Demonstration of Automated Analysis of Multiple Analytes on an Integrated Digital Microfluidic Platform.

Abstract

Featured Article: Srinivasan V, Pamula V, Fair R. An integrated digital microfluidic lab-on-a-chip for clinical diagnostics on human physiological fluids, Lab Chip 2004;4:310–15.2 Our 2004 article highlighted here was the first report of a droplet-based microfluidic device that integrated on a monolithic platform all the functions for analyzing human physiological fluids, including sample injection, on-chip reservoirs, droplet formation structures, fluidic transport, mixing of reagent and sample droplets, and optical detection. The device could also be run by a computer. Thus, the device proved the potential for automated analysis of multiple analytes for clinical diagnostics using a programmable lab-on-a-chip. The use of microfluidic lab-on-a-chip technology for clinical applications in the early 2000 timeframe was almost exclusively based on continuous fluid flow in microchannels. Fluid pumping based on electrokinetic phenomena (electrophoretic separation and electroosmotics), external pressure sources, centrifugal effects, and passive capillary flow were being investigated. However, continuous-flow based devices offered very little flexibility in terms of scalability, reconfigurability, and suitability for use with a variety of liquids. For instance, physiological liquids with high ionic strength, such as blood and urine, could not be pumped using electrokinetic effects due to excessive Joule heating. In addition, continuous flow systems relied on fixed channels through …