A\nresearch team in the University of Macau\u2019s (UM) Institute of Microelectronics\nhas developed a new on-chip sample delivery technology. The new technology will\nnot only enhance droplet dispensing on chips, but will also greatly improve\nsample preparation efficiency, paving the way for realising \u2018lab-on-a-chip\u2019. The\nstudy has been published in the internationally well-known journal Lab on a Chip<\/i> as a cover story.<\/p>
Microfluidic\ntechnology, known as \u2018lab-on-a-chip\u2019, has long been considered to have great\npotential in biomedical research because of its advantages of miniaturisation,\nintegration, and low consumption. However, after decades of development, this\ntechnology still has not been widely used in daily scientific workflow. One\ncritical reason for biochemists\u2019 reluctance to accept microfluidics is its\ncomplicated sample preparation on-chip, which is completely different from the\ntraditional training for off-chip experiments with micropipettes. In this\nresearch project, a special electrode structure was designed on a digital\nmicrofluidic chip to eject \u2018satellite droplets\u2019 in a specific region to be\npicked up by another drop to realise on-chip sample delivery. With simple\nexternal electric signal control, the sample can be conveniently and flexibly\ndelivered within a large range (5pL~20nL). It is extremely close to the\ndelivery method of traditional pipettes while avoiding complicated and tedious\noperating procedures.<\/p>
According\nto the research team, this technology provides researchers with an easy and\nflexible way to dispense droplets on a chip, bridging the gap between traditional\nexperimental platforms and microfluidic technology, which will help to truly\nrealise \u2018lab-on-a-chip\u2019. At the same time, it provides a powerful tool for\nachieving a high-throughput portable platform. Combined with the team\u2019s experience\nand achievements in such fields as nucleic acid detection and drug screening,\nthis technology is expected to be used in the development of portable\nbiochemical experimental analysis equipment, which will help realise the\ntransformation of research results and contribute to scientific and\ntechnological innovation in the Greater Bay Area.<\/p>
Assistant\nProfessor Jia Yanwei in the Institute of Microelectronics is the corresponding\nauthor of the article. PhD student Li Haoran is the first author. PhD student\nShen Ren, Prof Mak Pui In, and Prof Rui Martins also made important\ncontributions to this study. This project was funded by the Science and\nTechnology Development Fund, Macao SAR (file no: 0053\/2019\/A1, 110\/2016\/A3 and\nSKL-AMSV(UM)-2020-2022) and UM (file no: MYRG2017-00022-AMSV and MYRG2018-00114-AMSV).\nTo read the related research article titled \u2018Turn On\/Off Satellite Droplet Ejection\nfor Flexible Sample Delivery on Digital Microfluidic Systems\u2019, please visit <\/p>