Dilution with Digital Microfluidic Biochips: Unbalanced Split-Error Correction with SIMOP
摘要
The advent of microfluidics has transformed the entire ecospace of bio-chemical laboratory protocols by enabling their execution on compact Lab-on-Chip (LoC) devices. This technology finds versatile applications in automated clinical diagnostics and point-of-care healthcare procedures. Digital Microfluidic Biochips (DMFB) are special LoC devices that manipulate micro- or nano-scale fluid droplets using electric fields to perform fundamental fluidic operations such as transport, mixing, and splitting, which are essential for executing assays. However, inaccuracies often occur during the mixing and splitting process due to the unbalanced splitting of droplets. Addressing these errors is critical for ensuring assay accuracy and reducing costs associated with stock solutions and reagents. This paper addresses the problem of split-error correction within the context of a dilution assay, utilizing a Simulation-guided Optimization Procedure (SIMOP). Split errors are categorized as critical or non-critical, and only critical errors require correction to achieve accurate dilution results. The study analyzes the impact of unbalanced split errors on target sample concentrations and presents automated error-correction techniques integrated with the SIMOP algorithm.