Dissolution-guided wetting for microarray and microfluidic devices.

The widespread use of lab-on-a-chip devices containing microcavities in the form of microwells, traps, dead ends, and corners, is often precluded by the trapping of air bubbles. Allbritton and colleagues present a straightforward and simple approach to mitigating bubble formation that can be applied to the CellRaft™ Arrays that are the cornerstone of the CellRaft® Technology. Air bubbles are eliminated in a two-step process, whereby microarrays are first hydrophilized by plasma treatment, and subsequently coated with a monosaccharide such as D-glucose or D-sorbitol. Following this treatment, microwell arrays can be stored for as long as 6 months in air, and complete rewetting of the microwells is demonstrated by the dissolution of the monosaccharide with an aqueous solution.