Oil microsealing: a robust micro-compartmentalization method for on-chip chemical and biological assays.

A simple and robust method to compartmentalize aqueous solutions into an array of independent microchambers is presented. The array of microchambers fabricated in poly(dimethylsiloxane) are filled with the sample solution through a microfluidic channel and then sealed with oil to isolate the microchambers from each other. A water reservoir close to the microchambers allows the maintainance and incubation of sub-nanoliter solutions (e.