title: Allergen screening bioassays: recent developments in lab-on-a-chip and lab-on-a-disc systems.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronic Engineering, Center for Advanced Research in Photonics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Ho-pui
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Pui-man
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Ho-chin
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kwok
authors.forename: Shu-yuen
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Minghui
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Anthony Ka-lun
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Qiulan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Guanghui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yiu-wa
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Kwan
authors.forename: Chun-kwok
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Siu-kai
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kong
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D015549:Basophil Degranulation Test / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D001491:Basophils / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D015550:Cell Degranulation; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices / Q000191:economics; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D007073:Immunoglobulin E