Design and development of biochip application

Loading of DNA sample from syringe is traditionally achieved manually, which requires a lot of effort to evaluate massive samples. Normally, extraction of intracellular protein from bacteria is accomplished through mechanical, chemical or enzymatic disruption technology. In this report, a novel vacuum aided microfluidic technology was implemented so as to distribute DNA sample into 64 wells within 0.8 seconds, and headspace of the chip was filled with air to carry out evaporation test. Furthermore, a heat treatment process was studied with an additional reservoir attached to the chip for preparing thermolysis of melting down DNA cell walls. The author found that a twin TEC heating configuration has effective result of avoiding DNA samples from evaporation with keeping both TEC temperatures at 85oC. Several precautions for chip sealing were analyzed to achieve a fully secured vacuum chamber inside the chip. A specific biochip was designed and fabricated with using acrylic sheets to achieve the purpose of sustainability for PCR experiment evaluation. Advantages of the chip design include low manufacturing cost, high well density and compact size.Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering