CIF: IHCS: Medium: Collaborative Research: Design and Implementation of Position-Encoded 3D Microarrays

这项研究涉及设计和建造三维(3D)微阵列设备，带有位置控制的微球，在单一平台上同时、高效和准确地筛选互补DNA、RNA和蛋白质受体。这种新设备是便携的、自给自足的、自动的、经济实惠的。该设备的应用包括医学筛查、药物发现和基因测序。特别是，它可以执行廉价的疾病诊断，并提供对不同患者分子基础的洞察。在现有的3D微阵列中，微球随机放置在底物中。这种随机放置的微球使得它们的包装效率低下，数据处理复杂。为了克服这些缺点，研究人员设计和建造了带有位置控制微球的新型微阵列。他们通过计算性能界限来分析估计目标浓度的统计精度，并应用结果来选择微球之间的最小距离和最佳工作温度，同时确保期望的最佳估计精度。最小的微球间距可以实现高填充，而最佳的温度降低了成本。研究人员使用微流控方法实现了位置控制的微阵列；特别是，他们使用流体动力学捕获机制并使用芯片上的微阀和泵来放置微球。其长期目标是将该设备与图像传感器、电子学和光流控成像技术相结合，建立一个完整的芯片实验室系统。

This research involves design and building of a three-dimensional (3D) microarray device, with position-controlled microspheres, to perform simultaneous, efficient, and accurate screening of complementary DNAs, RNAs, and protein receptors on a single platform. This new device is portable, self-contained, automatic, and cost effective. Applications of this device include medical screening, drug discovery, and gene sequencing. In particular, it performs inexpensive disease diagnosis and provide insight into the molecular basis in different patients.In existing 3D microarrays, microspheres are placed randomly within a substrate. This random placement of the microspheres makes their packing inefficient and their data processing complex. To overcome these drawbacks, the investigators design and build new microarrays with position-controlled microspheres. They analyze the statistical accuracy in estimating the target concentrations by computing performance bounds, and apply the results to select the minimal distance between the microspheres and the best operating temperature, while ensuring desired optimal estimation accuracy. The minimal microsphere distance enables high packing, and the optimal temperature reduces the cost. The investigators implement the position-controlled microarray using a microfluidic approach; particularly, they emplace the microspheres using a hydrodynamic trapping mechanism and using on-chip microvalves and pumps. The long-term goal is to integrate this device with image sensors, electronics, and optofluidic imaging to build a complete lab-on-a-chip system.