Advance in Research of Microfluidic Polymerase Chain Reaction Chip

Gene is the genetic code of human beings, and only 0.1‰ difference among individuals but creates a wealthy diversity. Thus it is significant in practicality to explore the difference. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is one of the technologies mostly used in genetic research. But traditional thermal cyclers are not only time- and energy-consuming but also difficult to be integrated and portable. The combination of microfluidics and PCR can lessen the reaction volume significantly and increase the reaction efficiency with easy integration and miniaturization. In this review, we briefly introduced microchamber PCR chip and continuous-flow PCR chip according to their structures, as well the detection methods including capillary electrophoresis, fluorescence, electrochemistry and DNA hybridization array. Finally, we summarized the recent advance and pointed out the future development of microfluidic PCR chip.

Graphical abstractMicrofluidic technologies have advanced considerably in fractionation of selective DNA fragments. It is now a perfect tool to replace gel electrophoresis in the laboratory except cost. But to deal with the next generation sequencing, microfluidic devices still have to challenge some options and demands in the future.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide