A multiplexed immunoassay system based upon reciprocating centrifugal microfluidics

Lab on a bead with oscillatory centrifugal microfluidics for fast and complete mixing enables fast and accurate biomedical assays

Rapid mixing and precise timing are key for accurate biomedical assay measurement, particularly when the result is determined as the rate of a reaction: for example rapid immunoassay in which the amount of captured target is kinetically determined; determination of the concentration of an enzyme or enzyme substrate; or as the final stage in any procedure that involves a capture reagent when an enzyme reaction is used as the indicator. Rapid mixing and precise timing are however difficult to achieve in point-of-care devices designed for small sample volumes and fast time to result. By using centrifugal microfluidics and transposing the reaction surface from a chamber to a single mm-scale bead we demonstrate an elegant and easily manufacturable solution. Reagents (which may be, for example, an enzyme, enzyme substrate, antibody or antigen) are immobilised on the surface of a single small bead (typically 1-2 mm in diameter) contained in a cylindrical reaction chamber subjected to periodically changing rotational accelerations which promote both mixing and uniform mass-transfer to the bead surface. The gradient of Euler force across the chamber resulting from rotational acceleration of the disc, dΩdisc/dt, drives circulation of fluid in the chamber. Oscillation of Euler force by oscillation of rotational acceleration with period, T, less than that of the hydrodynamic relaxation time of the fluid, folds the fluid streamlines. Movement of the bead in response to the fluid and the changing rotational acceleration provides a dynamically changing chamber shape, further folding and expanding the fluid. Bead rotation and translation driven by fluid flow and disc motion give uniformity of reaction over the surface. Critical parameters for mixing and reaction uniformity are the ratio of chamber radius to bead radius, rchamber/rbead, and the product Trchamber(dΩdisc/dt), of oscillation period and Euler force gradient across the fluid. We illustrate application of the concept using the reaction of horse radish peroxidase (HRP) immobilised on the bead surface with its substrate tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in solution. Acceleration from rest to break a hydrophobic valve provided precise timing for TMB contact with the bead. Solution uniformity from reaction on the surface of the bead in volumes 20-50 uL was obtained in times of 2.5 s or less. Accurate measurement of the amount of surface-bound HRP by model fitting to the measured kinetics of colour development at 10 s intervals is demonstrated.

Room temperature roll-to-roll additive manufacturing of polydimethylsiloxane-based centrifugal microfluidic device for on-site isolation of ribonucleic acid from whole blood

Polymer-based lab-on-a-disc (LoaD) devices for isolating ribonucleic acid (RNA) from whole blood samples have gained considerable attention for accurate biomedical analysis and point-of-care diagnostics. However, the mass production of these devices remains challenging in manufacturing cost and sustainability, primarily due to the utilization of a laser cutter or router computer numerical control (CNC) machine for engraving and cutting plastics in the conventional prototyping process. Herein, we reported the first energy-efficient room-temperature printing-imprinting integrated roll-to-roll manufacturing platform for mass production of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based LoaD to on-site isolate ribonucleic acid (RNA) from undiluted blood samples. We significantly reduced energy consumption and eliminated thermal expansion variations between the mold, substrate, and resists by accelerating the PDMS curing time to less than 10 min at room temperature without using heat or ultraviolet radiation. The additive manufacturing technology was applied to fabricate a multi-depth flexible polymer mold that integrated macro (2 mm) and micro-sized (500 μm) features, which overcomes the economic and environmental challenges of conventional molding techniques. Our integrated R2R platform was enabled to print adhesion-promoting films at the first printing unit and continuously in-line imprint with a high replication accuracy (99%) for high-volume manufacturing of a new centrifugal microfluidic chip with an enhancement of mixing performance by integrating an efficient mixing chamber and serpentine micromixer. This research paved the way for scalable green manufacturing of large-volume polymer-based microfluidic devices, often required in real-world sample-driven analytical systems for clinical bioanalysis.

A simple agglutination system for rapid antigen detection from large sample volumes with enhanced sensitivity

Lateral flow assays (LFAs) provide a simple and quick option for diagnosis and are widely adopted for point-of-care or at-home tests. However, their sensitivity is often limited. Most LFAs only allow 50 μL samples while various sample types such as saliva could be collected in much larger volumes. Adapting LFAs to accommodate larger sample volumes can improve assay sensitivity by increasing the number of target analytes available for detection. Here, a simple agglutination system comprising biotinylated antibody (Ab) and streptavidin (SA) is presented. The Ab and SA agglutinate into large aggregates due to multiple biotins per Ab and multiple biotin binding sites per SA. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements showed that the agglutinated aggregate could reach a diameter of over 0.5 μm and over 1.5 μm using poly-SA. Through both experiments and Monte Carlo modeling, we found that high valency and equivalent concentrations of the two aggregating components were critical for successful agglutination. The simple agglutination system enables antigen capture from large sample volumes with biotinylated Ab and a swift transition into aggregates that can be collected via filtration. Combining the agglutination system with conventional immunoassays, an agglutination assay is proposed that enables antigen detection from large sample volumes using an in-house 3D-printed device. As a proof-of-concept, we developed an agglutination assay targeting SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen for COVID-19 diagnosis from saliva. The assay showed a 10-fold sensitivity enhancement when increasing sample volume from 50 μL to 2 mL, with a final limit of detection (LoD) of 10 pg mL-1 (∼250 fM). The assay was further validated in negative saliva spiked with gamma-irradiated SARS-CoV-2 and showed an LoD of 250 genome copies per μL. The proposed agglutination assay can be easily developed from existing LFAs to facilitate the processing of large sample volumes for improved sensitivity.

Hand-Powered Point-of-Care: Centrifugal Microfluidic Platform for Urine Routine Examination (μCUREX)

Urinalysis is one of the simplest and most common medical tests in modern cities. With the assistance of professional technicians and equipment, people in metropolitan areas can effortlessly acquire information about their physiological conditions from traditional clinical laboratories. However, the threshold, including precise benchtop equipment and well-trained personnel, still remains a considerable dilemma for residents in healthcare-poor areas. Hence, it is a crucial and urgent topic to develop a smart and affordable widget to address this challenge. To improve the healthcare rights of residents, we proposed a disposable centrifugal microfluidic urine routine examination platform (named μCUREX) actuated with a modified hand-powered fan. Two parts of urinalysis (sediment test and chemical strip test) were integrated into the μCUREX disc. The influence on sedimentation by variant hand-powered manipulation was simulated using COMSOL. As a result, more than 70% of the sediment can be collected. Moreover, the color change of chemical strip papers (indicators for glucose, pH, protein, and occult blood) was recorded with a 3D-printed studio and analyzed after reaction with chemical-spiked and pH-adjusted artificial and human urine specimens. The whole process can be completed within 10 min, with only 200 μL of urine needed. In conclusion, we successfully constructed an ultra-low-cost point-of-care platform for urinalysis in extremely resource-poor settings. The handy size, high affordability, and user-friendliness of the μCUREX disc provide strong potential and feasibility in solving problems in resource-poor settings. Furthermore, we highly expect the μCUREX platform to improve the level of healthcare in resource-limited areas.

Integrating Bio-Sensing Array with Blood Plasma Separation on a Centrifugal Platform

Numerous immunoassays have been successfully integrated on disc-based centrifugal platforms (CDs) over the last 20 years. These CD devices can be used as portable point-of-care (POC) platforms with sample-to-answer capabilities where bodily fluids such as whole blood can be used as samples directly without pre-processing. In order to use whole blood as a sample on CDs, centrifugation is used to separate red blood cells from plasma on CDs. There are several techniques for using specific fluidic patterns in the centrifugal fluidic network, such as reciprocation, that enhances the sensitivity of the immunoassays, including those using microarray antigen membranes. Present work demonstrates, for the first time, simultaneous integration of blood plasma separation (BPS) and reciprocation on the CD platform. The integrated design allows plasma that is separated from the red blood cells in a sedimentation chamber to flow into the reciprocation chamber via a narrow connecting channel of 0.5 mm × 0.5 mm cross-section. Due to the small cross-section of the connecting channel, there is no inflow of the red blood cell into the reciprocation chamber during subsequent fluidic operations of the CD. While no inflow of the red blood cells into the reciprocation chamber was observed, the conditions of 20 g jerk acceleration were also simulated in ANSYS finite element analysis software, and it was found that the CD design that was used is capable of retaining red blood cells in the sedimentation chamber. Experimentally, the isolation of red blood cells in the sedimentation chamber was confirmed using the ImageJ image processor to detect the visible color-based separation of the plasma from the blood. A fluorescent analyte testing on the bio-sensing array of the presented novel integrated design and on the standard reciprocation design CD was conducted for 7 min of reciprocation in each case. The test analyte was Europium Streptavidin Polystyrene analyte (10^-3 mg/mL) and the microarray consisted of Biotin bovine serum albumin (BSA) dots. The fluorescent signals for the standard and integrated designs were nearly identical (within the margin of error) for the first several minutes of reciprocation, but the fluorescent signal for the integrated design was significantly higher when the reciprocation time was increased to 7 min.

Centrifugal disc liquid reciprocation flow considerations for antibody binding to COVID antigen array during microfluidic integration

Heterogeneous immunoassays (HI) are an invaluable tool for biomarker detection and remain an ideal candidate for microfluidic point-of-care diagnostics. However, automating and controlling sustained fluid flow from benchtop to microfluidics for the HI reaction during the extended sample incubation step, remains difficult to implement; this leads to challenges for assay integration and assay result interpretation. To address these issues, we investigated the liquid reciprocation process on a microfluidic centrifugal disc (CD) to generate continuous, bidirectional fluid flow using only a rotating motor. Large volumetric flow rates (μL s^-1) through the HI reaction chamber were sustained for extended durations (up to 1 h). The CD liquid reciprocation operating behavior was characterized experimentally and simulated to determine fluid flow shear rates through our HI reaction chamber. We demonstrated the continuous CD liquid reciprocation for target molecule incubation for a microarray HI and that higher fluid shear rates negatively influenced our fluorescence intensity. We highlight the importance of proper fluid flow considerations when integrating HIs with microfluidics.

Capillary Flow-Driven and Magnetically Actuated Multi-Use Wax Valves for Controlled Sealing and Releasing of Fluids on Centrifugal Microfluidic Platforms

Compact disc (CD)-based centrifugal microfluidics is an increasingly popular choice for academic and commercial applications as it enables a portable platform for biological and chemical assays. By rationally designing microfluidic conduits and programming the disc’s rotational speeds and accelerations, one can reliably control propulsion, metering, and valving operations. Valves that either stop fluid flow or allow it to proceed are critical components of a CD platform. Among the valves on a CD, wax valves that liquify at elevated temperatures to open channels and that solidify at room temperature to close them have been previously implemented on CD platforms. However, typical wax valves on the CD fluidic platforms can be actuated only once (to open or to close) and require complex fabrication steps. Here, we present two new multiple-use wax valve designs, driven by capillary or magnetic forces. One wax valve design utilizes a combination of capillary-driven flow of molten wax and centrifugal force to toggle between open and closed configurations. The phase change of the wax is enabled by heat application (e.g., a 500-mW laser). The second wax valve design employs a magnet to move a molten ferroparticle-laden wax in and out of a channel to enable reversible operation. A multi-phase numerical simulation study of the capillary-driven wax valve was carried out and compared with experimental results. The capillary wax valve parameters including response time, angle made by the sidewall of the wax reservoir with the direction of a valve channel, wax solidification time, minimum spin rate of the CD for opening a valve, and the time for melting a wax plug are measured and analyzed theoretically. Additionally, the motion of the molten wax in a valve channel is compared to its theoretical capillary advance with respect to time and are found to be within 18.75% of the error margin.

