This work represents the first step toward the integration of sample preparation, nucleic acids amplification and DNA microarray detection into a simple and fast silicon Lab-on-Chip system. In particular, we report the experimental results for the detection of the human ¦Â-globine gene (HBB) directly from defined numbers of cultured human cells and whole blood in less than 2 h. The influence of PCR inhibitors was also evaluated when the detection was performed on whole blood.
The sample preparation process was entirely performed in a single step in the silicon microreactor, and assessed by RT-qPCR and direct DNA quantification. The extracted DNA, after PCR amplification, was hybridized on the DNA microarray. Both the DNA amount and the amplification efficiency were higher than those obtained with a conventional multi-step process used for comparison. Altogether, the results demonstrate the feasibility of casting a sample preparation step in miniaturized microfluidics systems to develop fully integrated, simple and rapid sample-to-detection nucleic acids-based diagnostic systems.