title: Direct Reading of Bona Fide Barcode Assays for Diagnostics with Smartphone Apps.
abstract: The desire to develop new point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tools has led to the adaptation of smartphones to tackle limitations in state-of-the-art instrumentation and centralized laboratory facilities. Today's smartphones possess the computer-like ability to image and process data using mobile apps; barcode scanners are one such type of apps. We demonstrate herein that a diagnostic assay can be performed by patterning immunoassay strips in a bona fide barcode format such that after target binding and signal enhancement, the linear barcode can be read directly with a standard smartphone app. Quantitative analysis can then be performed based on the grayscale intensities with a customized mobile app. This novel diagnostic concept has been validated for a real-world application, i.e., the detection of human chorionic gonadotropin, a pregnancy hormone. With the possibility of multiplex detection, the barcode assay protocol promises to boost POC diagnosis research by the direct adaptation of mobile devices and apps.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada.
authors.forename: Jessica X H
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Advanced Transducers and Intelligent Control Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Shanxi 030024, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaochun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada.
authors.forename: Frank S F
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada [2] Key Laboratory of Advanced Transducers and Intelligent Control Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Shanxi 030024, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hua-Zhong
authors.initials: HZ
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000652:urine; D034201:Computers, Handheld; D001330:Electronic Data Processing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D063731:Mobile Applications; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D011247:Pregnancy; D011259:Pregnancy Tests, Immunologic; D000068997:Smartphone
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin