Digital polymerase chain reaction technology – recent advances and future perspectives

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

We critically evaluate the state of the art of the development of digital polymerase chain reaction systems.

Abstract

Digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) technology has remained a “hot topic” in the last two decades due to its potential applications in cell biology, genetic engineering, and medical diagnostics. Various advanced techniques have been reported on sample dispersion, thermal cycling and output monitoring of digital PCR. However, a fully automated, low-cost and handheld digital PCR platform has not been reported in the literature. This paper attempts to critically evaluate the recent developments in techniques for sample dispersion, thermal cycling and output evaluation for dPCR. The techniques are discussed in terms of hardware simplicity, portability, cost-effectiveness and suitability for automation. The present paper also discusses the research gaps observed in each step of dPCR and concludes with possible improvements toward portable, low-cost and automatic digital PCR systems.

Related collections

Most cited references 127

Record: found
Abstract: not found
Article: not found

ENGINEERING FLOWS IN SMALL DEVICES

H.A. Stone, A.D. Stroock, A Ajdari (2004)

0 comments Cited 662 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Droplet microfluidics.

Shia-Yen Teh, Robert Lin, Lung-Hsin Hung … (2008)

Droplet-based microfluidic systems have been shown to be compatible with many chemical and biological reagents and capable of performing a variety of "digital fluidic" operations that can be rendered programmable and reconfigurable. This platform has dimensional scaling benefits that have enabled controlled and rapid mixing of fluids in the droplet reactors, resulting in decreased reaction times. This, coupled with the precise generation and repeatability of droplet operations, has made the droplet-based microfluidic system a potent high throughput platform for biomedical research and applications. In addition to being used as microreactors ranging from the nano- to femtoliter range; droplet-based systems have also been used to directly synthesize particles and encapsulate many biological entities for biomedicine and biotechnology applications. This review will focus on the various droplet operations, as well as the numerous applications of the system. Due to advantages unique to droplet-based systems, this technology has the potential to provide novel solutions to today's biomedical engineering challenges for advanced diagnostics and therapeutics.

0 comments Cited 577 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Dynamic pattern formation in a vesicle-generating microfluidic device.

Todd Thorsen, Richard Roberts, Frances Arnold … (2001)

Spatiotemporal pattern formation occurs in a variety of nonequilibrium physical and chemical systems. Here we show that a microfluidic device designed to produce reverse micelles can generate complex, ordered patterns as it is continuously operated far from thermodynamic equilibrium. Flow in a microfluidic system is usually simple-viscous effects dominate and the low Reynolds number leads to laminar flow. Self-assembly of the vesicles into patterns depends on channel geometry and relative fluid pressures, enabling the production of motifs ranging from monodisperse droplets to helices and ribbons.