Ultraviolet transparent silicon oxynitride waveguides for biochemical microsystems.

The UV wavelength region is of great interest in absorption spectroscopy, which is employed for chemical analysis, since many organic compounds absorb in only this region. Germanium-doped silica, which is often preferred as the waveguide core material in optical devices for telecommunication, cannot accommodate guidance below 400 nm, owing to the presence of UV-absorbing centers. We show that silicon oxynitride (SiO(x) N(y)) waveguides exhibit very good UV performance.

Use of culture, PCR analysis, and DNA microarrays for detection of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli from chicken feces.

A DNA microarray for detection of Campylobacter spp. was recently developed and applied to detect Campylobacter spp. directly from chicken feces.

One-step immobilization of aminated and thiolated DNA onto poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) substrates.

Direct immobilisation of modified DNA oligonucleotides (aminated or thiolated) onto a plastic substrate, poly(methylmethacrylate), (PMMA) is described. Using the methyl esters present on non-modified PMMA, it was possible to establish a covalent bond between the electron donor of a DNA probe and the C terminal ester of the PMMA substrate. Since the procedure consists of a single brief wash in isopropanol or ethanol, the procedure is simple and environmentally friendly.

Integrating advanced functionality in a microfabricated high-throughput fluorescent-activated cell sorter.

The integration of complete analyses systems "on chip" is one of the great potentials of microfabricated devices. In this study we present a new pressure-driven microfabricated fluorescent-activated cell sorter chip with advanced functional integration. Using this sorter, fluorescent latex beads are sorted from chicken red blood cells, achieving substantial enrichments at a sample throughput of 12000 cells s(-1).

Polymer microfluidic chip for online monitoring of microarray hybridizations.

A disposable single use polymer microfluidics chip has been developed and manufactured by micro injection molding. The chip has the same outer dimensions as a standard microscope slide (25 x 76 x 1.1 mm) and is designed to be compatible with existing microscope slide handling equipment like microarray scanners.