Microbead Capture

Microbead capture technology is the bridge between full scale real world samples and nanoscale fluidic processes on microchips. The use of coated paramagnetic beads to capture specific biological materials from a variety of matrices is well established and can also offer exquisite discrimination. These microbeads bind and capture target biomolecules from large dilute volumes and concentrate them into microliter or even nanoliter bead volumes. Bead capture provides specificity, purification, and volume reduction—key elements in bringing samples onto microfluidics.

Microbead Cleanup

Magnetic beads are also used by MBI on-chip to perform cleanups, such as sample preparation for DNA sequencing on the new Apollo 100 System. After template and pre-mix solutions are pumped into reaction chambers and the reaction mixture undergoes the appropriate number of thermocycles, magnetic beads are then added automatically to the reaction products. The beads capture the reaction products, and are pumped into MBI’s MOVe chip and captured by magnets within a MOVe chamber.  While immobilized in the magnetic field the beads are rinsed with wash solutions. This approach is used in the Apollo 100 to remove excess unincorporated dye from cycle sequencing reactions that would otherwise interfere with sequence detection by commercial DNA Sequencing systems.