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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 19, 2025

Picoinjection of Microfluidic Drops Without Metal Electrodes

Picoinjection of Microfluidic Drops Without Metal Electrodes

Published on: April 18, 2014

Tunable and Contamination-Free Injection with Microfluidics by Stepinjection.

Beiyu Hu^1,2,3, Shun Ye^1,4, Dongwei Chen^1,3

¹State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.

Analytical Chemistry

|September 21, 2021

Summary

This study introduces stepinjection, a novel droplet microfluidics technique that prevents cross-contamination in sensitive assays. This method enhances reagent delivery for applications like digital PCR and single-cell sequencing.

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Last Updated: Oct 19, 2025

Picoinjection of Microfluidic Drops Without Metal Electrodes

Picoinjection of Microfluidic Drops Without Metal Electrodes

Published on: April 18, 2014

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Area of Science:

Biotechnology
Microfluidics
Biochemistry

Background:

Droplet microfluidics enables multistep reactions and screenings.
Conventional picoinjection T-junctions struggle with cross-contamination, limiting sensitive assays.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a contamination-free picoinjection method for droplet microfluidics.
To demonstrate the efficacy of the novel stepinjection technique in preventing cross-contamination.

Main Methods:

A T-junction with a stepped channel design (stepinjection) was developed.
Enzymatic assays using fluorescein isothiocyanate-casein and fluorescently labeled droplets were performed.
Comparison of cross-contamination levels between stepinjection and conventional picoinjection was conducted.

Main Results:

Stepinjection effectively eliminated cross-contamination in sensitive enzymatic assays.
Conventional picoinjection showed severe cross-talk between droplets.
The stepinjector design increased the pressure difference, enhancing isolation.

Conclusions:

The stepinjector is a simple, tunable, and reliable solution for contamination-sensitive droplet microfluidic applications.
This technology can advance multiplex digital PCR, single-cell sequencing, and enzymatic screening.
Stepinjection overcomes limitations of conventional picoinjection for biological and molecular assays.