An aptamer-based microfluidic device for thermally controlled affinity extraction

• Published in: Microfluidics and nanofluidics 2009-04, Vol.6 (4), p.479-487
• Main Authors: Nguyen, ThaiHuu, Pei, Renjun, Stojanovic, Milan, Lin, Qiao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analytical biochemistry: general aspects, technics, instrumentation; Analytical Chemistry; Analytical, structural and metabolic biochemistry; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering; Engineering; Engineering Fluid Dynamics; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Low temperature; Nanotechnology and Microengineering; Nucleic acids; Reagents; Research Paper
• ISSN: 1613-4982; 1613-4990
• DOI: 10.1007/s10404-008-0322-4

We present a microfluidic device for specific extraction and thermally activated release of analytes using nucleic acid aptamers. The device primarily consists of a microchamber that is packed with aptamer-functionalized microbeads as a stationary phase, and integrated with a micro heater and temperature sensor. We demonstrate the device operation by performing the extraction of a metabolic analyte, adenosine monophosphate coupled with thiazole orange (TO-AMP), with high selectivity to an RNA aptamer. Controlled release of TO-AMP from the aptamer surface is then conducted at low temperatures using on-chip thermal activation. This allows isocratic analyte elution, which eliminates the use of potentially harsh reagents, and enables efficient regeneration of the aptamer surfaces when device reusability is desired.