Abstract
Sample preparation is one of the most time-consuming steps in diagnostic assays, particularly those involving biological samples. In this paper we report the results of finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations and thermographic imaging experiments carried out with the intent of designing a microplate for rapid, high-throughput sample preparation to aid diagnostic assays. This work is based on devices known as microwave lysing triangles (MLTs) that have been proven capable of rapid sample preparation when irradiated in a standard microwave cavity. FDTD software was used to model a microplate platform as a polystyrene substrate with an array of various passive scattering elements (PSEs) of different sizes, shapes, and interelement spacings in a 2.45 GHz field identical to that of a common microwave oven. Based on the FDTD modeling, several PSE arrays were fabricated by cutting PSEs out of aluminum foil and adhering them to the bottom of regular polystyrene microplates to make prototypes. Each prototype microplate was then irradiated in a microwave cavity for a range of different times, powers, and source angles and the heating effects were observed via a forward looking infrared (FLIR) camera. Based on the results, two prototype microplate platforms have been shown to demonstrate electromagnetic and thermal enhancements similar to those seen with MLTs as well as tunable thermal responses to radio frequency (RF) irradiation.
Highlights
Sample preparation is an essential process in many laboratories but is often the main bottleneck in turnaround time as well as the primary source of error and cause of discrepancies between laboratories in many analytical schemes [1]-[3]
When it was observed that they exhibited weaker electric field effects than the disk-shaped passive scattering elements (PSEs), the analogous rhombi-shaped PSEs were simulated because of their similarity in shape to the triangles used for microwave lysing triangles (MLTs)
As shown in this work, we have developed a viable method of designing a microplate platform for high-throughput
Summary
Sample preparation is an essential process in many laboratories but is often the main bottleneck in turnaround time as well as the primary source of error and cause of discrepancies between laboratories in many analytical schemes [1]-[3]. This region of high intensity in turn leads to ionization of molecules in the sample, such as oxygen, that are within range of the focused E-field [13], [19], [20]. We pursued this idea in order to develop a microplate platform for high-throughput sample preparation with the electromagnetic and thermal effects of MLTs. Using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations to observe how different arrays of passive scattering elements (PSEs) on the surface of a substrate focused electric field intensity in a 2.45 GHz field, several potential arrays of PSEs were identified. After determining which arrays showed the greatest electric field enhancements in FDTD simulations, a prototype microplate was made by adhering passive scattering elements (PSEs) nearly identical to those in the simulation to an actual 96-well microplate, as shown in Fig. 2., and observing its thermal effects upon irradiation
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