A Membrane-Modulated Centrifugal Microdevice for Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay-Based Detection of Illicit and Misused Drugs

Increased opioid use and misuse have imposed large analytical demands across clinical and forensic sectors. Due to the absence of affordable, accurate, and simple on-site tests (e.g., point of interdiction and bedside), analysis is primarily conducted in centralized laboratories via time-consuming, labor-intensive methods. Many healthcare facilities do not have such analytical capabilities and must send samples to commercial laboratories, increasing turnaround time and care costs, as well as delaying public health warnings regarding the emergence of specific substances. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are used ubiquitously, despite lengthy workflows that require substantial manual intervention. Faster, reliable analytics are desperately needed to mitigate the mortality and morbidity associated with the current substance use epidemic. We describe one such alternative─a portable centrifugal microfluidic ELISA system that supplants repetitive pipetting with rotationally controlled fluidics. Embedded cellulosic membranes act as microvalves, permitting flow only when centrifugally generated hydraulic pressure exceeds their liquid entry pressure. These features enable stepwise reagent introduction, incubation, and removal simply by tuning rotational frequency. We demonstrate the success of this platform through sensitive, specific colorimetric detection of opiates, a subclass of opioids naturally derived from the opium poppy. Objective image analysis eliminated subjectivity in human color perception and permitted reliable detection of opiates in buffer and artificial urine at the ng/μL range. Opiates were clearly differentiated from other drug classes without interference from common adulterants known to cause false positive results in current colorimetric field tests. Eight samples were simultaneously analyzed in under 1 h, a marked reduction from the traditional multiday timeline. This approach could permit rapid, automatable ELISA-based drug detection outside of traditional laboratories by nontechnical personnel.

Application of centrifugal microfluidics in immunoassay, biochemical analysis and molecular diagnosis

Rapid diagnosis plays a vital role in daily life and is effective in reducing treatment costs and increasing curability, especially in remote areas with limited availability of resources. Among the various common methods of rapid diagnosis, centrifugal microfluidics has many unique advantages, such as less sample consumption, more precise valve control for sequential loading of samples, and accurately separated module design in a microfluidic network to minimize cross-contamination. Therefore, in recent years, centrifugal microfluidics has been extensively researched, and it has been found to play important roles in biology, chemistry, and medicine. Here, we review the latest developments in centrifugal microfluidic platforms in immunoassays, biochemical analyses, and molecular diagnosis, in recent years. In immunoassays, we focus on the application of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); in biochemical analysis, we introduce the application of plasma and blood cell separation; and in molecular diagnosis, we highlight the application of nucleic acid amplification tests. Additionally, we discuss the characteristics of the methods under each platform as well as the enhancement of the corresponding performance parameters, such as the limit of detection, separation efficiency, etc. Finally, we discuss the limitations associated with the existing applications and potential breakthroughs that can be achieved in this field in the future.

Application of Microfluidics in Immunoassay: Recent Advancements

In recent years, point-of-care testing has played an important role in immunoassay, biochemical analysis, and molecular diagnosis, especially in low-resource settings. Among various point-of-care-testing platforms, microfluidic chips have many outstanding advantages. Microfluidic chip applies the technology of miniaturizing conventional laboratory which enables the whole biochemical process including reagent loading, reaction, separation, and detection on the microchip. As a result, microfluidic platform has become a hotspot of research in the fields of food safety, health care, and environmental monitoring in the past few decades. Here, the state-of-the-art application of microfluidics in immunoassay in the past decade will be reviewed. According to different driving forces of fluid, microfluidic platform is divided into two parts: passive manipulation and active manipulation. In passive manipulation, we focus on the capillary-driven microfluidics, while in active manipulation, we introduce pressure microfluidics, centrifugal microfluidics, electric microfluidics, optofluidics, magnetic microfluidics, and digital microfluidics. Additionally, within the introduction of each platform, innovation of the methods used and their corresponding performance improvement will be discussed. Ultimately, the shortcomings of different platforms and approaches for improvement will be proposed.

Biosensing on the Centrifugal Microfluidic Lab-on-a-Disc Platform

Lab-on-a-Disc (LoaD) biosensors are increasingly a promising solution for many biosensing applications. In the search for a perfect match between point-of-care (PoC) microfluidic devices and biosensors, the LoaD platform has the potential to be reliable, sensitive, low-cost, and easy-to-use. The present global pandemic draws attention to the importance of rapid sample-to-answer PoC devices for minimising manual intervention and sample manipulation, thus increasing the safety of the health professional while minimising the chances of sample contamination. A biosensor is defined by its ability to measure an analyte by converting a biological binding event to tangible analytical data. With evolving manufacturing processes for both LoaDs and biosensors, it is becoming more feasible to embed biosensors within the platform and/or to pair the microfluidic cartridges with low-cost detection systems. This review considers the basics of the centrifugal microfluidics and describes recent developments in common biosensing methods and novel technologies for fluidic control and automation. Finally, an overview of current devices on the market is provided. This review will guide scientists who want to initiate research in LoaD PoC devices as well as providing valuable reference material to researchers active in the field.

Development of Active Centrifugal Pump for Microfluidic CD Platforms

The continuous emerging of microfluidic compact disc (CD) platforms for various real-life applications motivates researchers to explore new innovative ideas towards more integrated active functions. However, microfluidic CDs have some drawbacks, including the unidirectional flow that limits the usable space for multi-stepped biological and chemical assays. In this work, a novel active and bidirectional centrifugal pump is developed and integrated on microfluidic CDs. The design of the developed pump partially replicates the designs of the conventional centrifugal pumps with a modification in the connecting channels' positions that allow the developed pump to be reversible. The main advantage of the proposed centrifugal pump is that the pumping speed can be accurately controlled during spinning or while the microfluidic CD is stationary. Performance tests show that the pumping speed can reach up to 164.93 mm3/s at a pump rotational speed (impellers speed) of 4288 rpm. At that speed, 1 mL of water could be pumped in 6.06 s. To present a few of the potential applications of the centrifugal pump, flow reciprocation, bidirectional pumping, and flow switching were performed and evaluated. Results show that the developed centrifugal pump can pump 1096 µL of liquid towards the CD center at 87% pumping efficiency while spinning the microfluidic CD at 250 rpm. This novel centrifugal pump can significantly widen the range of the applicability of microfluidic CDs in advanced chemical processes and biological assays.

