Premium
Oil Microsealing: A Robust Micro‐compartmentalization Method for On‐Chip Chemical and Biological Assays
Author(s) -
Yamada Ayako,
Barbaud Fanny,
Cinque Lucia,
Wang Li,
Zeng Qian,
Chen Yong,
Baigl Damien
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201000507
Subject(s) - materials science , microfluidics , aqueous solution , nanotechnology , fluidics , biophysics , biomedical engineering , chemistry , biology , medicine , aerospace engineering , engineering
A simple and robust method to compartmentalize aqueous solutions into an array of independent microchambers is presented. The array of microchambers fabricated in poly(dimethylsiloxane) are filled with the sample solution through a microfluidic channel and then sealed with oil to isolate the microchambers from each other. A water reservoir close to the microchambers allows the maintainance and incubation of sub‐nanoliter solutions (e.g., at 37 °C) within the chambers for hours without any problem of evaporation. Once assembled, the device is self‐sustainable and can be used for different application purposes. As a demonstration, the device configuration is shown to be suitable for spatiotemporal control of the inner solution conditions by light stimulation through a photomask. This method was applied for the generation of regular EmGFP (emerald green fluorescent protein) expression arrays, selective photobleaching, photopatterning of calcium concentration, and cell culture in independent microchambers.