Integrated air stream micromixer for performing bioanalytical assays on a plastic chip

Abstract

This paper describes the design, functioning and use of an integrated mixer that relies on air flux to agitate microliter entities of fluid in an embedded microfluidic cavity. The system was fabricated from multiple layers of a thermoplastic elastomer and features circuits for both liquid and air supply along with pneumatic valves for process control. Internally-dyed polymer particles have been used to visualize flow within the fluid phase during agitation. Numerical modelling of the micromixer revealed an overall efficacy of 10⁻¹ to 10⁻² for momentum transfer at the air–water interface. Simulation of air vortex dynamics showed dependency of the flow pattern on the velocity of the flux entering the cavity. Three bioanalytical assays have been performed as proof-of-concept demonstrations. In a first assay, cells of Listeria monocytogenes were combined with magnetic nanoparticles (NPs), resulting in high-density coverage of the bacteria's surface with NPs after 1 min of agitation. This finding is contrasted by a control experiment without agitation for which interaction between bacteria and NPs remains low. In a second one, capture and release of genomic DNA from fungi through adsorption onto magnetic beads was tested and shown to be improved by agitation compared to non-agitated controls. A third assay finally involved fluorescently-labelled target oligonucleotide strands and polystyrene particles modified with DNA capture probes to perform detection of nucleic acids on beads. Excellent selectivity was obtained in a competitive hybridization process using a multiplexed micromixer chip design.