Chip-based DNA analysis

摘要

Concentrating,focusing,and analyzing biomolecules on the microscale are difficult to perform simultaneously.To overcome the challenge,Victor Ugaz and Faisal Shaikh at Texas A&M University have designed microfluidic chips with arrays of individually addressable electrodes in which DNA is concentrated,focused into a narrow zone,and analyzed by gel-based separation.Because the power consumption by the electrode arrays is low,the investigators propose that the device could be a key component in a lab-on-a-chip instrument that operates on a single AA battery.