A Dedicated Low-Cost Fluorescence Microfluidic Device Reader for Point-of-Care Ocular Diagnostics

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noah Pestana ◽  
David Walsh ◽  
Adam Hatch ◽  
Paul Hahn ◽  
Glenn J. Jaffe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microfluidic Device ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Immunofluorescence Assay ◽  
Fluorescence Microscope ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Microfluidic Chips ◽  
Operator Training ◽  
Ocular Diagnostics ◽  
Endothelial Growth Factor

Microfluidic fluorescence assay devices show great promise as preclinical and clinical diagnostic instruments. Normally, fluorescence signals from microfluidic chips are quantified by analysis of images obtained with a commercial fluorescence microscope. This method is unnecessarily expensive, time consuming, and requires significant operator training, particularly when considering future clinical translation of the technology. In this work, we developed a dedicated low cost fluorescence microfluidic device reader (FMDR) to read sandwich immunofluorescence assay (sIFA) devices configured to detect vascular endothelial growth factor ligand concentrations in ocular fluid samples. Using a series of sIFA calibration standards and a limited set of human ocular fluid samples, we demonstrated that our FMDR reader has similar sensitivity and accuracy to a fluorescence microscope for this task, with significantly lower total cost and reduced reading time. We anticipate that the reader could be used with minor modifications for virtually any fluorescence microfluidic device.

scholarly journals Design and Experimental Investigation of a Novel Spiral Microfluidic Chip to Separate Wide Size Range of Micro-Particles Aimed at Cell Separation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Ali Tabatabaei ◽  
Mohammad Zabetian targhi
Keyword(s):  
Cell Separation ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Diagnostic System ◽  
Average Diameter ◽  
Microfluidic System ◽  
Microfluidic Chips ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Micro Particles ◽  
User Friendly

Abstract BackgroundIsolation of microparticles and biological cells on microfluidic chips has received considerable attention due to their applications in numerous areas such as medical and engineering fields. Microparticles separation are of great importance in bioassays owing to the need for a smaller sample and device size, and lower manufacturing costs. In this study, we first explain the concepts of separation and microfluidic science along with their applications in the medical sciences, and then, a conceptual design of a novel inertial microfluidic system is proposed and analyzed. The PDMS spiral microfluidic device was fabricated, and its effects on the separation of particles with sizes similar to biological particles were experimentally analyzed. This separation technique can be used in the process of separating cancer cells from the normal ones in the blood samples.ResultsThese components required for testing were selected, assembled, and finally, a very affordable microfluidic kit was provided. Different experiments were designed, and the results were analyzed using appropriate software and methods. Separator system tests with polydisperse hollow glass particles (diameter 2-20 µm), and monodisperse Polystyrene particles (diameter 5,15 µm), and the results exhibit an acceptable chip performance with 86 percent of efficiency for both monodisperse particles and polydisperse particles. The microchannel collects particles with an average diameter of 15.8 μm, 9.4 μm, and 5.9 μm at the Proposed reservoirs. ConclusionThis chip can be integrated into a more extensive point-of-care diagnostic system to test blood samples, and it could be said Based on the results of the experiments, this low-cost and user-friendly setting can be used for a variety of microparticle separation programs such as cell separation in biological assays.

scholarly journals Assessing the Reusability of 3D-Printed Photopolymer Microfluidic Chips for Urine Processing

Micromachines ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Lepowsky ◽  
Reza Amin ◽  
Savas Tasoglu
Keyword(s):  
Protein Adsorption ◽  
Microfluidic Device ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Device Fabrication ◽  
Microfluidic Chips ◽  
3D Printed ◽  
Printed Materials ◽  
Urine Processing ◽  
Nonspecific Protein Adsorption

