I-Corps: Point-of-Care Microfluidic Device for Rapid Pathogen Detection

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project stems from the critical need for a low-cost point-of-care (POC) microdevice for rapid detection of pathogen infections, such as whooping cough, in low-resource settings. Whooping cough is the only vaccine-preventable infection that remains endemic in the US. Conventional pathogen detection methods either take a long time or require costly and bulky instruments, limiting their applications for low-resource settings. The new microfluidic device can provide low-cost, rapid and accurate detection of whooping cough at the point of care, enabling rapid and accurate POC detection of whooping cough in rural clinical settings and other venues. The microfluidic device may also be used to detect a variety of other pathogens, such as foodborne pathogens. This I-Corps project is primarily intended to commercialize the microdevice for POC detection of pathogens. The core technology is based on integrated DNA isothermal amplification on a low-cost paper/polymer hybrid microfluidic device. The instrument-free detection by the naked eye minimizes instrumentation requirements, while DNA amplification and 6 primers specific to the target ensure high detection sensitivity and high accuracy, respectively. These significant features allow for low-cost, rapid (45 min), and accurate POC detection of pathogens in low-source settings.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.