Fast nucleic acid amplification for integration in point-of-care applications.

An ultrafast microfluidic PCR module (30 PCR cycles in 6 min) based on the oscillating fluid plug concept was developed. A robust amplification of native genomic DNA from whole blood samples could be achieved at operational conditions established from systematic investigations of key parameters including heat transfer and in particular flow velocities. Experimental data were augmented with results from computational fluid dynamics simulations.

Integrated microfluidic platform for the electrochemical detection of breast cancer markers in patient serum samples.

A microsystem integrating electrochemical detection for the simultaneous detection of protein markers of breast cancer is reported. The microfluidic platform was realized by high precision milling of polycarbonate sheets and features two well distinguishable sections: a detection zone incorporating the electrode arrays and the fluid storage part. The detection area is divided into separate microfluidic chambers addressing selected electrodes for the measurement of samples and calibrators.

Compact, cost-efficient microfluidics-based stopped-flow device.

Stopped-flow technology is frequently used to monitor rapid (bio)chemical reactions with high temporal resolution, e.g., in dynamic investigations of enzyme reactions, protein interactions, or molecular transport mechanisms.

Hands-free sample preparation platform for nucleic acid analysis.

A Lab-On-Chip system with an instrument is presented which is capable of performing total sample preparation and automated extraction of nucleic acid from human cell samples fixed in a methanol based solution. The target application is extraction of mRNA from cervical liquid based cytology specimens for detection of transformed HPV-infections. The device accepts 3 ml of sample and performs the extraction in a disposable polymer chip of credit card size.