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is emerging as a method for microfluidic device fabrication boasting facile and low-cost fabrication, as compared to conventional fabrication approaches, such as photolithography, for poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) counterparts. Additionally, there is an increasing trend in the development and implementation of miniaturized and automatized devices for health monitoring. While nonspecific protein adsorption by PDMS has been studied as a limitation for reusability, the protein adsorption characteristics of 3D-printed materials have not been well-studied or characterized. With these rationales in mind, we study the reusability of 3D-printed microfluidics chips. Herein, a 3D-printed cleaning chip, consisting of inlets for the sample, cleaning solution, and air, and a universal outlet, is presented to assess the reusability of a 3D-printed microfluidic device. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used a representative urinary protein and phosphate-buffered solution (PBS) was chosen as the cleaning agent. Using the 3-(4-carboxybenzoyl)quinoline-2-carboxaldehyde (CBQCA) fluorescence detection method, the protein cross-contamination between samples and the protein uptake of the cleaning chip were assessed, demonstrating a feasible 3D-printed chip design and cleaning procedure to enable reusable microfluidic devices. The performance of the 3D-printed cleaning chip for real urine sample handling was then validated using a commercial dipstick assay.

scholarly journals A Complete Protocol for Rapid and Low-Cost Fabrication of Polymer Microfluidic Chips Containing Three-Dimensional Microstructures Used in Point-of-Care Devices

Micromachines ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trieu Nguyen ◽  
Aaydha Chidambara Vinayaka ◽  
Dang Duong Bang ◽  
Anders Wolff
Keyword(s):  
Salmonella Enteritidis ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic ◽  
Microfluidic Chips ◽  
Industrial Companies ◽  
Polymerase Chain

This protocol provides insights into the rapid, low-cost, and largescale fabrication of polymer microfluidic chips containing three-dimensional microstructures used in point-of-care devices for applications such as detection of pathogens via molecular diagnostic methods. The details of the fabrication methods are described in this paper. This study offers suggestions for researchers and experimentalists, both at university laboratories and in industrial companies, to prevent doom fabrication issues. For a demonstration of bio-application in point-of-care testing, the 3D microarrays fabricated are then employed in multiplexed detection of Salmonella (Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Enteritidis), based on a molecular detection technique called solid-phase polymerase chain reaction (SP-PCR).

scholarly journals Design and Fabrication of Optical Flow Cell for Multiplex Detection of β-lactamase in Microchannels

Micromachines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sammer-ul Hassan ◽  
Xunli Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Optical Flow ◽  
Microfluidic Device ◽  
Bacterial Resistance ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Flow Cell ◽  
Clinical Diagnostics ◽  
Portable Devices ◽  
Single Chip ◽  
Parallel Microchannels

Miniaturized quantitative assays offer multiplexing capability in a microfluidic device for high-throughput applications such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) studies. The detection of these multiple microchannels in a single microfluidic device becomes crucial for point-of-care (POC) testing and clinical diagnostics. This paper showcases an optical flow cell for detection of parallel microchannels in a microfluidic chip. The flow cell operates by measuring the light intensity from the microchannels based on Beer-Lambert law in a linearly moving chip. While this platform could be tailored for a wide variety of applications, here we show the design, fabrication and working principle of the device. β-lactamase, an indicator of bacterial resistance to β-lactam antibiotics, especially in milk, is shown as an example. The flow cell has a small footprint and uses low-powered, low-cost components, which makes it ideally suited for use in portable devices that require multiple sample detection in a single chip.

scholarly journals Lateral Flow Aptasensor for Simultaneous Detection of Platelet-Derived Growth Factor-BB (PDGF-BB) and Thrombin

Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guodong Liu ◽  
Anant Gurung ◽  
Wanwei Qiu
Keyword(s):  
Growth Factor ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Simultaneous Detection ◽  
Lateral Flow ◽  
Platelet Derived Growth Factor ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Lateral Flow Strip ◽  
Assay Time

Here we report a lateral flow aptasensor (LFA) for the simultaneous detection of platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) and thrombin. Two pairs of aptamers, which are specific against PDGF-BB and thrombin, respectively, were used to prepare the LFA. Thiolated aptamers were immobilized on a gold nanoparticle (AuNP) surface and biotinylated aptamers were immobilized on the test zones of an LFA nitrocellulose membrane. The assay involved the capture of PDGF-BB and thrombin simultaneously in sandwich-type formats between the capture aptamers on the test zones of LFA and AuNP-labeled detection aptamers. AuNPs were thus captured on the test zones of the LFA and gave red bands to enable the visual detection of target proteins. Quantitative results were obtained by reading the test band intensities with a portable strip reader. By combining the highly specific molecular recognition properties of aptamers with the unique properties of lateral flow assay (low-cost, short assay time and a user-friendly format), the optimized aptasensor was capable of simultaneously detecting 1.0 nM of PDGF-BB and 1.5 nM of thrombin in association with a 10-min assay time. The biosensor was also successfully applied to detect PDGF-BB and thrombin in spiked human serum samples. The LFA shows great promise for the development of aptamer-based lateral flow strip biosensors for point-of-care or for the in-field detection of disease-related protein biomarkers.

