Issue 18, 2013

A lab-in-a-droplet bioassay strategy for centrifugal microfluidics with density difference pumping, power to disc and bidirectional flow control

Abstract

In this paper, we present a lab-in-a-droplet bioassay strategy for a centrifugal microfluidics or lab-on-a-disc (LOAD) platform with three important advancements including density difference pumping, power to disc and bidirectional flow control. First, with the water based bioassay droplets trapped in a micro-channel filled with mineral oil, centrifugal force due to the density difference between the water and oil phases actuates droplet movement while the oil based medium remains stationary. Second, electricity is coupled to the rotating disc through a split-core transformer, thus enabling on-chip real-time heating in selected areas as desired and wireless programmable functionality. Third, an inertial mechanical structure is proposed to achieve bidirectional flow control within the spinning disc. The droplets can move back and forth between two heaters upon changing the rotational speed. Our platform is an essential and versatile solution for bioassays such as those involving DNA amplification, where localized temperature cycling is required. Finally, without the loss of generality, we demonstrate the functionality of our platform by performing real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in a linear microchannel made with PTFE (Teflon) micro-tubing.

Graphical abstract: A lab-in-a-droplet bioassay strategy for centrifugal microfluidics with density difference pumping, power to disc and bidirectional flow control

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 May 2013
Accepted
20 Jun 2013
First published
21 Jun 2013

Lab Chip, 2013,13, 3698-3706

A lab-in-a-droplet bioassay strategy for centrifugal microfluidics with density difference pumping, power to disc and bidirectional flow control

G. Wang, H. Ho, Q. Chen, A. K. Yang, H. Kwok, S. Wu, S. Kong, Y. Kwan and X. Zhang, Lab Chip, 2013, 13, 3698 DOI: 10.1039/C3LC50545F

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements