Development of field deployable technologies for improved health and environmental outcomes

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Diagnostic testing will continue to play a key role in the eradication of obesity and is central to determining the effectiveness of treatment strategies. The proposed device will perform an immunoassay capable of detecting biomarkers for obesity, e.g., CRP, IL-6 fibrinogen and TNF-alpha. It will use a novel droplet based microfluidic system and the immunochemistry will take place on the surface of microspheres held in solution. Surface tension forces will be used to manipulate nanolitre sized droplets by applying asymmetric electric fields. This technique can successfully control biological fluids such as whole blood and urine and eliminate complex components like channels or pumps. This straightforward geometry reduces fabrication costs and makes it easier to incorporate multiple reagents. By having the immunochemistry occur on particles in solution, the device can be easily adapted to detect biomarkers for various diseases by changing the reagents. This will ensure excellent selectivity and sensitivity with fast feedback. The long term goal of this proposal is to fully quantify protein suspension behaviour in electrosprays and digital microfluidic devices towards the goal of a portable, point-of-care diagnostic test for obesity treatment monitoring using a miniaturized, microfluidic-based DMF on dielectric device coupled with high-resolution IMS.