Micromachined filter-chamber array with passive valves for biochemical assays on beads

• The filter-chamber array presented here enables a real-time parallel analysis of three different samples on beads in a volume of 3 nL, on a 1 cm(2) chip. The filter-chamber array is a system containing three filter-chambers, three passive valves at the inlet channels and a common outlet. The design enables parallel sample handling and time-controlled analysis. The device is microfabricated in silicon and sealed with a Pyrex lid to enable real-time analysis. Single nucleotide polymorphism analysis by using pyrose-quencing has successfully been performed in single filter-chamber devices. The passive valves consist of plasma-deposited octafluorocyclobutane and show a much higher resistance towards water and surface-active solutions than previous hydrophobic patches. The device is not sensitive to gas bubbles, clogging is rare and reversible, and the filter-chamber array is reusable. More complex (bio)chemical reactions on beads can be performed in the devices with passive valves than in the devices without valves.

Keyword

bead trapping

microfluidic array

hydrophobic valve

pyrosequencing

single nucleotide polymorphism

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)