Overcoming bubble formation in polydimethylsiloxane-made PCR chips: mechanism and elimination with a high-pressure liquid seal.

Shiyuan Gao, Tiegang Xu, Lei Wu, Xiaoyue Zhu, Xuefeng Wang, Xiaohong Jian, Xinxin Li

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Microsystems & nanoengineering, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

Pico-Scale Digital PCR on a Super-Hydrophilic Microarray Chip for Multi-Target Detection.Micromachines · 2025
Article

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Shiyuan GaoState Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200050, China.

Tiegang XuState Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200050, China. xutiegang@mail.sim.ac.cn.

Lei WuState Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200050, China. wulei@mail.sim.ac.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3138-541X

Xiaoyue ZhuFujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant Systems Biology, Metabolomics Center, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, School of Future Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.

Xuefeng WangState Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200050, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0158-5990

Xiaohong JianSchool of Biological Engineering, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Yibin, 644000, China.

Xinxin LiState Key Laboratory of Transducer Technology, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200050, China. xxli@mail.sim.ac.cn.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 61974155National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 62227815

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The thermal expansion of gas and the air permeability of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) were previously thought to be the main causes of bubbles and water loss during polymerase chain reaction (PCR), resulting in a very complex chip design and operation. Here, by calculating and characterizing bubble formation, we discovered that water vapor is the main cause of bubbling. During PCR, heat increases the volume of the bubble by a factor of only ~0.2 in the absence of water vapor but by a factor of ~6.4 in the presence of water vapor. In addition, the phenomenon of "respiration" due to the repeated evaporation and condensation of water vapor accelerates the expansion of bubbles and the loss of water. A water seal above 109 kPa can effectively prevent bubbles in a bare PDMS chip with a simple structure, which is significant for the wide application of PDMS chips.

Identifiers

PMID39327421

DOI10.1038/s41378-024-00725-1

PMCPMC11427668

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LicenceCC BY

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.