A Gravity Driven Microfluidic Platform for DNA Enrichment

There is currently considerable interest in the development of microfluidic based lab-on-chip devices for sample preparation in next generation sequencing. One of these steps is DNA enrichment which often relies on conventional PCR to amplify the sample to detectable levels. To successfully automate this step, technologies are required whereby the samples are selectively inputted, thermocycled and selectively dispensed, all non invasively and therefore leading to no contamination issues. In this study such a system was created through the use of liquid-liquid plugs flowing in a gravity driven siphon. Plug generation was achieved through an innovative approach whereby a hydrophobic tube was traversed between two immiscible fluids (silicon oil and PCR reagents) and successful amplification was shown for Beta-2-Microfloblin (B2M).