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The effect of the surface passivation on polymerase chain reaction inside a continuous flow microfluidic chip

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Abstract

Infectious diseases are illnesses caused by harmful pathogens from the exterior. Vaccines could prevent many people from disease infection. Over the past several years, the development and application of molecular diagnostic techniques have launched a revolution in monitoring infectious diseases. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based systems to diagnose the etiologic agents of disease from clinical samples have been applicable in pathogen detection. We demonstrate a microfluidic chip for continuous flow PCR. The PDMS/glass bonding chip provides a miniaturized, cheap, and disposable material for pathogen diagnosis. The homemade thermal control module integrated with two cartridge heaters and one Peltier element supports the denaturation, extension, and annealing regions created inside the chip. Due to the large surface-to-volume ratio in the microchannel, the surface characteristics might augment the protein adsorption onto the channel surfaces and reduce the PCR amplification efficiency. We measure the hydrophilic properties, roughness of the wall and the structure of the surface under various surface treatments and express the PCR amplification efficiency. Results show that the most detailed is the PDMS sheet with the modification of Tween 20 of a concentration of 20% for the reduction of methyl peak of the absorption spectrum, the lowest contact angle, and the minor surface roughness. Next, the continuous flow PCR system amplifies a 385-bp segment of Q fever virus DNA to evaluate the performance of the DNA amplification. The overall product of Tween 20 is good because Tween 20 is an emulsifier, and it has excellent performance in both adhesion properties and coated samples. The need for point-of-care test (PoCT) devices has increased rapidly since the outbreak of COVID-19. The current portable device for PoCT will provide essential tools for real-time diagnosis.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the National Science and Technology Council of the Republic of China for financially supporting this research under Contract No. MOST 110-2313-B-020-003-.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomechatronics Engineering, National **tung University of Science and Technology, 1, Shuefu Road, Neipu, **tung, 91201, Taiwan

    Jyh Jian Chen & **an Cheng Qiu

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  1. Jyh Jian Chen
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  2. **an Cheng Qiu
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Contributions

J.J.C. and X.C.Q. conceptualized the design, and X.C.Q. implemented the platform. J.J.C. supervised the project. J.J.C. and X.C.Q. prepared the initial draft. J.J.C. got the funding. All the authors contributed to the manuscript finalization.

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Correspondence to Jyh Jian Chen.

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Chen, J.J., Qiu, X.C. The effect of the surface passivation on polymerase chain reaction inside a continuous flow microfluidic chip. Microsyst Technol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-024-05675-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-024-05675-2

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