Ferrodrop Dose-Optimized Digital Quantification of Biomolecules in Low-Volume Samples

Research Progress of Nucleic Acid Detection Technology for Genetically Modified Maize

Genetically modified (GM) maize is one of the earliest GM crops to have achieved large-scale commercial cultivation globally, and it is of great significance to excel in the development and implementation of safety policy regarding GM, and in its technical oversight. This article describes the general situation regarding genetically modified maize, including its varieties, applications, relevant laws and regulations, and so on. From a technical point of view, we summarize and critically analyze the existing methods for detecting nucleic acid levels in genetically modified maize. The nucleic acid extraction technology used for maize is explained, and the introduction of traditional detection techniques, which cover variable-temperature and isothermal amplification detection technology and gene chip technology, applications in maize are described. Moreover, new technologies are proposed, with special attention paid to nucleic acid detection methods using sensors. Finally, we review the current limitations and challenges of GM maize nucleic acid testing and share our vision for the future direction of this field.

Light fueled mixing in open surface droplet microfluidics for rapid probe preparation

In this study, a contactless, flexible, and interference-free light fueled method has been developed to enhance the mixing between the ssDNA and dynabeads in a droplet, which enables rapid probe preparation for promoting the probe technology based on open surface droplet microfluidics. In this light fueled method, the use of the photothermal effect of a focused infrared laser can easily create non-uniform temperature distribution and accordingly the surface tension gradient over the interface as a result of the localized heating effect, which thereby initiates the Marangoni flow in a droplet. Experimental results confirm that the light-induced Marangoni flow greatly enhances the mixing, ensuring rapid and efficient binding between the ssDNA and dynabeads. Moreover, the mixing intensity and degree can be simply tuned by controlling the laser intensity and laser heating time. The light fueled rapid mixing method developed in the present study paves the way for rapid bio-chemical detection.

Counting of enzymatically amplified affinity reactions in hydrogel particle-templated drops

Counting of numerous compartmentalized enzymatic reactions underlies quantitative and high sensitivity immunodiagnostic assays. However, digital enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) require specialized instruments which have slowed adoption in research and clinical labs. We present a lab-on-a-particle solution to digital counting of thousands of single enzymatic reactions. Hydrogel particles are used to bind enzymes and template the formation of droplets that compartmentalize reactions with simple pipetting steps. These hydrogel particles can be made at a high throughput, stored, and used during the assay to create ∼500 000 compartments within 2 minutes. These particles can also be dried and rehydrated with sample, amplifying the sensitivity of the assay by driving affinity interactions on the hydrogel surface. We demonstrate digital counting of β-galactosidase enzyme at a femtomolar detection limit with a dynamic range of 3 orders of magnitude using standard benchtop equipment and experiment techniques. This approach can faciliate the development of digital ELISAs with reduced need for specialized microfluidic devices, instruments, or imaging systems.

Pushbutton-activated microfluidic dropenser for droplet digital PCR

Here, we report a portable microfluidic device to generate and dispense droplets simply operated by pushbutton for droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR), which is named pushbutton-activated microfluidic dropenser (droplet dispenser) (PAMD). After loading the PCR mixtures and the droplet generation oil to PAMD, digitized PCR mixtures are prepared in PCR tubes after the actuation of a pushbutton. Multiple droplet generation units are simultaneously operated by a single pushbutton, and the size of droplets is controllable by adjusting the geometry of the droplet generation channel. To examine the performance of PAMD, digitized PCR mixtures containing genomic DNA of Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 prepared by PAMD were assessed by a fluorescence signal analyzer after PCR with a thermal cycler. As a result, PAMD can produce analytical droplets for ddPCR as much as a conventional droplet generator even though any external equipment is not required.

A self-powered bidirectional partition microfluidic chip with embedded microwells for highly sensitive detection of EGFR mutations in plasma of non-small cell lung cancer patients

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is a promising biomarker for tumor genotyping and therapy monitoring. Herein, we developed a digital PCR chip with embedded microwell and bidirectional partition network for highly sensitive ctDNA analysis. The embedded microwell contributes to increasing microreaction density (up to 7000 microwells/cm²) and reducing evaporation during amplification. The bidirectional partition network can achieve fast and random distribution of targets, ensuring the precise quantification of nucleic acid. We used plasmids, artificial samples and 32 clinical blood samples from non-small cell lung cancer patients to test the performance of this platform. The results demonstrated that our chip has not only comparable quantification performance to commercial counterpart but also the ability to detect EGFR mutations with as low as 0.01% mutation rate and 20 alter molecules in 27 ng genomic DNA. The identification of EGFR mutations in plasma using developed chip exhibited 85.71% sensitivity and 94.44% specificity for L858R mutation and 100% sensitivity and 86.96% specificity for T790 M mutation. Moreover, the monitoring of mutant allele in plasma was accomplished in this work. In conclusion, the developed chip has a potential in lung tumor genotyping and therapy monitoring for precision medicine, even other tumors.

A ferrobotic system for automated microfluidic logistics

Automated technologies that can perform massively parallelized and sequential fluidic operations at small length scales can resolve major bottlenecks encountered in various fields, including medical diagnostics, -omics, drug development, and chemical/material synthesis. Inspired by the transformational impact of automated guided vehicle systems on manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution industries, we devised a ferrobotic system that uses a network of individually addressable robots, each performing designated micro-/nanofluid manipulation-based tasks in cooperation with other robots toward a shared objective. The underlying robotic mechanism facilitating fluidic operations was realized by addressable electromagnetic actuation of miniature mobile magnets that exert localized magnetic body forces on aqueous droplets filled with biocompatible magnetic nanoparticles. The contactless and high-strength nature of the actuation mechanism inherently renders it rapid (~10 centimeters/second), repeatable (>10,000 cycles), and robust (>24 hours). The robustness and individual addressability of ferrobots provide a foundation for the deployment of a network of ferrobots to carry out cross-collaborative logistics efficiently. These traits, together with the reconfigurability of the system, were exploited to devise and integrate passive/active advanced functional components (e.g., droplet dispensing, generation, filtering, and merging), enabling versatile system-level functionalities. By applying this ferrobotic system within the framework of a microfluidic architecture, the ferrobots were tasked to work cross-collaboratively toward the quantification of active matrix metallopeptidases (a biomarker for cancer malignancy and inflammation) in human plasma, where various functionalities converged to achieve a fully automated assay.