Use of molecular beacons to study mixing and hybridization in microfluidic devices

We present the use of molecular beacons as sensitive indicators in microfluidic bioMEM devices. A method has been developed to study mixing and hybridization of molecular beacons to target nucleic acids in real time in a microfluidic channel. This method allows quantification of DNA and RNA molecules in solution, i.e., without the prerequisite of an immobilization step necessary in most other hybridization formats. The detection limit for DNA was determined to be in the order of femtomoles. Our results suggest the feasibility of using molecular beacon hybridization in microfluidic devices for the detection of pathogenic bacteria in environmental and medical fluids.