Company Profile
Fluidigm Corporation
Company Overview
Fluidigm develops and distributes systems based on integrated fluidic circuits (IFCs). Our systems can play a vital role in the advancement of today’s life science and allied fields, including molecular diagnostics, personalized medicine, and wildlife conservation. With IFCs, scientists are able, at last, to conceive of and implement large, complex studies that further our knowledge of biology.
The evolution of the life science may be compared to that of the electronics industry, in which the integrated circuit replaced transistors and wiring for routing electricity, sparking exponential increases in speed and complexity of computing. Like electronic circuits, IFCs are fabricated using a photo lithographic process, in this case, to pattern molds for producing silicone wafers that have microscopic channels, pumps, valves, and other components needed for the manipulation of nano-volume scale fluids. These components can be densely arrayed for parallel operations, without loss of reliability.
Company History
Find out why the integrated fluidic circuit is a recent innovation, although futurists forecast its arrival decades ago.
If the term integrated fluidic circuit makes you think of a miniature device, packed with micro-mechanical parts for controlling tiny amounts of fluid, you've got the right idea. But making that image a practical reality required a paradigm shift.
In the 1970s engineers recognized that the principles that spawned the semiconductor industry could be applied to liquids and gasses. That is, integrated circuits and pathways could be used on a device to incorporate and miniaturize complex fluid-handling steps without loss of reliability.
Until recently, though, the reality of fluidic circuits has been thwarted because the material (silicon) and techniques used for making electronic circuits just don't work very well for making mechanical parts to control fluids. Imagine trying to stop water from draining from your kitchen sink with a dinner plate. The plate is too rigid to create a tight seal, much as silicon lacks the required deflective properties necessary to make microfluidic circuits. Some developers tried to use silicon for making microfluidic devices based on electro-osmotic flow, but this method turned out to be ineffective at regulating the mixing of fluids, without complicated workarounds.
In 1998, Dr. Stephen Quake and his group at the California Institute of Technology solved this problem through the development of a fabrication process called multilayer soft lithography. The process uses a rubber-like material, that deflects under pressure to create an effective seal. More importantly, the structures are so small that tens of thousands of them can be integrated into a dense network of channels for regulating aqueous solutions on a nanoliter and picoliter scale. The elegantly simple valve was later trademarked as the NanoFlex™ valve.
Notable Accomplishments / Recognition
1999 - Founding of Fluidigm Corporation (originally Mycometrix) to commercialize IFC technology developed in the laboratory of biophysicist Stephen Quake, PhD.
2003 - Launch of the TOPAZ® System for Protein Crystallization, including IFCs that assemble 768 crystallization conditions in parallel and instrumentation and software that automate the digital imaging and analysis of experiments.
2004 - Development of IP around a new class of IFCs referred to as dynamic arrays and of prototypes yielding as many as 9,216 parallel data points.
2005 - Opening of a 15,000 square-foot IFC fabrication facility in Singapore.
2006 - Launch of the BioMark™ Real-Time PCR System, a multi-application hardware/software platform based on BioMark™ dynamic arrays. Introduction of BioMark™ digital arrays, heralded as a practical solution for ultra-sensitive detection by digital PCR.
2007 - Launch of high-throughput genotyping on the BioMark system, a breakthrough for the study of genetic variation within large populations.
2008 - Launch of the Fluidigm® EP1 System for genetic analysis.
Benefits
Fluidigm rewards employee performance.
Security/Peace of Mind:
Competitive salaries and Incentive Stock Options.
Fluidigm provides a comprehensive healthcare package including medical, dental, vision coverage extending to the employee's spouse and dependent children.
Section 125 Flexible Spending Accounts for medical and dependent care expenses.
Life/AD&D Insurance and Short/Long Term Disability benefits.
A fully sponsored 401(k) plan.
Professional Advancement:
A prolific work environment and significant opportunities for professional growth.
Fluidigm will provide tuition reimbursement and conference/seminar attendance for those employees who wish to further their knowledge in their field of interest.
Mental Health:
The Company will authorize flexible schedules to accommodate personal needs. Fluidigm firmly believes high employee morale is essential for both corporate and employee prosperity.
A sponsored Employee Assistance Program (EAP) available to all employees and their dependents.