Optimization of a microfluidic cartridge for Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) application and bio-testing for DNA/RNA extraction

A bio-microfluidic cartridge has been developed with integrated reservoir and valves for Lab on a chip (LOC) applications, e.g. extracting DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) from human blood. A combination of different materials such as thermoplastic and elastomer are used to fabricate the microfluidic cartridge. A conical shape reservoir with thin membrane sealing is designed to have minimum dead volume in the reservoir after dispensing completely into the chip. An external actuation is used to apply pressure on the thin rubber membrane to push the fluid from the reservoir to the chip and to output collector. The external actuation pushes the fluid through the pin valve and the fluid flow is proportional to the actuation speed. Material selections and package optimization have done to maximize the performance of the cartridge functionality. Different mixing ratio of PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) material based on elongation has been tried to select the membrane to seal the reservoir. To contain the reagents inside the reservoir different thermoplastic material has been tried over the elastomer material. Bonding of similar and dissimilar material is studied for fluidic channel layer selection. Extraction of DNA/RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) from blood sample is tried and sufficient quantity of DNA has been extracted from this cartridge for PCR (Polymer Chain Reaction) amplification and detection.