High resolution DNA separations using microchip electrophoresis

Abstract

Planar microfluidic devices have emerged as effective tools for the electrophoretic separation of a variety of different DNA inputs. The advancement of this miniaturized platform was inspired initially by demands placed on electrophoretic performance metrics by the human genome project and has provided a viable alternative to slab gel and even capillary formats due to its ability to offer high resolution separations of nucleic acid materials in a fraction of the time associated with its predecessors, consumption of substantially less sample and reagents while maintaining the ability to perform many separations in parallel for realizing ultra-high throughputs. Another compelling advantage of this separation platform is that it offers the potential for integrating front-end sample preprocessing steps onto the separation device eliminating the need for manual sample handling. This review aims to compile a recent survey of various electrophoretic separations using either glass or polymer-based microchips in the areas of genotyping and DNA sequencing as well as those involving the growing field of DNA-based forensics.