Advance in Microfluidic Devices for Fractionation of DNA Fragments

The next generation sequencing works faster and the price is coming down. However, the workflows have numerous manual processes, which will cause some bottleneck and contribute to inefficiency in gene sequencing. One of the most time-consuming steps is electrophoretic gel-based fractionation of a large number of fragments of interest during the library generation process. In recent years, several instruments were first introduced into the market, and then were tested by many famous DNA sequencing centers and platforms. This paper introduces the development of DNA fractionation techniques including capillary electrophoresis and microfluidic devices. Moreover, our argument raises the bottleneck in fractionating DNA fragments on the chips. Finally, we provide insights into the challenges of DNA fractionation and provide future perspectives.

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