Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026
A Microfluidic-based Electrochemical Biochip for Label-free DNA Hybridization Analysis
Published on: September 10, 2014
An RNA-DNA hybridization assay chip with electrokinetically controlled oil droplet valves for sequential microfluidic
Xuan Weng1, Hai Jiang, Chan Hee Chon
1Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract:
A novel RNA-DNA hybridization microfluidic chip for detecting pathogens was developed. The on-chip sequential operations of reagent delivery and washing processes in the hybridization assay were performed by gravity-based pressure-driven flow controlled by a pair of electrokinetically controlled oil-droplet sequence valves (ECODSVs). Numerical method was used to simulate the fluidic processes of reagents in the complex microchannel network. Based on the parameters determined from the numerical simulations, a reasonable hybridization assay microfluidic chip was developed. The application of this on-chip assay to detect Salmonella was demonstrated. Significantly shortened assay time (25 min) and a 3-20-fold reduction in reagent/sample consumption were achieved. The detection limit was 10³ CFU/mL which is comparable to the conventional assay. With further development of automatic control and the improvement of the detection strategy, this microfluidic RNA-DNA hybridization assay technique has a potential for point-of-testing applications.
