Melting analysis on microbeads in rapid temperature-gradient inside microchannels for single nucleotide polymorphisms detection

A continuous-flow microchip with a temperature gradient in microchannels was utilized to demonstrate spatial melting analysis on microbeads for clinical Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyping on animal genomic DNA. The chip had embedded heaters and thermometers, which created a rapid and yet stable temperature gradient between 60 °C and 85 °C in a short distance as the detection region. The microbeads, which served as mobile supports carrying the target DNA and fluorescent dye, were transported across the temperature gradient. As the surrounding temperature increased, the fluorescence signals of the microbeads decayed with this relationship being acquired as the melting curve. Fast DNA denaturation, as a result of the improved heat transfer and thermal stability due to scaling, was also confirmed. Further, each individual microbead could potentially bear different sequences and pass through the detection region, one by one, for a series of melting analysis, with multiplex, high-throughput capability being possible. A prototype was tested with target DNA samples in different genotypes (i.e., wild and mutant types) with a SNP location from Landrace sows. The melting temperatures were obtained and compared to the ones using a traditional tube-based approach. The results showed similar levels of SNP discrimination, validating our proposed technique for scanning homozygotes and heterozygotes to distinguish single base changes for disease research, drug development, medical diagnostics, agriculture, and animal production.