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Updated: May 5, 2026
A Droplet-Based Microfluidic Approach and Microsphere-PCR Amplification for Single-Stranded DNA Amplicons
Published on: November 14, 2018
A novel method of droplet generation based on the self-propelling of water phase and its potential application in
Xiaoguang Lu1, Qianyue Jia1, Yaning Zheng1
1Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Qingdao Nucleic Acid Rapid Detection Engineering Research Center, Qingdao Key Laboratory of Nucleic Acid Rapid Detection, Sino-UAE International Cooperative Joint Laboratory of Pathogenic Microorganism Rapid Detection, College of Biological Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266042, China.
Abstract:
Despite the benefits of microfluidic continuous flow PCR (CF-PCR) such as simplified thermal management and expedited heat transfer, challenge remains in processing multiple targets by CF-PCR, particularly regarding spatial multiplexing. The segregation of the target sample into droplets as isolated reactors is an effective method for achieving spatial multiplexing. Nevertheless, conventional techniques for droplet generation necessitate the management of both oil and water phases, thereby augmenting the complexity of channel design and device operation, particularly when parallel channels were needed for manipulating multiple targets. This study presented an innovative technique for droplet formation employing the self-propelling of the aqueous phase through the principles of Laplace pressure and utilizing a time order of fluid loading instead of simultaneous management of fluids. As a result, only a singular type of fluid was necessary for manipulation at one time, thereby streamlining chip design, device configuration, and operations. Spatial multiplexing droplets were generated by multiple microstructures with both functions of the segmentation of the sample target solution and droplet generation. In this study, four types of droplets generated from restoring the preloaded specific primers by target solution with PCR mix completed CF-PCR amplification via the serpentine channel in 10 min. Utilizing the idea of self-propelling of the aqueous phase, this study demonstrated an alternative method for droplet generation and significant promise for a simple way to achieve spatial multiplexing in CF-PCR when detecting multiple targets.
