An inkjet printed, roll-coated digital microfluidic device for inexpensive, miniaturized diagnostic assays
Abstract
The diagnosis of infectious disease is typically carried out at the point-of-care (POC) using the lateral flow assay (LFA). While cost-effective and portable, LFAs often lack the clinical sensitivity and specificity required for accurate diagnoses. In response to this challenge, we introduce a new digital microfluidic (DMF) platform fabricated using a custom inkjet printing and roll-coating process that is scalable to mass production. The performance of the new devices is on par with that of traditional DMF devices fabricated in a cleanroom, with a materials cost for the new devices of only US $0.63 per device. To evaluate the usefulness of the new platform, we performed a 13-step rubella virus (RV) IgG immunoassay on the inkjet printed, roll-coated devices, which yielded a limit of detection of 0.02 IU mL^(−1), well below the diagnostic cut-off of 10 IU mL^(−1) for RV infection and immunity. We propose that this represents a breakthrough for DMF, lowering the costs to a level such that the new platforms will be an attractive alternative to LFAs for the diagnosis of infectious disease at the POC.
Additional Information
© 2016 The Royal Society of Chemistry. Received 24 Aug 2016, Accepted 21 Oct 2016, First published online 01 Nov 2016. We thank Dr. Mohtashim Shamsi (So. Illinois Univ.), Stephen Ho (Univ. of Toronto), and Michael D. M. Dryden (Univ. of Toronto) for fruitful conversations. We thank Prof. Dwight Seferos (Univ. of Toronto) for access to the AFM. We thank the Canadian Foundation of Innovation (CFI), the Ontario Research Fund (ORF), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Grand Challenges Canada, and Abbott Diagnostics for funding. M. B. M. is grateful for an Ontario Graduate Scholarship. A. R. W. thanks the Canada Research Chair (CRC) program for a CRC.Attached Files
Published - c6lc01064d.pdf
Supplemental Material - c6lc01064d1_si.pdf
Supplemental Material - c6lc01064d2.mp4
Files
Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 71665
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20161101-130436252
- Canada Foundation for Innovation
- Ontario Research Fund-Research Excellence
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
- Grand Challenges Canada
- Abbott Diagnostics
- Ontario Graduate Scholarship
- Canada Research Chairs Program
- Created
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2016-11-01Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-11Created from EPrint's last_modified field