4. Conclusion
In this study, we developed a new centrifugal microfluidic system
capable of accomplishing fully automated serial dilutions, by utilizing
ferrowax microvalves. Using the centrifugal microfluidic system, we
successfully achieved six consecutive two-fold and ten-fold dilutions
for the crystal violet solution and the Escherichia coli O157:H7
sample, respectively, in a very accurate and loss-free manner. Very
importantly, this system was fully automated by taking advantage of the
automated actuation of the ferrowax microvalves such that any handling
step was not required after the initial loading of the analyte.
Moreover, the overall process was completed very rapidly within five
minutes due to the elegantly designed minimized procedures. We believe
that the fully automated system developed herein has a great potential
for the development of diverse point-of-care diagnostic systems
involving the serial dilution process.