scholarly journals Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for in vitro diagnostic testing at the point of care

Nanophotonics ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 681-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haley Marks ◽  
Monika Schechinger ◽  
Javier Garza ◽  
Andrea Locke ◽  
Gerard Coté
Keyword(s):  
Raman Spectroscopy ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy ◽  
World Health ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Surface Enhanced ◽  
Surface Enhanced Raman

AbstractPoint-of-care (POC) device development is a growing field that aims to develop low-cost, rapid, sensitive in-vitro diagnostic testing platforms that are portable, self-contained, and can be used anywhere – from modern clinics to remote and low resource areas. In this review, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is discussed as a solution to facilitating the translation of bioanalytical sensing to the POC. The potential for SERS to meet the widely accepted “ASSURED” (Affordable, Sensitive, Specific, User-friendly, Rapid, Equipment-free, and Deliverable) criterion provided by the World Health Organization is discussed based on recent advances in SERS in vitro assay development. As SERS provides attractive characteristics for multiplexed sensing at low concentration limits with a high degree of specificity, it holds great promise for enhancing current efforts in rapid diagnostic testing. In outlining the progression of SERS techniques over the past years combined with recent developments in smart nanomaterials, high-throughput microfluidics, and low-cost paper diagnostics, an extensive number of new possibilities show potential for translating SERS biosensors to the POC.

scholarly journals Modular and Self-Contained Microfluidic Analytical Platforms Enabled by Magnetorheological Elastomer Microactuators

Micromachines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 604
Author(s):  
Yuxin Zhang ◽  
Tim Cole ◽  
Guolin Yun ◽  
Yuxing Li ◽  
Qianbin Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Microfluidic Device ◽  
Microfluidic Chip ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Lab On A Chip ◽  
Magnetorheological Elastomer ◽  
Require Time ◽  
External Connection ◽  
Analytical Platforms

Portability and low-cost analytic ability are desirable for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics; however, current POC testing platforms often require time-consuming multiple microfabrication steps and rely on bulky and costly equipment. This hinders the capability of microfluidics to prove its power outside of laboratories and narrows the range of applications. This paper details a self-contained microfluidic device, which does not require any external connection or tubing to deliver insert-and-use image-based analysis. Without any microfabrication, magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) microactuators including pumps, mixers and valves are integrated into one modular microfluidic chip based on novel manipulation principles. By inserting the chip into the driving and controlling platform, the system demonstrates sample preparation and sequential pumping processes. Furthermore, due to the straightforward fabrication process, chips can be rapidly reconfigured at a low cost, which validates the robustness and versatility of an MRE-enabled microfluidic platform as an option for developing an integrated lab-on-a-chip system.

scholarly journals Validation of a point-of-care rapid diagnostic test for hepatitis C for use in resource-limited settings

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 314-315
Author(s):  
James S Leathers ◽  
Maria Belen Pisano ◽  
Viviana Re ◽  
Gertine van Oord ◽  
Amir Sultan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Rapid Diagnosis ◽  
Direct Acting Antivirals ◽  
Resource Limited Settings ◽  
Rapid Diagnosis Test ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Hcv Screening ◽  
Direct Acting

Abstract Background Treatment of HCV with direct-acting antivirals has enabled the discussion of HCV eradication worldwide. Envisioning this aim requires implementation of mass screening in resource-limited areas, usually constrained by testing costs. Methods We validated a low-cost, rapid diagnosis test (RDT) for HCV in three different continents in 141 individuals. Results The HCV RDT showed 100% specificity and sensitivity across different samples regardless of genotype or viral load (in samples with such information, 90%). Conclusions The HCV test validated in this study can allow for HCV screening in areas of need when properly used.

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