Development of a reconfigurable microfluidic platform for the automation of laboratory protocols and production of biochips

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Throughput demands on protocols used to study the human genome, proteome, and pharmaceutical testing are increasing exponentially. Despite giving excellent results, the protocols traditionally used in these pursuits have relatively long cycle times due to the inefficient mass transport of biological material from solution to the reaction site. Cycle times can be reduced by increasing reagent concentrations, but this results in the overuse of expensive reagents. These disadvantages are particularly limiting in proteomics, where reagents cannot be easily synthesized. A micro total analysis system automates a macroscale process by integrating a series of modules onto a single microscale device. In many applications, the development of these systems increases efficiency and throughput by reducing cycle times and the consumption of raw materials. The goal of this research is to develop prototype microfluidic devices that automate practical biological applications and provide increased throughput and decreased operating cost. Applications being pursued include protein identification, DNA replication, and microarraying chips. The platform of interest is electrowetting on dielectric. Electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) devices can individually control the motion of nL sized droplets through the application of electric fields. Unlike continuous flow microfluidic devices, EWOD devices do not require complex features for flow control or external pumping. This makes them easier to fabricate, smaller, and more suitable for applications that use multiple reagents.