LabAutomation 2006 - SLAS

Where Laboratory Technologies Emerge and Merge
11:00 am Monday, January 23, 2006 Track 2: Micro- and Nanotechnologies Room: Pasadena
Wyndham Palm Springs Hotel
Michael Natan
Nanoplex Technologies, Inc.
Mountain View, California
mnatan@nanoplextech.com
High Performance Optical Tags Based on Encapsulated SERS-Active Nanoparticles
In life sciences, there is an urgent need for optical detection tags that (i) can be interrogated using near-IR wavelengths (where biological
samples do not absorb or emit light), and (ii) can allow multiple species to be tracked simultaneously. Nanoplex’s patented SERS nanotags,
comprising glass-encapsulated gold nanoparticles loaded with a series of reporter molecules, solve both these problems; in addition, they
are designed to be straightforward to manufacture and extraordinarily stable. This presentation will describe their optical properties, both in
bulk and at the single particle level, and highlight a series of applications, from multiplexed protein assays to in vivo imaging.
11:30 am Monday, January 23, 2006 Track 2: Micro- and Nanotechnologies Room: Pasadena
Wyndham Palm Springs Hotel
Robin Liu
Co-Author(s)
CombiMatrix Corp.
Tai Nugyen
Mukilteo, Washington
Kevin Schwarzkopf
rliu@combimatrix.com
H. Sho Fuji
Kia Peyvan
David Danley
Andy McShea
F I N A L I S T
Fully Integrated Microfluidic Devices for Automated DNA Microarray Analysis
DNA microarray assays involve multi-stage sample processing and fluidic handling, which are generally labor-intensive and time-consuming.
Using microfluidic technology to integrate and automate all these steps in a single device is highly desirable in many practical applications
(e.g., point-of-care genetic analysis, disease diagnosis, and in-field bio-threat detection).
We have developed self-contained and fully integrated microfluidic devices for DNA analysis. These disposable devices consist of microfluidic
pumps, mixers, valves, channels/chambers, and Combimatrix microarray silicon chip. Microarray hybridization and subsequent fluidic handling
and reactions (including a number of washing and labeling steps) and detection were performed in these devices. Transcriptional analysis of
K562 cells with a series of spiked-in controls was performed to characterize this new platform with regard to sensitivity, specificity, and dynamic
range. The device detected sample RNAs with a concentration as low as 0.375 pM. Detection was quantitative over three orders of magnitude.
The devices are completely self-contained: no external pressure sources, fluid storage, mechanical pumps, mixers, or valves were necessary for
fluid manipulation, thus eliminating possible sample contamination and simplifying device operation. All microfluidic components use very simple
and inexpensive approaches in order to reduce chip complexity. In addition to fluorescence-based detection, an enzyme-based electrochemical
detection method that has many advantages including high sensitivity (~fM) and simple apparatus was developed and integrated. The
microfluidic devices with capabilities of on-chip sample processing and detection provide a cost-effective solution to eliminate labor-intensive
and time-consuming fluidic handling steps that can be a significant source of variability in genomic analysis.
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