2 research outputs found
Multiplex Microfluidic Paper-based Immunoassay for the Diagnosis of Hepatitis C Virus Infection
Hepatitis
C virus (HCV) infection is a serious and rising global
healthcare problem. One critical challenge to tackle this disease
is the lack of adequate diagnosis. Here, we develop a multiplex microfluidic
paper-based immunoassay, as a novel diagnostic approach, to detect
human IgG antibody against HCV (anti-HCV). The paper substrate, highly
flammable nitrocellulose (NC), is patterned under ambient temperature
by craft punch patterning (CPP) to generate multiple test zones. On
the basis of superior merits of patterned paper, this new diagnostic
approach demonstrates the key novelty to unprecedentedly combine segmented
diagnostic assays into a single multiplex test. The generated diagnostic
results are not only informative but can be rapidly and cost-effectively
delivered. It would significantly transform the clinical pathway for
unwitting individuals with HCV infection. This work highlights the
promising role of microfluidic paper-based immunoassays in tackling
the diagnostic challenge for the HCV pandemic as well as other diseases
Label-Free Isolation and mRNA Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells from Patients with Metastatic Lung Cancer for Disease Diagnosis and Monitoring Therapeutic Efficacy
We develop an inertial-based microfluidic
cell sorter combined
with an integrated membrane filter, allowing for size-based, label-free,
and high-efficiency separation and enrichment of circulating tumor
cells (CTCs) in whole blood. The cell sorter is composed of a double
spiral microchannel that hydrodynamically focuses and separates large
CTCs from small blood cells. The focused CTCs with the equilibrium
position around the midline of microchannel are further captured and
enriched by a membrane filter (pore size of 8 μm) attached at
the middle outlet. This integrated microfluidic device can process
1 mL of whole blood containing spiked tumor cells (A549, human lung
adenocarcinoma epithelial cell line) within 15 min, with the capture
efficiency of 74.4% at the concentration as low as tens of A549 cells
per mL of whole blood. This microfluidic cell sorter is further adopted
for isolation of CTCs from peripheral blood samples of patients with
metastatic lung cancer. The immunostaining and CK-19 mRNA detection
are applied for identification of captured CTCs, showing that our
method can detect 90% of metastatic lung cancer patients before therapy,
whereas the commercially used system can only detect 40% of the same
patients. We also use the expression of CK-19 mRNA from captured CTCs
as an indicator for monitoring the therapeutic efficiency, which correlates
well with X-ray computed tomography (CT) assessment of the disease