Nanoliter Lab-on-a-Chip for Blood Diagnostics

描述（由申请人提供）：使用大型仪器进行诊断需要大量血液（毫升），医源性失血或“出血进入实验室”是极低出生体重早产儿进行小容量输血的重要原因。在诊断所抽取的血液量和随后的输血量之间发现了直接相关性。在新生儿中，可能没有足够的血液样本来进行所有必要的测试。此外，在现场（事故、灾难、战场等）对血液样本进行常规实验室分析。不切实际。 手持式、自动化、廉价、多分析物和多路复用血液化学分析仪将有助于将血液分析体积从毫升减少到纳升，减少进一步输血的需要，并使分析仪在护理点（诊所、手术室和急诊室、重症监护室和现场）可用。基于我们之前的演示，电润湿操作的纳升大小的液滴的试剂和样品分配从芯片上的水库，高速运输，混合，分裂和稀释，和比色检测的测定，一次性实验室的芯片将被开发。最终，将开发用于血液化学的一次性芯片实验室，其中1微升人类血液将输入手持系统，并以完全自动化的方式输出血液化学。 第一阶段的工作将集中在制造一个微流控平台上的血清液滴，参考标准，和试剂液滴的纳升将从微升大小的源滴分配，在2维运输，混合，分析和处置。将开发针对微流体体系的测定。四个重要的和常见的分析物（血尿素氮，肌酐，葡萄糖和乳酸）在人类血清的比色测定将被证明建立一个纳升的血液化学芯片实验室的可行性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Large volumes of blood (milliliters) are required for diagnostics with large instruments, latrogenic blood loss or "bleeding into the laboratory" is an important reason for administration of small volume transfusions in very low birth weight, premature infants. A direct correlation was found between the volume of blood drawn for diagnostics and subsequent volume transfused. In neonatal infants, there may not be enough collected blood sample to perform all the necessary tests. Also, conventional laboratory analysis of blood samples while in the field (accidents, disasters, battlefield, etc.) is impractical. A handheld, automated, inexpensive, multi-analyte and multiplexed blood chemistry analyzer will help reduce the blood analysis volume from milliliters to nanoliters, reduce the need for further transfusions, and make the analyzer available at the point-of-care (clinics, operating and emergency rooms, intensive care units, and in the field). Based on our previous demonstrations of electrowetting manipulation of nanoliter-sized droplets of reagents and sample for dispensing from on-chip reservoirs, high-speed transport, mixing, splitting and dilution, and colorimetric detection of the assays, a disposable lab-on-a-chip will be developed. Ultimately, a disposable lab-on-a-chip for blood chemistry will be developed where 1 microliter of human blood will be the input to the handheld system and it outputs the blood chemistry in a completely automated fashion. Phase I work will focus on fabricating a microfluidic platform upon which nanoliters of blood serum droplets, reference standards, and reagent droplets will be dispensed from microliter-sized source drops, transported in 2 dimensions, mixed, assayed, and disposed. Assays specific to the microfluidic regime will be developed. Colorimetric assays of four important and common analytes (blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, glucose, and lactate) in human blood serum will be demonstrated establishing just feasibility of a nanoliter lab-on-a-chip for blood chemistry.