| AVS 57th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Biomaterial Interfaces | Friday Sessions |
| Session BI+MN-FrM |
| Session: | Sensors & Fluidics for Biomedical Applications |
| Presenter: | I. Saaem, Duke University |
| Authors: | I. Saaem, Duke University J. Tian, Duke University |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
In our studies, we utilized an inkjet based in situ oligonucleotide synthesis platform that uses salvaged printheads from commercial printers. The platform utilizes standard four-step phosphoramidite chemistry with some modifications in order to synthesize oligonucleotides on functionalized substrates. A sensitive pressurization system is used to ensure print quality and an on-board vision system enables substrate registration and synthesis monitoring. Using this platform we synthesized oligonucleotide on prepatterned functionalized plastic slides. Such patterned substrates help in proper droplet formation and fluid mixing on the surface while mitigating satellite and irregular drops, which can lead to cumulative synthesis errors. Functional integrity of synthesized oligonucleotides was confirmed by hybridization with complementary strands. Being able to hot emboss microfluidic structures directly onto plastic slides in combination with the ability to generate arbitrary sequences provides diagnostic capabilities as well as the means to harvest pools of cheap oligonucleotides on demand. Importantly, our combination of technologies has allowed formation of genes and large DNA constructs by amplifying oligonucleotides off of the synthesized arrays and assembling them in the on-chip chambers.