Enhancement of DNA hybridization efficiency using photovoltaic effect

We present a novel method to enhance the DNA hybridization efficiency by photovoltaic effect. The arrayed microchip is fabricated in a semiconductor wafer coated with metal thin films for immobilizing the probe DNA. Hybridization in between immobilized probe DNAs and fluorescent-labeled target DNA are carried out through the illumination of a laser. Photovoltaic effect induces positive charges on the surface of microchip to attract negatively charged target DNAs down to the hybridization site, results in efficiently enhancing the hybridization rate up to two-order magnitude. Our observation provided cutting-edge solution away from bottleneck of microchip process in heat and time-consuming.