After nine years of research, a laboratory team led by Chemistry Prof. James Landers recently accomplished its goal of packaging the process of DNA analysis into what Landers calls a “Lab on a chip.”
The team, which consists of graduate and undergraduate students as well as professors, has been transferring the types of chemical and biochemical processes used to analyze samples of DNA onto a single device, facilitating quicker analysis.
The processes the lab team has put onto microchips include extracting DNA from a sample, which could be a “root of hair, a blood stain on piece of clothing, a saliva sample, [or] cheek swab,” Landers said.
This is followed by a polymerase chain reaction, a technique of capturing DNA after it has been released from the cell and then using the microchip to identify target sequences of DNA and amplify the researcher’s section of interest, Landers explained.
This allows researchers to identify a part of the human genome to create a “DNA fingerprint.”
By putting the processes on microchips, the genetic analysis uses less of the sample and decreases the amount of time researchers must spend identifying whether the portion of targeted DNA is present within the sample, Asst. Research Prof. Jerome Ferrance said.
Lander’s team now can put the process of genetic analysis onto one chip; however, they are not yet able to put all of the information necessary to make the chip transportable to other locations. Ferrance added that a transportable microfluidic chip is the team’s next goal.
Landers said the team hopes to have a finished product within a year, noting the creation of such a chip would bring both prestige and money to the University.
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