The technology of digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) is rapidly evolving, yet current devices often suffer from bulkiness and cumbersome sample-loading procedures. Moreover, challenges such as droplet merging and partition size limitations impede efficiency. In this study, we present a super-hydrophilic microarray chip specifically designed for dPCR, featuring streamlined loading methods compatible with micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Utilizing hydrodynamic principles, our platform enables the formation of a uniform array of 120-pL independent reaction units within a closed channel. The setup allows for rapid reactions facilitated by an efficient thermal cycler and real-time imaging. We achieved absolute quantitative detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) plasmids at varying concentrations, alongside multiple targets, including cancer mutation gene fragments and reference genes. This work highlights the chip’s versatility and potential applications in point-of-care testing (POCT) for cancer diagnostics.

Dean flow and Dean instability play an important role in inertial microfluidics, with a wide application in mixing and sorting. However, most studies are limited to Dean flow in the microscale. This work first reports the application of Dean instability on organic nanoparticles synthesis at $De$ up to 198. The channel geometry (the tortuous channel) is optimized by simulation, in which the mixing efficiency is considered. With the optimized design, prednisolone nanoparticles are synthesized, and the size of the most abundant prednisolone nanoparticles is down to 100 nm with an increase in the $Re$ and $De$ and smallest size down to 46 nm. This work serves as an ice-breaker to the real application of Dean instability by demonstrating its ability in mixing and nanomaterials like nanoparticle synthesis.