Application of microfluidic technology
Since the 1990s, the explosive development of qPCR technology has made modern nucleic acid detection technology have a new look. After entering the 21st century, DNA sequencing technology with faster speed, higher flux and lower cost is developing rapidly. It is also one of the most competitive research fields at present. Even in this case, dpcr technology still won its own place in many scientific fields with its high sensitivity and specificity. Even in some traditional qPCR application fields, some laboratories also choose dpcr platform for parallel experiments to ensure the accuracy and repeatability of experimental results.
The high amplification specificity brought by digital PCR technology has natural advantages in rare mutation detection. We have seen many wonderful performances of dpcr in the research directions of cancer marker detection, noninvasive prenatal examination, mitochondrial mutation detection and so on.
CNV (copy number variations) research requires very high quantitative accuracy to distinguish small differences between different copy numbers. Sequencing method is suitable for detection of variation rate higher than 30%, while the highest resolution of qPCR is about 1.5 times. Digital PCR calculates the ratio by directly counting the number of target gene and reference gene (copy number 1 gene, such as RNaseP), Directly obtaining the copy number of the target gene can achieve high copy number resolution accuracy.
In addition, the application of dpcr in pathogenic microorganism detection, microRNA research, gene expression research, absolute quantification of NGS sequencing library, quantitative detection of DNA methylation directly related to epigenetics, chip quantitative identification and other fields is extremely expected, and in specific application directions such as transgenic component identification, accurate quantification of molecular standards, environmental sample detection and so on, A large number of experimental data and results have proved the excellent performance of dpcr technology.
Accurate diagnosis is the key link of accurate medical treatment. As a non-invasive and uniform detection technology, liquid biopsy has quickly become a new star in the field of accurate diagnosis. Digital PCR technology is recognized as the most sensitive detection method in the field of liquid biopsy. It uses the limited dilution method to segment the target molecules into an independent reaction system, realizes the absolute quantitative detection of the target without relying on the standard curve, and can detect as low as 0.01% of the mutant genes. The application of this technology is not far from our life. Digital PCR technology can be used for prenatal screening of pregnant women, can carry out genetic disease risk assessment faster and at a lower cost, and can also be used for typing and quantification of infectious pathogens. Digital PCR technology can also be used for tumor liquid biopsy, early tumor screening, accurate medication guidance and prognosis monitoring, which can greatly improve the treatment effect
Compared with traditional qPCR technology, digital PCR technology has extremely high sensitivity, specificity and accuracy, but up to now, digital PCR is still a new detection method for the majority of scientific researchers. When we look at the application prospect of digital PCR, we should maintain an open mind. It is not so much that digital PCR technology is a new detection platform, It is better to regard it as a new technical idea and means. There will be more applications on this platform to help us go deep into the higher level of molecular biology research.
As an R & D enterprise, we track the cutting-edge technology. At present, our joint laboratory has made a great breakthrough in the microfluidic technology for the detection of respiratory pathogens and Covid-19 virus detection.