Utility of Centrifugation-Controlled Convective (C3) Flow for Rapid On-chip ELISA

Miniaturizing the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) protocols in microfluidics is sought after by researchers for a rapid, high throughput screening, on-site diagnosis, and ease in operation for detection and quantification of biomarkers. Herein, we report the use of the centrifugation-controlled convective (C3) flow as an alternative method in fluid flow control in a ring-structured channel for enhanced on-chip ELISA. A system that consists of a rotating heater stage and a microfluidic disk chip has been developed and demonstrated to detect IgA. The ring-structured channel was partially filled with microbeads (250 µm in diameter) carrying the capture antibodies and the analyte solution was driven by thermal convection flow (50 µL/min) to promote the reaction. The remaining part of the circular channel without microbeads served as the observation area to measure the absorbance value of the labeled protein. Currently, the system is capable of conducting four reactions in parallel and can be performed within 30 min at 300 G. A detection limit of 6.16 ng/mL using 24 µL of target sample (IgA) was observed. By simply changing the capture antibodies, the system is expected to be versatile for other immunoassays.

Review on pneumatic operations in centrifugal microfluidics

Centrifugal microfluidics allows for miniaturization, automation and parallelization of laboratory workflows. The fact that centrifugal forces are always directed radially outwards has been considered a main drawback for the implementation of complex workflows leading to the requirement of additional actuation forces for pumping, valving and switching. In this work, we review and discuss the combination of centrifugal with pneumatic forces which enables transport of even complex liquids in any direction on centrifugal systems, provides actuation for valving and switching, offers alternatives for mixing and enables accurate and precise metering and aliquoting. In addition, pneumatics can be employed for timing to carry out any of the above listed unit operations in a sequential and cascaded manner. Firstly, different methods to generate pneumatic pressures are discussed. Then, unit operations and applications that employ pneumatics are reviewed. Finally, a tutorial section discusses two examples to provide insight into the design process. The first tutorial explains a comparatively simple implementation of a pneumatic siphon valve and provides a workflow to derive optimum design parameters. The second tutorial discusses cascaded pneumatic operations consisting of temperature change rate actuated valving and subsequent pneumatic pumping. In conclusion, combining pneumatic actuation with centrifugal microfluidics allows for the design of robust fluidic networks with simple fluidic structures that are implemented in a monolithic fashion. No coatings are required and the overall demands on manufacturing are comparatively low. We see the combination of centrifugal forces with pneumatic actuation as a key enabling technology to facilitate compact and robust automation of biochemical analysis.

3D Printing of Elastic Membranes for Fluidic Pumping and Demonstration of Reciprocation Inserts on the Microfluidic Disc

While 3D printing is increasingly used in most fields of engineering, its utilization for microfluidics has thus far been limited. To demonstrate future applications of 3D printing for microfluidic structures, we investigate the fluidic characteristics of material jetted surfaces. We also demonstrate the manufacture of dual-material microfluidic inserts that feature rigid and elastic elements. The fabricated parts are inserted on a microfluidic CD, enhancing design freedom and prototyping capability of over molded parts. Furthermore, printed elastic membranes are tested for fatigue during elastic-pneumatic pumping and rigid and elastic surfaces are characterized with regards to hydrophilicity and surface topography. Finally, different printed disc inserts are demonstrated for moving liquid towards the center of rotation, the mixing of liquids, and controlling burst events through channels width.

Rapid and Automated Detection of Six Contaminants in Milk Using a Centrifugal Microfluidic Platform with Two Rotation Axes

Antibiotic residues and illegal additives are among the most common contaminants in milk and other dairy products, and they have become essential public health concerns. To ensure the safety of milk, rapid and convenient screening methods are highly desired. Here, we integrated microarray technology into a microfluidic device to achieve rapid, sensitive, and fully automated detection of chloramphenicol, tetracyclines, enrofloxacin, cephalexin, sulfonamides, and melamine in milk on a centrifugal microfluidic platform with two rotation axes. All the liquid reagent for the immunoassay was prestored in the reagent chambers of the microdevice and can be released on demand. The whole detection can be automatically accomplished within 17 min, and the limits of detection were defined as 0.92, 1.01, 1.83, 1.14, 1.96, and 7.80 μg/kg for chloramphenicol, tetracycline (a typical drug of tetracyclines), enrofloxacin, cephalexin, sulfadiazine (a typical drug of sulfonamides), and melamine, respectively, satisfying the national standards for maximum residue limits in China. Raw milk samples were used to test the performance of the current immunoassay system, and the recovery rates in the repeatability tests ranged from 80 to 111%, showing a good performance. In summary, the immunoassay system established in this study can simultaneously detect six contaminants of four samples in a fully automated, cost-effective, and easy-to-use manner and thus has great promise as a screening tool for food safety testing.

Extraction, Enrichment, and in situ Electrochemical Detection on Lab-on-a-Disc: Monitoring the Production of a Bacterial Secondary Metabolite

Development of microsystems, which enable "sample-to-answer" detection from real samples, is often challenging. We present the first integration of supported liquid membrane extraction combined with electrochemical detection on a centrifugal fluidic platform. The developed lab-on-a-disc (LoD) system enabled the separation, enrichment, and subsequent electrochemical detection of the target analyte from a complex sample mixture. As a case study, we quantified the amount of a dietary supplement and pharmaceutical precursor, p-coumaric acid, from bacterial growth media at different time points during production. The assay, extraction, and detection, performed on the LoD device, proved to be a low cost and environmentally friendly approach, requiring only a few tens of microliters of organic solvent and enabled detection in a 3 μL volume. In addition, the data obtained from the centrifugal platform showed a good correlation with data obtained from the high performance liquid chromatography analysis.

