Stanford
Microfluidics Laboratory

On-chip isotachophoresis: Applications

Isotachophoresis (ITP) is versatile electrophoretic technique which can be used for sample preconcentration, separation, purification, mixing, and control and acceleration of chemical reactions. Our group has pioneered the use of ITP to achieve fully automated sample extraction and to accelerate biochemical reactions. For example, we have used it to selectively extract and purify nucleic acids from complex samples such as blood, urine, and saliva. We have also used it to speed up reactions between target DNA and synthetic DNA probes, and to accelerate enzyme reactions such as CRISPR-Cas12 and -Cas13.

itp crispr assay
itp crispr results

CRISPR in ITP

Mixing of two ITP zones at a Y-shaped channel junction

Acceleration of DNA array hybridization using isotachophoresis

References

Ashwin Ramachandran and Juan G. Santiago. "Microfluidic Isotachophoresis: Theory and Applications" Chemical Reviews 122, no. 15 (2022): 12904-12976.

Anita Rogacs, Lewis A. Marshall, and Juan G. Santiago. "Purification of nucleic acids using isotachophoresis" Journal of Chromatography A 1335 (2014): 105-120.

Ashwin Ramachandran, Diego A. Huyke, Eesha Sharma, Malaya K. Sahoo, ChunHong Huang, Niaz Banaei, Benjamin A. Pinsky, and Juan G. Santiago. "Electric field-driven microfluidics for rapid CRISPR-based diagnostics and its application to detection of SARS-CoV-2" Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 47 (2020): 29518-29525.