title: Microfluidic CODES: a scalable multiplexed electronic sensor for orthogonal detection of particles in microfluidic channels.
abstract: Numerous biophysical and biochemical assays rely on spatial manipulation of particles/cells as they are processed on lab-on-a-chip devices. Analysis of spatially distributed particles on these devices typically requires microscopy negating the cost and size advantages of microfluidic assays. In this paper, we introduce a scalable electronic sensor technology, called microfluidic CODES, that utilizes resistive pulse sensing to orthogonally detect particles in multiple microfluidic channels from a single electrical output. Combining the techniques from telecommunications and microfluidics, we route three coplanar electrodes on a glass substrate to create multiple Coulter counters producing distinct orthogonal digital codes when they detect particles. We specifically design a digital code set using the mathematical principles of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) telecommunication networks and can decode signals from different microfluidic channels with >90% accuracy through computation even if these signals overlap. As a proof of principle, we use this technology to detect human ovarian cancer cells in four different microfluidic channels fabricated using soft lithography. Microfluidic CODES offers a simple, all-electronic interface that is well suited to create integrated, low-cost lab-on-a-chip devices for cell- or particle-based assays in resource-limited settings.
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. sarioglu@gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Ruxiu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. sarioglu@gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Ningquan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. sarioglu@gatech.edu.
authors.forename: Farhan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kamili
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA. sarioglu@gatech.edu and Institute of Electronics and Nanotechnology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA and Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
authors.forename: A Fatih
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Sarioglu
mesh_terms: D055615:Electrical Equipment and Supplies; D004867:Equipment Design; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013685:Telecommunications