INTEGRATED REAGENTLESS SAMPLE PREPROCESSING FOR MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTICS USING A NANOPOROUS MEMBRANE BASED MICROFLUIDIC DEVICE

摘要

A device and associated method to concentrate cells such as bacteria/viruses, lyse them, and extract biomolecules such as DNA is described. A nanoporous membrane is sandwiched between two microfluidic channels to create thousands of parallel nanopore traps for bacteria or viruses. The application of an electric potential across the membrane results in the electrophoretic accumulation of cells at the nanoporous membrane. The application of moderate voltages is able to produce a high local electric field for lysis of the cells or the disintegration of the virus particles resulting in the extraction of biomolecules such as DNA.