In the development of new pharmaceutical therapies, researchers conduct metabolic analyses of live cell cultures to understand the critical role of metabolism in a wide variety of diseases and conditions. To do so, they must rely on life science research and diagnostic instruments with complex high gain amplifier circuits. Leading manufacturers of this type of equipment have partnered with Exxelia Ohmcraft to design custom, high-resistance surface mount resistors that are essential to the function of these circuits.
Specifically, oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) are two key indicators of mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis that provide a systems-level view of cellular metabolic function in cultured cells. The analyzer equipment conducts these measurements automatically.
“The accuracy and reliability of these tools are crucial to the researchers’ ability to make progress in their studies, which have the potential to change—and save—lives,” said Eric Van Wormer, Vice President of Exxelia Ohmcraft. “To meet the design needs of this particular application, we developed a custom resistor solution with a unique form factor and used special terminations to facilitate the manufacturability of the end product.”
Exxelia Ohmcraft’s technology utilizes the proprietary Micropen electronic printing system to “print” precise, narrow, serpentine lines with resistive ink on a ceramic substrate, producing higher performance resistors over a wider range of values on a smaller surface area than is possible with conventional film resistor technology.
