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Published on: October 1, 2007
Micromachined pipette arrays
I Papautsky1, J Brazzle, H Swerdlow
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science, University of Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA. ian.papautsky@uc.edu
IEEE Transactions on Bio-Medical Engineering
|June 2, 2000
Summary
Batch fabricated metallic micromachined pipette arrays (MPA) enable precise submicroliter liquid handling. These novel arrays offer advantages for high-throughput biochemical analysis and gel electrophoresis.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Microfabrication
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Micropipette technology faces limitations in precision and throughput.
- Microscale biochemical analysis systems require compatible sample manipulation tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and characterize batch-fabricated metallic micromachined pipette arrays (MPA).
- To evaluate the application of MPA in high lane density slab gel electrophoresis.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication involved p+ etch-stop membrane technology, anisotropic silicon etching, sacrificial photoresist micromolding, and electrodeposition.
- Nickel was used as the structural material, with palladium coating for biocompatibility.
- MPA with varying dimensions and center-to-center spacing were produced.
Main Results:
- MPA allow precise submicroliter sample transfer and highly-parallel manipulation.
- MPA are compatible with microscale biochemical analysis systems.
- Application in gel electrophoresis demonstrated improved separation efficiency and lane density.
Conclusions:
- Batch-fabricated metallic MPA offer significant advantages over conventional micropipette technology.
- MPA are a promising tool for advancing high-throughput microscale biochemical analyses.
- The technology enables enhanced performance in applications like gel electrophoresis.
