Integrated Microfluidic Systems for DNA Analysis

This study reports the integration of an electrokinetically-driven micro-mixer with a on-chip temperature control system, and applies the integrated microfluidic chip to the DNA amplification process. Using the integrated chip, the cultured cells are initially broken down in a micro lysis reactor. Extracted DNA, primers and reagents are then driven electroosmotically into a mixing region where they are mixed by an electrokinetically-driven micro-mixer. The mixture is then cycled in a micro-PCR (polymerase chain reaction) chamber to perform DNA amplification. Experimental results show that the proposed device can automate the sample pretreatment operation for DNA amplification, thereby achieving significant time and effort savings. This novel integrated microfluidic device, which facilitates cell lysis, sample driving/mixing, and DNA amplification, could make a promising contribution to the continuing efforts aimed at miniaturizing bio-analysis systems.