Designing Microfluidic PCR Chip Device Using CFD Software for the Detection of Malaria

Abstract

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique is one of the molecular methods in amplifying DNA for the detection of malaria. However, the collection and transportation of samples and the processing and dissemination of results via conventional PCR, especially when used for routine clinical practice, can hamper the technique’s sensitivity and specificity. The rampancy of such disease in the Philippines is aggravated by the limited supply of medical machinery and the poor economic state of the country; thus, the need to innovate a device for the early detection of malaria is necessary. With that, this study focuses on designing a microfluidic device that will mimic the function of a conventional genus-specific PCR based on the 18S rRNA gene to detect malaria parasites (Plasmodium falciparum) at low-grade parasitemia. The design was intended to be portable, accessible, and economical, which none from past literature has dealt with specifically for malaria detection. This in silico design is a first in the country specially crafted for such reasons. The proposed device was developed and simulated using ANSYS software for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses. The simulation shows that adding loops to the design increases its relative deviation but minimally compared to having only a straight path design. This indicates that looping is acceptable in designing a microfluidic device to minimize chip length. It was also found that increasing the cross-sectional area of the fluid path decreases the efficiency of the design. Lastly, among the three materials utilized, the chip made of polypropylene is the most efficient, with a relative deviation of 0.94 compared to polycarbonate and polydimethylsiloxane, which have relative deviations of 2.78 and 1.92, respectively. Future researchers may mesh the 44-cycle microfluidic chip due to the limitations of the software used in this study, and other materials, such as biocomposites, may be assessed to broaden the application of the design.