Hierarchy of human IgG recognition within the Staphylococcus aureus immunome

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen that causes a range of serious infections associated with significant morbidity, by strains increasingly resistant to antibiotics. However, to date all candidate vaccines have failed to induce protective immune responses in humans. We need a more comprehensive understanding of the antigenic targets important in the context of human infection. To investigate infection-associated immune responses, patients were sampled at initial presentation and during convalescence from three types of clinical infection; skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI), prosthetic joint infection (PJI) and pediatric hematogenous osteomyelitis (PHO). Reactivity of serum IgG was tested with an array of recombinant proteins, representing over 2,652 in-vitro-translated open reading frames (ORFs) from a community-acquired methicillin-resistant S. aureus USA300 strain. High-level reactivity was demonstrated for 104 proteins with serum IgG in all patient samples. Overall, high-level IgG-reactivity was most commonly directed against a subset of secreted proteins. Although based on limited surveys, we found subsets of S. aureus proteins with differential reactivity with serum samples from patients with different clinical syndromes. Together, our studies have revealed a hierarchy within the diverse proteins of the S. aureus “immunome”, which will help to advance efforts to develop protective immunotherapeutic agents.

Disk-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays using the liquid-aliquoting and siphoning-evacuation technique

A cost-effective way to carry out multiple enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) on a centrifugal platform using the liquid-aliquoting and siphoning-evacuation (LASE) technique was developed in this paper. Instead of preloading all the reagents in the reservoirs before testing, each reagent was loaded only one time during testing. The reagent was distributed into equal aliquots and delivered into reaction chambers by the aliquoting fluidic function. In addition, a siphoning-evacuation technique was developed to improve the washing efficiency and simplify the assay protocol. Furthermore, the entire assay protocol can be conducted using a two-step spinning protocol, which greatly reduces the cost of the motor control system. With the LASE technique, a low-cost and user-friendly ELISA system can be achieved.

Network simulation-based optimization of centrifugo-pneumatic blood plasma separation

Automated and robust separation of 14 μl of plasma from 40 μl of whole blood at a purity of 99.81% ± 0.11% within 43 s is demonstrated for the hematocrit range of 20%-60% in a centrifugal microfluidic polymer disk. At high rotational frequency, red blood cells (RBCs) within whole blood are concentrated in a radial outer RBC collection chamber. Simultaneously, plasma is concentrated in a radial inner pneumatic chamber, where a defined air volume is enclosed and compressed. Subsequent reduction of the rotational frequency to not lower than 25 Hz enables rapid transfer of supernatant plasma into a plasma collection chamber, with highly suppressed resuspension of red blood cells. Disk design and the rotational protocol are optimized to make the process fast, robust, and insusceptible for undesired cell resuspension. Numerical network simulation with lumped model elements is used to predict and optimize the fluidic characteristics. Lysis of the remaining red blood cells in the purified plasma, followed by measurement of the hemoglobin concentration, was used to determine plasma purity. Due to the pneumatic actuation, no surface treatment of the fluidic cartridge or any additional external means are required, offering the possibility for low-cost mass fabrication technologies, such as injection molding or thermoforming.

A fully integrated microfluidic platform for highly sensitive analysis of immunochemical parameters

A fully integrated cartridge for highly sensitive immunochemical analysis of cardiac markers with new microfluidic functionalities is presented.

The Effect of Moment of Inertia on the Liquids in Centrifugal Microfluidics

The flow of liquids in centrifugal microfluidics is unidirectional and dominated by centrifugal and Coriolis forces (i.e., effective only at T-junctions). Developing mechanisms and discovering efficient techniques to propel liquids in any direction other than the direction of the centrifugal force has been the subject of a large number of studies. The capillary force attained by specific surface treatments, pneumatic energy, active and passive flow reciprocation and Euler force have been previously introduced in order to manipulate the liquid flow and push it against the centrifugal force. Here, as a new method, the moment of inertia of the liquid inside a chamber in a centrifugal microfluidic platform is employed to manipulate the flow and propel the liquid passively towards the disc center. Furthermore, the effect of the moment of inertia on the liquid in a rectangular chamber is evaluated, both in theory and experiments, and the optimum geometry is defined. As an application of the introduced method, the moment of inertia of the liquid is used in order to mix two different dyed deionized (DI) waters; the mixing efficiency is evaluated and compared to similar mixing techniques. The results show the potential of the presented method for pumping liquids radially inward with relatively high flow rates (up to 23 mm³/s) and also efficient mixing in centrifugal microfluidic platforms.

Lab-on-a-disc agglutination assay for protein detection by optomagnetic readout and optical imaging using nano- and micro-sized magnetic beads

We present a biosensing platform for the detection of proteins based on agglutination of aptamer coated magnetic nano- or microbeads. The assay, from sample to answer, is integrated on an automated, low-cost microfluidic disc platform. This ensures fast and reliable results due to a minimum of manual steps involved. The detection of the target protein was achieved in two ways: (1) optomagnetic readout using magnetic nanobeads (MNBs); (2) optical imaging using magnetic microbeads (MMBs). The optomagnetic readout of agglutination is based on optical measurement of the dynamics of MNB aggregates whereas the imaging method is based on direct visualization and quantification of the average size of MMB aggregates. By enhancing magnetic particle agglutination via application of strong magnetic field pulses, we obtained identical limits of detection of 25pM with the same sample-to-answer time (15min 30s) using the two differently sized beads for the two detection methods. In both cases a sample volume of only 10µl is required. The demonstrated automation, low sample-to-answer time and portability of both detection instruments as well as integration of the assay on a low-cost disc are important steps for the implementation of these as portable tools in an out-of-lab setting.

