Microfluidic biosensor array with integrated poly(2,7-carbazole)/fullerene-based photodiodes for rapid multiplexed...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Environmental Science
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Pathogen detection in water is critical for public health.
• Existing methods can be time-consuming and lack multiplexing capabilities.
• Microfluidic devices offer miniaturization and high throughput for biosensing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a multiplexed microfluidic biosensor for simultaneous detection of waterborne pathogens.
• To integrate organic photodiodes (OPDs) for sensitive chemiluminescent signal detection.
• To assess the biosensor's performance in terms of detection limits and analysis time.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) microfluidic chip.
• Integration of an array of organic blend heterojunction photodiodes (OPDs).
• Chemiluminescent detection of captured Escherichia coli O157:H7, Campylobacter jejuni, and adenovirus.

Main Results:

• The biosensor achieved detection limits of 5 × 10^5 cells/mL for E. coli, 1 × 10^5 cells/mL for C. jejuni, and 1 × 10^-8 mg/mL for adenovirus.
• Simultaneous analysis of all three analytes was demonstrated in under 35 minutes.
• Poly(2,7-carbazole)/fullerene OPDs exhibited a responsivity over 0.20 A/W at 425 nm.

Conclusions:

• The integrated multiplexed microfluidic biosensor provides a rapid and sensitive platform for waterborne pathogen detection.
• Recovery tests indicate potential for application in real water sample analysis.
• This technology advances water quality monitoring and public health protection.