Circular Bioassay Platforms for Applications in Microwave-Accelerated Techniques

In this paper, we present the design of four different circular bioassay platforms, which are suitablefor homogeneous microwave heating, using theoretical calculations (i.e., COMSOLTM multiphysicssoftware). Circular bioassay platforms are constructed from poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) foroptical transparency between 400-800 nm, has multiple sample capacity (12, 16, 19 and 21 wells)and modified with silver nanoparticle films (SNFs) to be used in microwave-accelerated bioassays(MABs). In addition, a small monomode microwave cavity, which can be operated with an externalmicrowave generator (100 W), for use with the bioassay platforms in MABs is also developed.Our design parameters for the circular bioassay platforms and monomode microwave cavity duringmicrowave heating were: (i) temperature profiles, (ii) electric field distributions, (iii) location of thecircular bioassay platforms inside the microwave cavity, and (iv) design and number of wells onthe circular bioassay platforms. We have also carried out additional simulations to assess the use ofcircular bioassay platforms in a conventional kitchen microwave oven (e.g., 900 W). Our results showthat the location of the circular bioassay platforms in the microwave cavity was predicted to havea significant effect on the homogeneous heating of these platforms. The 21-well circular bioassayplatform design in our monomode microwave cavity was predicted to offer a homogeneous heatingpattern, where inter-well temperature was observed to be in between 23.72-24.13°C and intra-welltemperature difference was less than 0.21°C for 60 seconds of microwave heating, which was alsoverified experimentally.