We report on the development of an all optical platform to study the expression of genes in diseases. The microscope-based instrument utilizes an infrared laser to heat nanoliter droplets containing PCR reagents. Four targets are monitored using individual color channels with negligible spectral crosstalk. A DNA hairpin probe is used as a nanoscale thermometer to calibrate the droplet temperature. The resulting amplification curves demonstrate the viability of this technique for single cell RT-PCR studies in rare cell samples. The figure shows simultaneous amplification of four targets in a single droplet: hMAM, CEA, KRT19, and Muc1. This method holds promise for multiplexed gene expression in single cells.

Laser-Driven droplet PCR reactions in multiplexed format for gene expression studies

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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