title: An optical relay approach to very low cost hybrid polymer-complementary metal-oxide semiconductor electrophoresis instrumentation.
abstract: Electrophoresis is an integral part of many molecular diagnostics protocols and an inexpensive implementation would greatly facilitate point-of-care (POC) applications. However, the high instrumentation cost presents a substantial barrier, much of it associated with fluorescence detection. The cost of such systems could be substantially reduced by placing the fluidic channel and photodiode directly above the detector in order to collect a larger portion of the fluorescent light. In future, this could be achieved through the integration and monolithic fabrication of photoresist microchannels on complementary metal-oxide semiconductor microelectronics (CMOS). However, the development of such a device is expensive due to high non-recurring engineering costs. To facilitate that development, we present a system that utilises an optical relay to integrate low-cost polymeric microfluidics with a CMOS chip that provides a photodiode, analog-digital conversion and a standard serial communication interface. This system embodies an intermediate level of microelectronic integration, and significantly decreases development costs. With a limit of detection of 1.3±0.4nM of fluorescently end-labeled deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), it is suitable for diagnostic applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1.
authors.forename: Gordon H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, AB, Canada T6G 2G8.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Sloan
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1.
authors.forename: Tianchi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1.
authors.forename: Madeline H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Couse
authors.affiliation: Teledyne DALSA Semiconductor, 18, boul. de l'Aeroport, Bromont, QC, Canada J2L 1S7.
authors.forename: Stephane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Martel
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, AB, Canada T6G 2G8.
authors.forename: Duncan G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1.
authors.forename: D Moira
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Glerum
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1. Electronic address: chrisb@uwaterloo.ca.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Backhouse
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis; D004586:Electrophoresis / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005453:Fluorescence; D008027:Light; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000191:economics* / Q000295:instrumentation*; D055095:Optics and Photonics / Q000295:instrumentation; D010087:Oxides / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D012666:Semiconductors
chemical_list: D008670:Metals; D010087:Oxides; D011108:Polymers; D004247:DNA
keywords: Electrophoresis; Light induced fluorescence detection; Microelectronics; Microfabrication; Microfluidics; Miniaturised diagnostics