Antifouling slippery liquid infused porous surface for surfactant-free PCR on digital microfluidics platform

Abstract

Digital microfluidics technology has immense potential for multiplexing biological processes, reducing reagents, and minimizing process time. However, biofouling of surfaces causes cross-contamination, slow droplet movement, and prolonged experiment time, hindering its full potential. Traditionally surfactants are used to combat this issue but can interfere with biological reactions leading to low efficiency. An alternative is the use of slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS), which do not interfere with the reactions and offer a solution to the biofouling problem. In this study, we compare Teflon surfaces with SLIPS to address the challenge of biofouling in Digital MicroFluidic (DMF) devices. More specifically, we demonstrate that SLIPS in an Electrowetting-on-Dielectric (EWOD)-based DMF device not only prevents biofouling but also enhances PCR efficiency, reducing reaction times and reagent consumption. These advancements eliminate the need for surfactants, which can interfere with biological reactions, thereby ensuring higher fidelity in PCR amplification. Our findings reveal that SLIPS facilitate faster droplet movement and maintain reaction integrity, showcasing their potential for high-throughput biological assays. • This article applies digital microfluidics to perform PCR in a single droplet by moving the droplet to different temperature zones named space-domain PCR • Surfactant-free PCR was performed on an in-house developed digital microfluidics setup • The antifouling property of SLIPS is compared with Teflon membranes and is found that SLIPS outperforms Teflon • PCR conditions optimized for compatibility with digital microfluidics platform • Faster DNA amplification showed compared to standard methods as no time lost in temperature ramping

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