Liquid dielectrophoresis and surface microfluidics

Liquid dielectrophoresis (L-DEP), when deployed at microscopic scales on top of hydrophobic surfaces, offers novel ways of rapid and automated manipulation of very small amounts of polar aqueous samples for microfluidic applications and development of laboratory-on-a-chip devices. In this article we highlight some of the more recent developments and applications of L-DEP in handling and processing of various types of aqueous samples and reagents of biological relevance including emulsions using such microchip based surface microfluidic (SMF) devices. We highlighted the utility of these devices for on-chip bioassays including nucleic acid analysis. Furthermore, the parallel sample processing capabilities of these SMF devices together with suitable on- or off-chip detection capabilities suggest numerous applications and utility in conducting automated multiplexed assays, a capability much sought after in the high throughput diagnostic and screening assays. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3411003]

液态介电泳（L - DEP）在疏水表面上以微观尺度应用时，为微流体应用以及芯片实验室设备的开发提供了对极少量极性水性样品进行快速自动操作的新方法。在本文中，我们重点介绍了L - DEP在使用这种基于微芯片的表面微流体（SMF）设备处理各种具有生物相关性的水性样品和试剂（包括乳液）方面的一些最新进展和应用。我们强调了这些设备在芯片上生物测定（包括核酸分析）中的实用性。此外，这些SMF设备的并行样品处理能力以及合适的芯片上或芯片外检测能力表明，其在进行自动化多重测定方面有众多应用和实用性，这是高通量诊断和筛选测定中非常需要的一种能力。（C）2010美国物理学会。[doi:10.1063/1.3411003]