This week we’re discussing all things microfluidics! Joining us for this discussion is Franz Pruefer, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Maxwerk, a company with health biotech and pharmaceutical divisions.Under the pharmaceutical division, Maxwerk supplies injectable and solid dose manufacturing machinery, and pharmaceutical engineering and construction. Their customers include domestic and multinational pharmaceutical (Global Fortune 500) companies with production facilities in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and more!Under the biotech division, Maxwerk’s team of multidisciplinary scientists are working to develop novel and innovative biotechnology products for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Their team is comprised of talented individuals from biotechnology, synthetic biology, engineering, chemistry, and artificial intelligence. Under Maxwerk Healthcare, they supply medical devices and consumables for hospitals in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.Franz started Maxwerk in 2007. In Q4 2019, he stepped aside as Managing Director of Maxwerk (Formerly Grupo Maxwerk) to become Chairman of the Board. This change in Management and current Product Development, has led Maxwerk to a new phase of sustained accelerated growth. On This Episode We Discuss:Microfluidics overviewThe evolution of microfluidic technology over the last 4 decadesApplications of microfluidics within healthcareHow microfluidic based testing can perform single cell studiesDroplet-based microfluidicsThe cost difference between microfluidic based tests and standard testsHow microfluidics offers a unique advantage to patients who live in more remote areas of the worldApplications outside of the healthcare space (space medicine, security at airports, stadiums, etc.)Upcoming projects at MaxwerkYou can stay up to date with Maxwerk’s projects and Franz by following him on TwitterAnd connecting with him on LinkedIn!Stay tuned for the next new episode of DNA Today on January 27th, 2023! New episodes are released every Friday. In the meantime, you can binge over 219 other episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, streaming on the website, or any other podcast player by searching, “DNA Today”. Episodes since 2021 are also recorded with video which you can watch on our YouTube channel. DNA Today is hosted and produced by Kira Dineen. Our social media lead is Corinne Merlino. Our video lead is Amanda Andreoli. Our Outreach Intern is Sanya Tinaikar. Our Social Media Intern is Kajal Patel. And our Graphic Designer Ashlyn Enokian.See what else we are up to on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and our website, DNAToday.com. Questions/inquiries can be sent to info@DNAtoday.com. As a listener of DNA Today, you probably heard me talk about NIPT, non-invasive prenatal screening, that looks for extra or missing chromosome conditions during pregnancy. But did you know there is one that can also screen for recessive disorders (like cystic fibrosis) and fetal antigens? BillionToOne offers UNITY Screen, which does all this from one blood draw from a pregnant person. Visit unityscreen.com for more info. And stay tuned for our upcoming episodes with BillionToOne exploring non-invasive prenatal screening for recessive conditions and red blood cell fetal antigens (Sponsored)If you’ve been listening to DNA Today for a while, you probably know I am also a full time prenatal genetic counselor. Between that job, this podcast, and being a producer/host of other podcasts, I am pretty busy! To keep my energy up and stay productive I drink a decent amount of coffee. The new coffee I’m drinking is from Four Sigmatic. I’m really picky about my coffee, it’s got to be bold, not watery. And I’ve been really happy with Four Sigmatic. Here’s the difference from other coffees, it includes mushrooms, which I know sounds bizarre. I will admit I was hesitant, but you get health benefits and don’t taste it. I like the immune system boost, as I often get sick in the winter months. So we