Digital Microfluidics: Automating Microscale Liquid Handling

Digital Microfluidics (DMF) is a new technology that enables the manipulation of liquid droplets on open surfaces. The main power of DMF is its ability to automate sample processing for many chemical and biological assays. On-chip droplets can act as microvessels to transport and manipulate reagents and samples to perform any required assay. DMF-compatible processes include the aliquoting, transporting, mixing, heating, purification, and extraction of reagents and samples. A wide range of biological samples can be manipulated inside the droplets, including cells, bacteria, and algae, in addition to different biological molecules, from amino acids to DNA and proteins. Nearly all physiological fluids, such as blood, serum, plasma, urine, saliva, and tears, can be manipulated on DMF devices. These capabilities motivated researchers to implement DMF in many applications.