Microfabrication of a BioModule composed of microfluidics and digitally controlled microelectrodes for processing biomolecules

This work focuses on the development of an online programmable microfluidic bioprocessing unit (BioModule) using digital logic microelectrodes for rapid pipelined selection and transfer of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules and other charged biopolymers. The design and construction technique for this hybrid programmable biopolymer processing device is presented along with the first proof of principle functionality. The electronically controlled collection, separation and channel transfer of the biomolecules is monitored by a sensitive fluorescence set-up. This hybrid reconfigurable architecture couples electronic and biomolecular information processing via a single module combination of fluidics and electronics and opens new fields of applications not only in DNA computing and molecular diagnostics but also in applications of combinatorial chemistry and lab-on-a-chip biotechnology to the drug discovery process. Fundamentals of the design and silicon-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based construction of these electronic microfluidic devices and their functions are described as well as the experimental results.