title: On-chip porous microgel generation for microfluidic enhanced VEGF detection.
abstract: Advances in medical diagnostics and personalized therapy require sensitive and rapid measurement of minute amounts of proteins from patients. Standard ELISA is difficult to prepare and involves lengthy protocols. Here we report a novel method using capture antibody immobilized porous poly (ethylene) glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel microspheres to enable high sensitivity VEGF detection in arrayed microfluidics. Our technique incorporates antibody encapsulation, trapping, and flow perfusion on a single device. We showed that the convergence of tunable porous hydrogel with efficient microfluidics improved the sensitivity of the assay. The detection limit of this microfluidic porous microgel based assay was 0.9 pg/mL, with only 1+ hour of assay time, demonstrating a novel assay that exceeded conventional technologies in terms of sensitivity and speed.
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Dearborn, United States.
authors.forename: Zhengtuo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Dearborn, United States.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Al-Ameen
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Dearborn, United States.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Dearborn, United States. Electronic address: gargi@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Gargi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Dearborn, United States. Electronic address: jfjlo@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Joe Fujiou
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Lo
mesh_terms: D055910:Antibodies, Immobilized / Q000737:chemistry; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D057230:Limit of Detection; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D055910:Antibodies, Immobilized; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C437167:poly(ethylene glycol)diacrylate; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols
keywords: Droplet generation; Microfluidics; Poly (ethylene) glycol diacrylate (PEGDA); Porogen; Porosity; Serpentine traps.; VEGF