As an absolute quantification method at the single-molecule level, digital PCR has been widely used in many bioresearch fields, such as next generation sequencing, single cell analysis, gene editing detection and so on. However, existing digital PCR methods still have some disadvantages, including high cost, sample loss, and complicated operation. In this work, we develop an exquisite scalable self-priming fractal branching microchannel net digital PCR chip. This chip with a special design inspired by natural fractal-tree systems has an even distribution and 100% compartmentalization of the sample without any sample loss, which is not available in existing chip-based digital PCR methods. A special 10 nm nano-waterproof layer was created to prevent the solution from evaporating. A vacuum pre-packaging method called self-priming reagent introduction is used to passively drive the reagent flow into the microchannel nets, so that this chip can realize sequential reagent loading and isolation within a couple of minutes, which is very suitable for point-of-care detection. When the number of positive microwells stays in the range of 100 to 4000, the relative uncertainty is below 5%, which means that one panel can detect an average of 101 to 15 374 molecules by the Poisson distribution. This chip is proved to have an excellent ability for single molecule detection and quantification of low expression of hHF-MSC stem cell markers. Due to its potential for high throughput, high density, low cost, lack of sample and reagent loss, self-priming even compartmentalization and simple operation, we envision that this device will significantly expand and extend the application range of digital PCR involving rare samples, liquid biopsy detection and point-of-care detection with higher sensitivity and accuracy.

Recently, micro/nano-scaled fluidic control technologies have been developed to be the alternative to traditional analysis approaches due to the capability of realizing miniaturized multiphase and multistep reactions. The perfect combination of these techniques and nucleic acid amplification methods effectively promotes the establishment and development of digital nucleic acid detection (dNAD) techniques. As a single-molecule analysis approach, dNAD plays an essential role in molecular diagnosis. In this paper, the research and application progress of dNAD techniques are reviewed, including the development history, principle, superiority, and the future prospect of dNAD.As the new “gold standard” of detection technique in the future, digital nucleic acid amplification based on micro- or nano-scaled fluidic control enable single molecule analysis with high sensitivity and accuracy in the fields of clinical diagnosis, food safety monitor, pathogen detection, genome research, and so on.

Visual detections based on fluorescence and the color changes under natural light are two promising product detections for isothermal nucleic acid amplifications (INAAs) such as the isothermal multiple-self-matching-initiated amplification (IMSA) as point-of-care testing techniques. However, the currently used approaches have shortcomings in application. For the former, fluorescence changes recognized by naked eye may be indistinguishable because of single fluorescence emitted and strong background noise, which requires empirical preset of cutoff intensity values. For the latter, visual detection sensitivity under natural light is not comparable to that based on fluorescence. Herein, hydroxyl naphthol blue (HNB) and SYBR Green I (SG) were coupled to acquire a label-free dual fluorescence for the visual product detection of IMSA. The mixed-dye-loaded off-chip (tube-based) and on-chip (microfluidic chip-based) IMSAs for the detection of hepatitis B virus were conducted. The results demonstrated that this dual fluorescence could realize distinguishable fluorescent color changes to improve visual detection sensitivity and avoid the preset of cutoff values. Moreover, the mixed dye is stable when kept at room temperature and compatible with the IMSA’s reagents without a contamination-prone step of opening tubes after amplification. Also, this coupled dye inherits the advantages of achieving color changes under natural light from HNB and real-time detection from SG. In conclusion, the mixed-dye-based dual fluorescence has a potential in the point-of-care testing application for realizing off-chip and on-chip product detection of IMSA, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), or other INAAs.

An integrated DNA purification and digital PCR (dPCR) detection microfluidic chip was developed in this study. This temporary negative pressure assisted microfluidic chip constructed of polydimethylsiloxane contained two distinct functional zones, one for DNA purification and the other for digital PCR (dPCR) detection. Sample lysate and reagent segments (washing buffer) for DNA purification were pre-loaded in a Teflon tube and pulled into the nucleic acids (NA) capture zone successively by negative pressure from the pipettor. The magnetic particles in the sample lysate were captured by the magnet and washed with buffer to get the purified DNA. DNA on magnetic particles were eluted by the PCR mix and then taken into the dPCR layer for dPCR reaction by the temporary negative pressure provided by the suction layer. Lastly, the suction layer was filled with water to avoid evaporation and ensure the efficiency of PCR in each chamber. This microdevice carried advantages such as ease of manufacture, ease of operation, and low cost.

Digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) has played a major role in biological research, especially by providing an accurate counting of single nucleic acid molecules. Here, we present a syringe filter-like microfluidic device to realize sample loading, encapsulation, moisturizing and running dPCR. The gas-permeability of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is utilized for sample loading under negative pressure. The air in the chambers is evacuated to the negative pressure side, resulting in the sample solution entering into the chambers. We also add a vaporproof-layer (VPL) in the chip to moisturize or restrain evaporation caused by the gas-permeability of PDMS under thermal cycling. Digital PCR is applied to test keratin 19 on this microdevice with 650 chambers, each having a volume of 6.28 nL, using the cDNA from the A549 cell line. The results exhibit linear regression under five dilution concentrations, thus demonstrating the robustness of the dPCR chip. This device is easy to be fabricated without multiple overlay exposures or high alignment precision, and should prove to be an effective tool for biological research.

A nanoliter self-priming compartmentalization (SPC) microfluidic chip suited for the digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) analysis in point-of-care testing (POCT) has been developed. This dPCR chip is fabricated of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). After the dPCR chip is evacuated, there will be a negative pressure environment in the chip because of the gas solubility of PDMS. The negative pressure environment can provide a self-priming power so that the sample solutions can be sucked into each reaction chamber sequentially. The whole sampling process requires no external power and is valve-free. Channels that contain water are designed around each sample panel to prevent the solvent (water) from evaporating during dPCR process. A glass coverslip is also used as a waterproof layer, which is more convenient and more efficient than other waterproof methods seen in literature. This dPCR chip allows three samples to be amplified at the same time. Each sample is distributed into 1040 reaction chambers, and each chamber is only 2.08 nL. Human β-actin DNA solutions of known concentrations are used as the templates for the dPCR analyses to verify the sensitivity and accuracy of the method. Template DNA solutions diluted to concentrations of 300, 100 and 10 copies/μL are tested and shown that this simple, portable and self-priming dPCR chip can be used at any clinic as a real POCT technique.

Nowadays nucleic acid tests are promising to be considered as point-of-care testing(POCT). However, no such devices are currently available that can perform all the functions, including absolute nucleic acid determination, worldwide on-site detection, rapid analysis and real-time results reporting via ubiquitous mobile networks simultaneously with full package and automated means of measurement. In this study, we presented a compact low-cost portable POC automated testing platform with all attributes mentioned above. A disposable self-priming compartmentalization(SPC) microfluidic chip is used to conduct isothermal amplification. The platform also includes a micro-computer controlled heating unit, an inexpensive optical imaging setup, and a mobile device with customized software. It may become a useful tool for the rapid on-site detection of infectious diseases as well as other pathogens.

An integrated on-chip valve-free and power-free microfluidic digital PCR device is for the first time developed by making use of a novel self-priming compartmentalization and simple dehydration control to realize ‘divide and conquer’ for single DNA molecule detection. The high gas solubility of PDMS is exploited to provide the built-in power of self-priming so that the sample and oil are sequentially sucked into the device to realize sample self-compartmentalization based on surface tension. The lifespan of its self-priming capability was about two weeks tested using an air-tight packaging bottle sealed with a small amount of petroleum jelly, which is significant for a practical platform. The SPC chip contains 5120 independent 5 nL microchambers, allowing the samples to be compartmentalized completely. Using this platform, three different abundances of lung cancer related genes are detected to demonstrate the feasibility and flexibility of the microchip for amplifying a single nucleic acid molecule. For maximal accuracy, within less than 5% of the measurement deviation, the optimal number of positive chambers is between 400 and 1250 evaluated by the Poisson distribution, which means one panel can detect an average of 480 to 4804 template molecules. This device without world-to-chip connections eliminates the constraint of the complex pipeline control, and is an integrated on-chip platform, which would be a significant improvement to digital PCR automation and more user-friendly.

A laboratory-made tumor cell detection device was fabricated based on both surface plasmon resonance imaging(SPRi) and image processing. In this device, a gravity-induced flow injection chip(gFIC) was exploited to replace a pump. Also two charge coupled devices(CCDs) were used to detect HepG2 cells by SPRi and image processing, respectively. The results of two CCDs are associated. Protein A was used to modify the sensing surface. The inlet angle was carefully adjusted for the device to get an enhanced image. In the test, the contrast among cell solutions at different concentrations can be easily distinguished. The other CCD using image processing can tell false-positive in some degree. This detection is label-free, real time, and precise.

