A microfluidic device for rapid quantification of cell-free DNA in patients with severe sepsis.
A rapid and accurate method to identify severe sepsis patients at high risk of death is critically needed for clinical practice. In a recent study, the concentration of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in blood was found to be a prognostic indicator for ICU mortality in patients with severe sepsis. However, current DNA quantification techniques are time-consuming and involve extensive sample preparation. In this paper, we demonstrate a low-cost microfluidic device capable of rapid quantification of cfDNA in a small droplet (<10 μl) of blood plasma and whole blood in 5 min using only electrical power. The cfDNA in samples is selectively labeled by PicoGreen and is extracted and concentrated by electrophoresis into a gel by application of a DC potential of 9 V. This device has potential as a prognostic tool for early and rapid assessment of septic patients.
School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. selvaga@mcmaster.ca.
Jun
J
Yang
P Ravi
PR
Selvaganapathy
Travis J
TJ
Gould
Dhruva J
DJ
Dwivedi
Dingsheng
D
Liu
Alison E
AE
Fox-Robichaud
Patricia C
PC
Liaw
D004247:DNA / Q000097:blood*; D004586:Electrophoresis; D006801:Humans; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry; D018805:Sepsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology
D011506:Proteins; D004247:DNA