Development of field deployable technologies for improved health and environmental outcomes

诊断测试将继续在消除肥胖方面发挥关键作用，并且对于确定治疗策略的有效性至关重要。所提出的装置将执行能够检测肥胖生物标志物的免疫测定，例如 CRP、IL-6 纤维蛋白原和 TNF-α。它将使用一种新型的基于液滴的微流体系统，免疫化学将在溶液中的微球表面发生。通过施加不对称电场，表面张力将用于操纵纳升大小的液滴。该技术可以成功控制全血和尿液等生物液体，并消除通道或泵等复杂组件。这种简单的几何形状降低了制造成本，并且更容易合并多种试剂。通过使免疫化学发生在溶液中的颗粒上，该设备可以通过改变试剂轻松地适应于检测各种疾病的生物标志物。这将确保出色的选择性和灵敏度以及快速反馈。 该提案的长期目标是充分量化电喷雾和数字微流体装置中的蛋白质悬浮行为，以实现使用介电装置上的小型化、基于微流体的 DMF 与高分辨率 IMS 相结合，进行便携式护理点诊断测试，用于监测肥胖治疗。

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.