Developing a surface acoustic wave‐induced microfluidic cell lysis device for point‐of‐care DNA amplification

Abstract

Abstract We developed a microchip device using surface acoustic waves (SAW) and sharp‐edge glass microparticles to rapidly lyse low‐level cell samples. This microchip features a 13‐finger pair interdigital transducer (IDT) with a 30‐degree focused angle, creating high‐intensity acoustic beams converging 6 mm away at a 16 MHz frequency. Cell lysis is achieved through centrifugal forces acting on Candida albicans cells and glass particles within the focal area. To optimize this SAW‐induced streaming, we conducted 42 pilot experiments, varying electrical power, droplet volume, glass particle size, concentration, and lysis time, resulting in optimal conditions: an electrical signal of 2.5 W, a 20 μL sample volume, glass particle size below 10 μm, concentration of 0.2 μg, and a 5‐min lysis period. We successfully amplified DNA target fragments directly from the lysate, demonstrating an efficient microchip‐based cell lysis method. When combined with an isothermal amplification technique, this technology holds promise for rapid point‐of‐care (POC) applications.

Keywords

• cell lysis
• droplet
• micro‐glass particle
• surface acoustic wave