In this paper, we constructed a novel bifunctional superoxide dismutase(SOD)/glutathione peroxidase(GPx) mimic, a selenium-, copper-containing 35-mer peptide conjugate(Se-Cu-35P) in which a three-amino acid linker(Gly-Asn-Gly) connects the C-terminus of 17-mer polypeptide SOD mimic with the N-terminus of 15-mer polypeptide GPx mimic. The SOD and GPx activities of Se-Cu-35P are two orders of magnitude lower than those of natural SOD and GPx, respectively. It provides a GPx activity 56-fold higher than Ebselen(a well-known GPx mimic). The glutathione(GSH) binding constant is 5.6×102 L·mol−1. Se-Cu-35P synergistically resists against the inactivation by H2O2 and protects the mitochondria from oxidative damage in a dose dependent manner. These results highlight the challenge of generating an efficient SOD/GPx synergism mimic. It could facilitate the studies of the cooperation of GPx and SOD and could be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of ROS-mediated diseases.

We have developed a rapid, simple and label-free colorimetric method for the identification of target DNA. It is based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification(LAMP). Plain gold nanoparticles(AuNPs) are used to indicate the occurrence of LAMP. The amplified product is mixed with AuNPs in an optimized ratio, at which the deoxyribonucleotides( dNTPs) bind to the AuNPs via ligand-metal interactions and thus enhance AuNPs stability. If a target DNA is amplified, the dramatic reduction of the dNTPs leads to the aggregation of AuNPs and a color change from red to blue. The success of the method strongly depends on the ionic strength of the solution and the initial concentration of dNTPs. Unlike other methods for the identification of isothermal products, this method is simple and can be readily applied on site where instrumentation is inadequate or even lacking.

•The system comprises a transition channel that is used for fluid acceleration.•The system could provide sufficient biosample volume.•The system could provide a relatively stable flow rate.•The system is tubeless and needs no external control.A number of portable surface plasmon resonance (SPR) devices have been developed for point-of-care (POC) testing. Meanwhile, micropumps have been fabricated to be integrated into these devices for flow injection analysis (FIA). However, the (micro) pumps, the tubes and their external control units were space-consuming. Here we developed a power-free flow injection analysis (FIA) method for SPR detection based on a gravity-induced flow injection (gFI) system. The gFI system was tubeless and did not need to be controlled. The fluid was driven into the detection areas by its own gravitational force. A transition channel was used to increase the liquid-level difference between the inlet reservoir and the outlet reservoir. After a liquid sample was placed in the inlet reservoir, the flow rate of the liquid sample was increased in the transition channel. Before it arrived at the sensing surface, the flow rate of the sample was steady (with an error of less than 10%). The fluctuation of the flow rate had an influence on the SPR response signal, which was successfully denoised using an internal reference. With the gFI system, the SPR imaging biosensor was able to perform real-time detection manually. The SPR responses of DNA hybridization and protein immobilization were successfully obtained.

We report here the soft nanomaterial-based targeting polymersomes for near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging to carry out in vivo tumor detection. Two polymersome-based NIR fluorescent probes were prepared through the self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers, poly(butadiene-b-ethylene oxide) (PEO-b-PBD). Each of them was encapsulated with distinct hydrophobic near-infrared dyes (DiD and DiR) and modified with different targeting ligands (anti-CEA antibody and anti-EGFR antibody), respectively. After simultaneous injection of these two probes into the tumor-bearing mice via tail vein, multispectral near-infrared fluorescence images were obtained. The results indicate that both probes are successfully directed to the tumor foci, where two distinguishable fluorescent signals were detected through the unmixed fluorescence images. By taking advantage of two targeting polymersome-based probes with distinct fluorescent features, the proposed multispectral near-infrared fluorescence imaging method can greatly improve the specificity and accuracy for in vivo tumor detection.

