Immunoassays have been central to biomedical research and clinical diagnostics, but their use requires large sample volumes as well as expensive equipment and reagents to perform the tests. Microfluidic device have the potential to overcome these challenges, and a number of devices have been built that offer parallel processing, high sensitivity using small sample volumes, or the ability to screen for a wide number of markers. None have been able to have all three capabilities in one system, truly making microfluidics a viable option over traditional equipment.
Now researchers at Rutgers University are reporting the development of a lab-on-a-chip device that can parallel process 32 samples as small as 4.2 μL using readily available reagents to measure six different proteins at the same time. The device is called “ELISA-on-a-chip,” and the researchers hope one of the early uses of the technology will be to analyze cerebrospinal fluid since it holds clues about various underlying conditions but large samples of it are hard to get.
Study in journal Lab on a Chip: Development and validation of a microfluidic immunoassay capable of multiplexing parallel samples in microliter volumes…
Source: Rutgers…