Challenges in the Use of Compact Disc-Based Centrifugal Microfluidics for Healthcare Diagnostics at the Extreme Point of Care

Since its inception, Compact Disc (CD)-based centrifugal microfluidic technology has drawn a great deal of interest within research communities due to its potential use in biomedical applications. The technology has been referred to by different names, including compact-disc microfluidics, lab-on-a-disk, lab-on-a-CD and bio-disk. This paper critically reviews the state-of-the-art in CD-based centrifugal microfluidics devices and attempts to identify the challenges that, if solved, would enable their use in the extreme point of care. Sample actuation, manufacturing, reagent storage and implementation, target multiplexing, bio-particle detection, required hardware and system disposal, and sustainability are the topics of focus.

A Review of Biomedical Centrifugal Microfluidic Platforms

Centrifugal microfluidic or lab-on-a-disc platforms have many advantages over other microfluidic systems. These advantages include a minimal amount of instrumentation, the efficient removal of any disturbing bubbles or residual volumes, and inherently available density-based sample transportation and separation. Centrifugal microfluidic devices applied to biomedical analysis and point-of-care diagnostics have been extensively promoted recently. This paper presents an up-to-date overview of these devices. The development of biomedical centrifugal microfluidic platforms essentially covers two categories: (i) unit operations that perform specific functionalities, and (ii) systems that aim to address certain biomedical applications. With the aim to provide a comprehensive representation of current development in this field, this review summarizes progress in both categories. The advanced unit operations implemented for biological processing include mixing, valving, switching, metering and sequential loading. Depending on the type of sample to be used in the system, biomedical applications are classified into four groups: nucleic acid analysis, blood analysis, immunoassays, and other biomedical applications. Our overview of advanced unit operations also includes the basic concepts and mechanisms involved in centrifugal microfluidics, while on the other hand an outline on reported applications clarifies how an assembly of unit operations enables efficient implementation of various types of complex assays. Lastly, challenges and potential for future development of biomedical centrifugal microfluidic devices are discussed.

CD-Based Microfluidics for Primary Care in Extreme Point-of-Care Settings

We review the utility of centrifugal microfluidic technologies applied to point-of-care diagnosis in extremely under-resourced environments. The various challenges faced in these settings are showcased, using areas in India and Africa as examples. Measures for the ability of integrated devices to effectively address point-of-care challenges are highlighted, and centrifugal, often termed CD-based microfluidic technologies, technologies are presented as a promising platform to address these challenges. We describe the advantages of centrifugal liquid handling, as well as the ability of a standard CD player to perform a number of common laboratory tests, fulfilling the role of an integrated lab-on-a-CD. Innovative centrifugal approaches for point-of-care in extremely resource-poor settings are highlighted, including sensing and detection strategies, smart power sources and biomimetic inspiration for environmental control. The evolution of centrifugal microfluidics, along with examples of commercial and advanced prototype centrifugal microfluidic systems, is presented, illustrating the success of deployment at the point-of-care. A close fit of emerging centrifugal systems to address a critical panel of tests for under-resourced clinic settings, formulated by medical experts, is demonstrated. This emphasizes the potential of centrifugal microfluidic technologies to be applied effectively to extremely challenging point-of-care scenarios and in playing a role in improving primary care in resource-limited settings across the developing world.

Rigorous buoyancy driven bubble mixing for centrifugal microfluidics

We present batch-mode mixing for centrifugal microfluidics operated at fixed rotational frequency. Gas is generated by the disk integrated decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to liquid water (H2O) and gaseous oxygen (O2) and inserted into a mixing chamber. There, bubbles are formed that ascent through the liquid in the artificial gravity field and lead to drag flow. Additionaly, strong buoyancy causes deformation and rupture of the gas bubbles and induces strong mixing flows in the liquids. Buoyancy driven bubble mixing is quantitatively compared to shake mode mixing, mixing by reciprocation and vortex mixing. To determine mixing efficiencies in a meaningful way, the different mixers are employed for mixing of a lysis reagent and human whole blood. Subsequently, DNA is extracted from the lysate and the amount of DNA recovered is taken as a measure for mixing efficiency. Relative to standard vortex mixing, DNA extraction based on buoyancy driven bubble mixing resulted in yields of 92 ± 8% (100 s mixing time) and 100 ± 8% (600 s) at 130g centrifugal acceleration. Shake mode mixing yields 96 ± 11% and is thus equal to buoyancy driven bubble mixing. An advantage of buoyancy driven bubble mixing is that it can be operated at fixed rotational frequency, however. The additional costs of implementing buoyancy driven bubble mixing are low since both the activation liquid and the catalyst are very low cost and no external means are required in the processing device. Furthermore, buoyancy driven bubble mixing can easily be integrated in a monolithic manner and is compatible to scalable manufacturing technologies such as injection moulding or thermoforming. We consider buoyancy driven bubble mixing an excellent alternative to shake mode mixing, in particular if the processing device is not capable of providing fast changes of rotational frequency or if the low average rotational frequency is challenging for the other integrated fluidic operations.

Multilevel fluidic flow control in a rotationally-driven polyester film microdevice created using laser print, cut and laminate

This paper presents a simple and cost-effective polyester toner microchip fabricated with laser print and cut lithography (PCL) to use with a battery-powered centrifugal platform for fluid handling. The combination of the PCL microfluidic disc and centrifugal platform: (1) allows parallel aliquoting of two different reagents of four different volumes ranging from nL to μL with an accuracy comparable to a piston-driven air pipette; (2) incorporates a reciprocating mixing unit driven by a surface-tension pump for further dilution of reagents, and (3) is amenable to larger scale integration of assay multiplexing (including all valves and mixers) without substantially increasing fabrication cost and time. For a proof of principle, a 10 min colorimetric assay for the quantitation of the protein level in the human blood plasma samples is demonstrated on chip with a limit of detection of ∼5 mg mL(-1) and coefficient of variance of ∼7%.

