Development of a N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) assay on a centrifugal lab-on-a-compact-disc (Lab-CD) platform

A centrifugal microfluidic platform, which is also known as lab-on-a-compact-disc (Lab-CD), was developed for use as a urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) activity assay. In this work, Lab-CD design, centrifugal operations and analytical procedures were established. Automated liquid handling on Lab-CD processes, such as fluid transport, sample metering, mixing, and fluorescence detection are accomplished using a portable Lab-CD system. The linearity of the NAG assay using 4-methylumbelliferyl-N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminide (4-MU-GlcNAc) was found to be acceptable in the range of 2.5 to 20 U L(-1); the relative standard deviations for the fluorescence intensity of eight samples (7.5 U L(-1)) was 6.4%. Clinical diagnostics is one of the most promising applications for Lab-CD technologies. All the benefits of miniaturization, such as reduced sample requirement, reduced reagent consumption and automation, are realized in this investigation.