Digital nucleic acid amplification provides unprecedented opportunities for absolute nucleic acid quantification by counting of single molecules. This technique is useful for molecular genetic analysis in cancer, stem cell, bacterial, non-invasive prenatal diagnosis in which many biologists are interested. This paper describes a self-priming compartmentalization (SPC) microfluidic chip platform for performing digital loop-mediated amplification (LAMP). The energy for the pumping is pre-stored in the degassed bulk PDMS by exploiting the high gas solubility of PDMS; therefore, no additional structures other than channels and reservoirs are required. The sample and oil are sequentially sucked into the channels, and the pressure difference of gas dissolved in PDMS allows sample self-compartmentalization without the need for further chip manipulation such as with pneumatic microvalves and control systems, and so on. The SPC digital LAMP chip can be used like a 384-well plate, so, the world-to-chip fluidic interconnections are avoided. The microfluidic chip contains 4 separate panels, each panel contains 1200 independent 6 nL chambers and can be used to detect 4 samples simultaneously. Digital LAMP on the microfluidic chip was tested quantitatively by using β-actin DNA from humans. The self-priming compartmentalization behavior is roughly predictable using a two-dimensional model. The uniformity of compartmentalization was analyzed by fluorescent intensity and fraction of volume. The results showed that the feasibility and flexibility of the microfluidic chip platform for amplifying single nucleic acid molecules in different chambers made by diluting and distributing sample solutions. The SPC chip has the potential to meet the requirements of a general laboratory: power-free, valve-free, operating at isothermal temperature, inexpensive, sensitive, economizing labour time and reagents. The disposable analytical devices with appropriate air-tight packaging should be useful for point-of-care, and enabling it to become one of the common tools for biology research, especially, in point-of-care testing.

Near-infrared gold-doped CdHgTe quantum dots (QDs) with improved photoluminescence and biocompatibility were developed using an aqueous solution route with l-glutathione and l-cysteine as stabilizers. As-prepared Au:CdHgTe QDs were covalently linked to arginine–glycine–aspartic acid (RGD) peptide, anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody (MAb), and anti- carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule-1 (CEACAM1) MAb separately. Three Au:CdHgTe QD bioconjugates (QD800-RGD, QD820-anti-CEACAM1, and QD840-anti-EGFR) were successfully used as probes for in vivo tumor-targeted multispectral fluorescence imaging of xenografts. Fluorescence signals from the QD bioconjugates used to detect three tumor markers were spectrally unmixed, and their co-localization was analyzed. The results indicate that multiple tumor markers could be simultaneously detected by multispectral fluorescence imaging in vivo using QD bioconjugates as probes. This approach has excellent potential as an imaging method for the noninvasive exploration and detection of multiple tumor markers in vivo, thereby substantially aiding the diagnosis of cancer.

A microdevice made of glass for genetic analysis has been fabricated, for the first time, for integration of extraction of nucleic acids and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), followed by online fluorescence detection of amplification products on a single chip. The nucleic acid (NA) extraction region consists of a microfabricated serpentine channel in which micropillars were etched to increase the channel surface area and the capture efficiency of NAs. Nucleic acid molecules were bound to these pillars and channel surface in the presence of the chaotropic salt guanidine hydrochloride and eluted into a downstream amplification chamber with low ionic strength buffer where loop-mediated isothermal amplification was efficiently performed. Amplification can be detected online by the increase of fluorescence intensity at 540 nm when a low concentration of SYBR Green I, a fluorescent dsDNA intercalating dye, is employed. Flow control was accomplished by using laminar flow and differential channel flow resistances. Through passivation of the LAMP chamber and the channel between the extraction region and amplification domain, effective nucleic acid extraction and amplification were performed by just using a double-channel syringe pump and a heating block. By using this integrated microdevice, the purification of nucleic acids from complex biological matrixes and their subsequent amplification and detection online could be finished within 2 h.

This article contains schemes, original experimental data and figures for an integrated modularized microfluidic system described in “An integrated microfluidic system for bovine DNA purification and digital PCR detection [1]”. In this data article, we described the structure and fabrication of the integrated modularized microfluidic system. This microfluidic system was applied to isolate DNA from ovine tissue lysate and detect the bovine DNA with digital PCR (dPCR). The DNA extraction efficiency of the microdevice was compared with the efficiency of benchtop protocol.

Correction for ‘Fluorogenic bidirectional displacement probe-based real-time isothermal DNA amplification and specific visual detection of products’ by Xiong Ding et al., Chem. Commun., 2016, 52, 11438–11441.

A unique fluorogenic nucleic acid probe has been devised, called the fluorogenic bidirectional displacement probe, which can serve as both the primer and the signal indicator of amplification products for the development of the real-time isothermal DNA amplification and its visual detection of products with high sensitivity and specificity.