Microsphere integrated microfluidic disk: synergy of two techniques for rapid and ultrasensitive dengue detection

The application of microfluidic devices in diagnostic systems is well-established in contemporary research. Large specific surface area of microspheres, on the other hand, has secured an important position for their use in bioanalytical assays. Herein, we report a combination of microspheres and microfluidic disk in a unique hybrid platform for highly sensitive and selective detection of dengue virus. Surface engineered polymethacrylate microspheres with carefully designed functional groups facilitate biorecognition in a multitude manner. In order to maximize the utility of the microspheres' specific surface area in biomolecular interaction, the microfluidic disk was equipped with a micromixing system. The mixing mechanism (microballoon mixing) enhances the number of molecular encounters between spheres and target analyte by accessing the entire sample volume more effectively, which subsequently results in signal amplification. Significant reduction of incubation time along with considerable lower detection limits were the prime motivations for the integration of microspheres inside the microfluidic disk. Lengthy incubations of routine analytical assays were reduced from 2 hours to 5 minutes while developed system successfully detected a few units of dengue virus. Obtained results make this hybrid microsphere-microfluidic approach to dengue detection a promising avenue for early detection of this fatal illness.

Centrifugal microfluidic platforms: advanced unit operations and applications

Review on miniaturization, integration, and automation of laboratory processes within centrifugal microfluidic platforms. For efficient implementation of applications, building blocks are categorized into unit operations and process chains.

Allergen screening bioassays: recent developments in lab-on-a-chip and lab-on-a-disc systems

Allergies occur when a person's immune system mounts an abnormal response with or without IgE to a normally harmless substance called an allergen. The standard skin-prick test introduces suspected allergens into the skin with lancets in order to trigger allergic reactions. This test is annoying and sometimes life threatening. New tools such as lab-on-a-chip and lab-on-a-disc, which rely on microfabrication, are designed for allergy testing. These systems provide benefits such as short analysis times, enhanced sensitivity, simplified procedures, minimal consumption of sample and reagents and low cost. This article gives a summary of these systems. In particular, a cell-based assay detecting both the IgE- and non-IgE-type triggers through the study of degranulation in a centrifugal microfluidic system is highlighted.

Protein Microarrays with Novel Microfluidic Methods: Current Advances

Microfluidic-based micromosaic technology has allowed the pattering of recognition elements in restricted micrometer scale areas with high precision. This controlled patterning enabled the development of highly multiplexed arrays multiple analyte detection. This arraying technology was first introduced in the beginning of 2001 and holds tremendous potential to revolutionize microarray development and analyte detection. Later, several microfluidic methods were developed for microarray application. In this review we discuss these novel methods and approaches which leverage the property of microfluidic technologies to significantly improve various physical aspects of microarray technology, such as enhanced imprinting homogeneity, stability of the immobilized biomolecules, decreasing assay times, and reduction of the costs and of the bulky instrumentation.

Fully integrated lab-on-a-disc for nucleic acid analysis of food-borne pathogens

This paper describes a micro total analysis system for molecular analysis of Salmonella, a major food-borne pathogen. We developed a centrifugal microfluidic device, which integrated the three main steps of pathogen detection, DNA extraction, isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), and detection, onto a single disc. A single laser diode was utilized for wireless control of valve actuation, cell lysis, and noncontact heating in the isothermal amplification step, thereby yielding a compact and miniaturized system. To achieve high detection sensitivity, rare cells in large volumes of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and milk samples were enriched before loading onto the disc by using antibody-coated magnetic beads. The entire procedure, from DNA extraction through to detection, was completed within 30 min in a fully automated fashion. The final detection was carried out using lateral flow strips by direct visual observation; detection limit was 10 cfu/mL and 10(2) cfu/mL in PBS and milk, respectively. Our device allows rapid molecular diagnostic analysis and does not require specially trained personnel or expensive equipment. Thus, we expect that it would have an array of potential applications, including in the detection of food-borne pathogens, environmental monitoring, and molecular diagnostics in resource-limited settings.

A lab-in-a-droplet bioassay strategy for centrifugal microfluidics with density difference pumping, power to disc and bidirectional flow control

In this paper, we present a lab-in-a-droplet bioassay strategy for a centrifugal microfluidics or lab-on-a-disc (LOAD) platform with three important advancements including density difference pumping, power to disc and bidirectional flow control. First, with the water based bioassay droplets trapped in a micro-channel filled with mineral oil, centrifugal force due to the density difference between the water and oil phases actuates droplet movement while the oil based medium remains stationary. Second, electricity is coupled to the rotating disc through a split-core transformer, thus enabling on-chip real-time heating in selected areas as desired and wireless programmable functionality. Third, an inertial mechanical structure is proposed to achieve bidirectional flow control within the spinning disc. The droplets can move back and forth between two heaters upon changing the rotational speed. Our platform is an essential and versatile solution for bioassays such as those involving DNA amplification, where localized temperature cycling is required. Finally, without the loss of generality, we demonstrate the functionality of our platform by performing real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in a linear microchannel made with PTFE (Teflon) micro-tubing.

Lab-on-DVD: standard DVD drives as a novel laser scanning microscope for image based point of care diagnostics

We present a novel "Lab-on-DVD" system and demonstrate its capability for rapid and low-cost HIV diagnostics by counting CD4+ cells isolated from whole blood. We show that a commercial DVD drive can, with certain modifications, be turned into an improved DVD-based laser scanning microscope (DVD-LSM). The system consists of a multi-layered disposable polymer disc and a modified commercial DVD reader with rotational control for sample handling, temperature control for optimized bioassay, a photodiode array for detection, and software for signal processing and user interface - all the necessary components required for a truly integrated lab-on-a-chip system, with the capability to deliver high-resolution images down to 1 μm in size. Using discs modified with antibodies, we specifically captured CD4+ cells from whole blood, demonstrating single cell resolution imaging. The novel integrated DVD platform with sub-micron image resolution brings, for the first time, affordable cellular diagnostic testing to the point-of-care and should be readily applicable at resource-limited settings.

