Nouwairi Renna L, Jones Carter K, Charette Maura E, Holmquist Emilee, Golabek Zoey, Landers James P
Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, United States.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, United States.
Anal Chem. 2025 Jan 14;97(1):300-311. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.4c04210. Epub 2024 Dec 28.
Optimizing multireagent assays often requires successive titration of individual components until the optimal combination of conditions is achieved. This process is time-consuming, laborious, and often expensive since parallelized experimentation requires bulk consumption of reagents. Microfluidics presents a solution through miniaturization of standard processes by reducing reaction volume, executing multiple parallel workflows, and enabling automation. While single-digit microliter reactions can be effective, scaling to nanoliter volumes without employing droplets is difficult. We describe a cost-effective, customizable centrifugal microdisc for optimizing assays pertinent to a broad array of applications. An automated two-stage metering process leverages tunable, laser-actuated valves that retain defined fluidic volumes upon opening and meter discrete nanoliter volumes into downstream architecture. We demonstrate that ∼150 nL volumes could be metered and tuned for specific applications. We illustrate the potential for controlled metering of up to four reagents with high parallelization for rapid, cost-effective assay optimization with minimal manual intervention.
优化多试剂分析通常需要对各个组分进行连续滴定，直到达到最佳条件组合。这个过程既耗时又费力，而且往往成本高昂，因为并行实验需要大量消耗试剂。微流控技术通过缩小标准流程的规模，减少反应体积、执行多个并行工作流程并实现自动化，提供了一种解决方案。虽然单微升量级的反应可能有效，但在不使用液滴的情况下将反应体积缩小到纳升量级却很困难。我们描述了一种经济高效、可定制的离心微盘，用于优化与广泛应用相关的分析。一种自动化的两级计量过程利用了可调谐的激光驱动阀，这些阀在打开时能保持确定的流体体积，并将离散的纳升体积计量到下游结构中。我们证明，可以针对特定应用计量和调整约150纳升的体积。我们展示了对多达四种试剂进行可控计量的潜力，通过高度并行化实现快速、经济高效的分析优化，同时将人工干预降至最低。
