Platform technology for blood diagnostics integrating microneedle blood sampling and quantum-dot based multiplexed assays

血液是实验室医学和诊断中最有用的液体样本。最常见的方法是将针插入手臂的静脉（静脉穿刺）。在美国，每年进行超过20亿次静脉穿刺，这是一项需要熟练人员的技术。**静脉穿刺通常伴随疼痛、不适和瘀伤，对于静脉细小、脆弱或“深”的人（如肥胖）、婴儿以及需要反复取样时最为困难。我们提出了一种替代方案，可以最大限度地减少不适和瘀伤，不需要高技能的人员，并且安全方便。****我们的项目结合了一系列微小的针头（微针），可以作为一个“贴片”放置在皮肤表面，以收集少量的血液。这种微针几乎不会引起不适，造成瘀伤的风险很低，而且可以由患者或非医务人员使用。血液被采集后，将流入一个“手机芯片实验室”设备，在那里，血液检测将使用新型高灵敏度荧光探针自动进行。这些测试将包括与心血管疾病相关的蛋白质生物标志物的免疫分析（部分与我们的行业合作伙伴合作），以及血液凝固因子活性的免疫分析。该平台的结果可以立即以电子方式发送给患者和医生。****本研究建立在微针阵列和荧光探针分别成功的初步应用基础上。我们现在将进一步开发和结合这些创新的方法，用于急需的医疗用途，与标准的静脉穿刺方法进行比较，并最终计划使用这些设备同时进行多项测试。与目前的方法相比，这种方法的好处将是巨大的：一种无痛、安全、用户友好的抽血和验血方式，并能迅速向卫生专业人员和患者报告结果。

Blood is the most useful sample fluid for lab medicine and diagnostics. It is most often**obtained by inserting a needle in a vein in the arm (venipuncture). In the US, over 2 billion**venipunctures are performed annually and is a technique that requires skilled personnel.**Venipuncture is often associated with pain, discomfort and bruising, and is most difficult in**persons with small, fragile, or "deep" veins (e.g. obesity), in babies, and when repeated**sampling is needed. We propose an alternative that will minimize discomfort and bruising, will**not require highly skilled personnel, and will be safe and easy.****Our project combines an array of tiny needles (microneedles) that can be placed as a "patch"**on the surface of the skin to collect small amounts of blood. The microneedles cause little**discomfort, have a very low risk of causing bruising, and can be applied by the patient or a**non-medical person. As the blood is collected, it will flow into a "lab-on-a-chip-on-a-phone"**device, where the blood tests will automatically be performed using new and highly sensitive**fluorescent probes. These tests will include immunoassays for protein biomarkers associated**with cardiovascular disease, partially in collaboration with our industry partner, as well as**assays of the activities of blood coagulation factors. Results from this platform can be**immediately and electronically sent to the patient and physician.****This research builds on successful preliminary applications with the microneedle arrays and**fluorescent probes separately. We will now further develop and combine these innovative**methods for a much-needed medical use, make comparisons to the standard venipuncture**approach, and ultimately plan to perform many tests simultaneously with the devices. The**benefits over current methods will be substantial: a painless, safe and user-friendly way to**draw and test blood, with rapid reporting of results to health professionals and patients.