Porous pDMS Microreactor Array Chip for De Novo DNA Synthesis

This paper reports a facile fabrication method of polymeric chip with about five-fold increasement in reaction area by in-situ constructing porous microreactor array, which is therefore beneficial for low-cost, high throughput and high capacity de novo DNA synthesis. Microwell arrays were laser-engraved on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) substrate, filled with sugar and then casted with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). After sugar removed, porous PDMS (pPDMS) arrays would be incorporated easily. A 40-mer oligonucleotides were successfully synthesized on the pPDMS array and validated by fluorescent hybridization experiments. With the high reaction sites provided by pPDMS, the yield of oligo is about four times higher than the pristine planar PDMS with the same footprint. In addition, the porosity of pPDMS can be easily adjusted to meet different yield requirements.