1 research outputs found
Amphiphilic Particle-Stabilized Nanoliter Droplet Reactors with a Multimodal Portable Reader for Distributive Biomarker Quantification
Compartmentalization,
leveraging microfluidics, enables highly
sensitive assays, but the requirement for significant infrastructure
for their design, build, and operation limits access. Multimaterial
particle-based technologies thermodynamically stabilize monodisperse
droplets as individual reaction compartments with simple liquid handling
steps, precluding the need for expensive microfluidic equipment. Here,
we further improve the accessibility of this lab on a particle technology
to resource-limited settings by combining this assay system with a
portable multimodal reader, thus enabling nanoliter droplet assays
in an accessible platform. We show the utility of this platform in
measuring N-terminal propeptide B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP),
a heart failure biomarker, in complex medium and patient samples.
We report a limit of detection of ∼0.05 ng/mL and a linear
response between 0.2 and 2 ng/mL in spiked plasma samples. We also
show that, owing to the plurality of measurements per sample, “swarm”
sensing acquires better statistical quantitation with a portable reader.
Monte Carlo simulations show the increasing capability of this platform
to differentiate between negative and positive samples, i.e., below
or above the clinical cutoff for acute heart failure (∼0.1
ng/mL), as a function of the number of particles measured. Our platform
measurements correlate with gold standard ELISA measurement in cardiac
patient samples, and achieve lower variation in measurement across
samples compared to the standard well plate-based ELISA. Thus, we
show the capabilities of a cost-effective droplet-reader system in
accurately measuring biomarkers in nanoliter droplets for diseases
that disproportionately affect underserved communities in resource-limited
settings