Table 4.

Merits and demerits of microfluidic-based amplification platforms.

Platform	Complexity	Sample Volume	Assay Time	Throughput	Sensitivity	Utility
Serpentine [59]	-Several heaters and pumping are required-Complex channel design	0.35 μL	18 min	Low	0.031 pg/μL	On-site gene testing
Oscillating-flow [62]	-Pumping is required-Complex design-Low detection speed	2 μL	12 min	Low	10 DNA copies	On-the-spot analysis
Centrifugal [66]	-Elaborate designs and rotating platforms-Complex electronic components	40 μL	70 min	Low	100 CE with tmRNA	Clinical application
Lab disk [86]	-Very complex design-Long analysis time-Mostly unsuitable for multiplexing	4.8 μL of the sample plus preloaded primers and LAMP reagents	60 min	Low	2 × 102 cells per μL	Nucleic acid diagnostics in resource-limited settings particularly in clinical stage
Array [102]	-Robotic liquid handling is required-Complex and expensive	20 uL	~60 min	High	High	Water distribution systems, clinical field
LAMP-based [139]	-Difficult naked eye detection in a few microliters of sample-Instruments for visualisation are required	600 nL	~70 min	Low	3 copies/μL	Applications in point-of-care settings
Droplet-based [201]	-Difficult droplet manipulation-Evaporation during thermal cycling-Droplet-to-droplet coalescence-Limited to laboratories with trained personnel-Expensive	Droplets ranging in diameter from ~1.5 to 13,117 μm with a median diameter of ∼56 μm (90 pL)	~70 min	High	0.682 copies/μL	Variety of settings for the quantification of nucleic acids in complex samples