Nanoscale Palaeogenomics: Introducing Microfluidics To the Field of Ancient DNA

The use of ancient DNA (aDNA) has revolutionised the fields of archaeology and evolutionary biology. However, despite the remarkable insights gained from aDNA, the field suffers from a major challenge: the current methods used to convert aDNA into so-called "libraries" that are then sequenced to yield the final datasets are extremely inefficient. This has major practical as well as ethical implications as unique archaeological samples are being destroyed unnecessarily. To address this problem I propose to introduce nanoscale microfluidics to the field of aDNA. Microfluidic platforms enable users to manipulate minuscule amounts of DNA efficiently in microdroplets. If successful, this new approach will revolutionize the way we work with aDNA and help us minimize destructive sampling.