title: Microfluidics-based diagnostics of infectious diseases in the developing world.
abstract: One of the great challenges in science and engineering today is to develop technologies to improve the health of people in the poorest regions of the world. Here we integrated new procedures for manufacturing, fluid handling and signal detection in microfluidics into a single, easy-to-use point-of-care (POC) assay that faithfully replicates all steps of ELISA, at a lower total material cost. We performed this 'mChip' assay in Rwanda on hundreds of locally collected human samples. The chip had excellent performance in the diagnosis of HIV using only 1 μl of unprocessed whole blood and an ability to simultaneously diagnose HIV and syphilis with sensitivities and specificities that rival those of reference benchtop assays. Unlike most current rapid tests, the mChip test does not require user interpretation of the signal. Overall, we demonstrate an integrated strategy for miniaturizing complex laboratory assays using microfluidics and nanoparticles to enable POC diagnostics and early detection of infectious diseases in remote settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Curtis D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: Tassaneewan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Laksanasopin
authors.forename: Yuk Kee
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Steinmiller
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Linder
authors.forename: Hesam
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Parsa
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rouse
authors.forename: Gisele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Umviligihozo
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Karita
authors.forename: Lambert
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mwambarangwe
authors.forename: Sarah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Braunstein
authors.forename: Janneke
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van de Wijgert
authors.forename: Ruben
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sahabo
authors.forename: Jessica E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Justman
authors.forename: Wafaa
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: El-Sadr
authors.forename: Samuel K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sia
mesh_terms: D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003906:Developing Countries; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods*; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D012432:Rwanda; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013587:Syphilis / Q000175:diagnosis