeuw, senior investment manager at the Deep Tech Fund of Invest-NL, the ecosystem requires extra support at this stage:  “An important conclusion from our collaboration is that more early-stage Medtech investments are needed in Europe. Startups need to engage with pharmaceutical companies or other potential customers earlier, and regulation and standardization must better support these innovations.”