Versatile Tool for Droplet Generation in Standard Reaction Tubes by Centrifugal Step Emulsification

Bibliographic Details
Title: Versatile Tool for Droplet Generation in Standard Reaction Tubes by Centrifugal Step Emulsification
Authors: Martin Schulz, Sophia Probst, Silvia Calabrese, Ana R. Homann, Nadine Borst, Marian Weiss, Felix von Stetten, Roland Zengerle, Nils Paust
Source: Molecules, Vol 25, Iss 8, p 1914 (2020)
Publisher Information: MDPI AG, 2020.
Publication Year: 2020
Collection: LCC:Organic chemistry
Subject Terms: microfluidics, centrifugal step emulsification, droplet generation, emulsification, compartmentation, digital amplification, Organic chemistry, QD241-441
More Details: We present a versatile tool for the generation of monodisperse water-in-fluorinated-oil droplets in standard reaction tubes by centrifugal step emulsification. The microfluidic cartridge is designed as an insert into a standard 2 mL reaction tube and can be processed in standard laboratory centrifuges. It allows for droplet generation and subsequent transfer for any downstream analysis or further use, does not need any specialized device, and manufacturing is simple because it consists of two parts only: A structured substrate and a sealing foil. The design of the structured substrate is compatible to injection molding to allow manufacturing at large scale. Droplets are generated in fluorinated oil and collected in the reaction tube for subsequent analysis. For sample sizes up to 100 µL with a viscosity range of 1 mPa·s–4 mPa·s, we demonstrate stable droplet generation and transfer of more than 6 × 105 monodisperse droplets (droplet diameter 66 µm ± 3 µm, CV ≤ 4%) in less than 10 min. With two application examples, a digital droplet polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) and digital droplet loop mediated isothermal amplification (ddLAMP), we demonstrate the compatibility of the droplet production for two main amplification techniques. Both applications show a high degree of linearity (ddPCR: R2 ≥ 0.994; ddLAMP: R2 ≥ 0.998), which demonstrates that the cartridge and the droplet generation method do not compromise assay performance.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1420-3049
Relation: https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/25/8/1914; https://doaj.org/toc/1420-3049
DOI: 10.3390/molecules25081914
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/be136a0e990a485aa5a7b1fe6c16cb87
Accession Number: edsdoj.be136a0e990a485aa5a7b1fe6c16cb87
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
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More Details
ISSN:14203049
DOI:10.3390/molecules25081914
Published in:Molecules
Language:English