Dissolvable fluidic time delays for programming multi-step assays in instrument-free paper diagnostics
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Lateral flow tests (LFTs) are an ingenious format for rapid and easy-to-use diagnostics, but they are fundamentally limited to assay chemistries that can be reduced to a single chemical step. In contrast, most laboratory diagnostic assays rely on multiple timed steps carried out by a human or a machine. Here, we use dissolvable sugar applied to paper to create programmable flow delays and present a paper network topology that uses these time delays to program automated multi-step fluidic protocols. Solutions of sucrose at different concentrations (10-70% of saturation) were added to paper strips and dried to create fluidic time delays spanning minutes to nearly an hour. A simple folding card format employing sugar delays was shown to automate a four-step fluidic process initiated by a single user activation step (folding the card); this device was used to perform a signal-amplified sandwich immunoassay for a diagnostic biomarker for malaria. The cards are capable of automating multi-step assay protocols normally used in laboratories, but in a rapid, low-cost, and easy-to-use format.
Source: Lab on a Chip
DOI: 10.1039/c3lc50178g
Institution: University of Washington
Language: English
Subfield: Biomedical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2112654810