Advances in droplet digital polymerase chain reaction on microfluidic chips

Abstract

This graphic includes droplet generation methods, thermal cycle strategies, signal counting approaches, and the applications in the fields of single-cell analysis, disease diagnosis, bacteria detection, and virus detection.

Development and future of droplet microfluidics

“…Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) is a commonly used method to detect the nucleic acids of pathogens. 172,173 Individual DNA molecules are encapsulated and amplified within the droplets. Upon addition of gene-specific probes, the droplets containing target molecules can generate fluorescence signals after amplification.…”

A capillary-based centrifugal indicator equipped with in situ pathogenic bacteria culture for fast antimicrobial susceptibility testing

“…In addition, dropletbased microfluidic AST also demonstrated capability for highthroughput screening, which presented great potential for rapid and integrated single-cell measurements. [27][28][29] These measurements in the small volumes benefit from high signalto-background ratio or high-throughput counting by detecting the changes in the growth or/cell morphology at very early stages, which can dramatically shorten the time of bacterial analysis. However, these microfluidic platforms still relied upon external pumps or valves, which would add operational complexity.…”

Sequential Flow Controllable Microfluidic Device for G-Quadruplex DNAzyme-Based Electrochemical Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Using a Pyrrolidinyl Peptide Nucleic Acid

“…Microfluidic platforms have increasingly gained considerable attention as a potential solution to the aforementioned problems. − However, pumping systems are typically required to regulate the fluid flow. Recently, the capillary-driven microfluidic device was introduced as a new class of microfluidic platforms by Henry’s group and has been increasingly used for POC applications. − The devices were easily fabricated by laminating patterned hydrophilic polyester and double-sided adhesive films to generate narrow gaps, whereby the fluid transport occurs via the capillary force without requiring an external pump .…”