Comprehensive integration of homogeneous bioassays via centrifugo-pneumatic cascading

This work for the first time presents the full integration and automation concept for a range of bioassays leveraged by cascading a centrifugo-pneumatic valving scheme to sequentially move several liquids through shared channel segments for multi-step sample preparation into the detection zone. This novel centrifugo-pneumatic liquid handling significantly simplifies system manufacture by obviating the need for complex surface functionalization procedures or hybrid material integration, as it is common in conventional valving methods such as capillary burst valves or sacrificial valves. Based on the centrifugo-pneumatic valving scheme, this work presents a toolkit of operational elements implementing liquid loading/transfer, metering, mixing and sedimentation in a microstructured polymer disc. As a proof of concept for the broad class of homogeneous bioassays, the full integration and automation of a colorimetric nitrate/nitrite test for the detection of clinically relevant nitric oxide (NO) in whole blood is implemented. First, 40 μL of plasma is extracted from a 100 μL sample of human blood, incubated for one hour with the enzymatic mixture (60 μL), and finally reacted with 100 μL of colorimetric (Greiss) reagents. Following just a single loading phase at the beginning of the process, all of these steps are automated through the centrifugo-pneumatic cascade with a high level of flow control and synchronization. Our system shows good correlation with controls up to 50 μM of nitrate, which adequately covers the healthy human range (4 to 45.3 μM).

Centrifugo-dynamic inward pumping of liquids on a centrifugal microfluidic platform

We present a method to pump liquids in a centrifugal microfluidic spinning disk from a radial outward position to a radial inward position. Centrifugal forces are applied to compress air in a cavity, this way storing pneumatic energy. The cavity is connected to an outlet channel having a lower hydraulic resistance compared to the inlet channel. The stored pneumatic energy is quickly released by fast reduction of rotational frequency. This way liquid is transported mainly through the channel with lower resistance, directing the liquid radially inwards. Pump efficiencies of >75% per pump cycle have been demonstrated for water, ethanol, a highly viscous lysis buffer and whole blood. By employing three pump cycles, water has been pumped radially inwards with an efficiency of >90%. The inward pumping requires centrifugation only, which is intrinsically available on every centrifugal microfluidic platform.

Accelerated immunoassays based on magnetic particle dynamics in a rotating capillary tube with stationary magnetic field

A rapid and simple magnetic particle-based immunoassay has been demonstrated in a capillary mixing system. Antibody-coated micrometer size superparamagnetic polystyrene (SPP) particles were used in an assay for rabbit IgG in a sandwich (noncompetitive) format. The kinetics of the assay was compared between a plate-based system and a single capillary tube. The interaction between the antigen (R-IgG) and the antibody (anti-R-IgG) that was carried by the SPP particles in a rotating capillary was tested under a stationary magnetic field. Competing magnetic and viscous drag forces helped to enhance the interaction between the analyte and the capture antibodies on the particles. The dimensionless Mason number (Mn) was employed to characterize the magnetic particle dynamics; a previously determined critical Mason number (Mn(c)) was employed as a guide to the appropriate experimental conditions of magnetic field strength and rotational speed of the capillary. The advantage of the rotating capillary system included a short assay time and a reduced reactive volume (20 μL). The results show that the immunoassay kinetics were improved by the formation of chains of the SPP particles for the conditions that corresponded to the critical Mason number.

Miniaturized Lab-on-a-Disc (miniLOAD)

A miniaturized centrifugal microfluidic platform for lab-on-a-chip applications is presented. Unlike its macroscopic Lab-on-a-CD counterpart, the miniature Lab-on-a-Disc (miniLOAD) device does not require moving parts to drive rotation of the disc, is inexpensive, disposable, and significantly smaller, comprising a 10-mm-diameter SU-8 disc fabricated through two-step photolithography. The disc is driven to rotate using surface acoustic wave irradiation incident upon a fluid coupling layer from a pair of offset, opposing single-phase unidirectional transducers patterned on a lithium niobate substrate. The irradiation causes azimuthally oriented acoustic streaming with sufficient intensity to rotate the disc at several thousand revolutions per minute. In this first proof-of-concept, the capability of the miniLOAD platform to drive capillary-based valving and mixing in microfluidic structures on a disc similar to much larger Lab-on-a-CD devices is shown. In addition, the ability to concentrate aqueous particle suspensions at radial positions in a channel in the disc dependent on the particles' size is demonstrated. To the best of our knowledge, the miniLOAD concept is the first centrifugal microfluidic platform small enough to be self-contained in a handheld device.

Theory, fabrication and applications of microfluidic and nanofluidic biosensors

Biosensors are a broad array of devices that detect the type and amount of a biological species or biomolecule. Several different types of biosensors have been developed that rely on changes to mechanical, chemical or electrical properties of the transduction or sensing element to induce a measurable signal. Often, a biosensor will integrate several functions or unit operations such as sample extraction, manipulation and detection on a single platform. This review begins with an overview of the current state-of-the-art biosensor field. Next, the review delves into a special class of biosensors that rely on microfluidics and nanofluidics by presenting the underlying theory, fabrication and several examples and applications of microfluidic and nanofluidic sensors.

Miniaturized immunoassays: moving beyond the microplate

After more than 40 years, immunoassays are still the backbone of protein biomarker analysis in clinical diagnostics and drug development. They have come a long way since their inception, incorporating technical developments including monoclonal antibodies, novel labels and lately microfluidics. A number of microfluidic platforms have been tested, such as centrifugational compact disc assays, lab-on-a-chip, arrays and digital electrochemical assays. This review focuses on commercial applications of microfluidic immunoassays with reference to some applied academic examples of interest. Advantages and disadvantages of the platform technologies are discussed in general.