Design, construction and characterization of a microfluidic chip

Abstract

Microfluidic chips have paved the way for efficient and economical diagnostics of

DNA in the biological field. This report reviews a novel Microfluidic Liquid Phase

Nucleic Acid Purification Chip that is able to extract DNA/RNA from a sample. This

is done by flushing a reagent in a forward and back manner over the wells containing

the sample, which will leave behind the purified DNA/RNA in the wells after the

process. However, there were a few possibilities not addressed, like post-extraction

protocol, the collection of the purified lysate from the wells and the study of flow

rate in multiple channels. This report will investigate the fabrication, loading

procedures and the possible design improvements for post-extraction protocol and

investigation of the consistency of flow rates. The report will also investigate the

potential of size based cell/particle enrichment by varying factors like flow rate and

cycles of flushing motion.

Lastly, the report will present an improved design and possible fabrication process

using the results of the investigation.