Smartphone-interfaced lab-on-a-chip devices for field-deployable enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Mobile-based diagnostic technologies are advancing laboratory assays like ELISA for field use.
• Environmental contaminants such as BDE-47 pose health risks and require accessible detection methods.
• Lab-on-a-chip devices integrated with mobile platforms offer potential for point-of-care diagnostics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a low-cost, USB-interfaced mobile platform for microfluidic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
• To detect the presence and concentration of BDE-47, an environmental contaminant, using the developed platform.
• To demonstrate the utility of single domain antibodies (Nanobodies) in a portable ELISA system.

Main Methods:

• A mobile platform with flexible interdigitated carbon black electrodes was designed.
• Electrolytic gas bubble expansion powered a microfluidic pump using mobile phone energy.
• Competitive ELISA was performed on the microfluidic device to detect BDE-47 using Nanobodies.

Main Results:

• The device successfully performed microfluidic ELISA operations.
• Sensitive detection of BDE-47 was achieved within a concentration range of 10(-3)-10(4 ) μg/l.
• The performance was comparable to standard competitive ELISA protocols.

Conclusions:

• The developed mobile platform provides a low-cost, portable solution for BDE-47 detection.
• This technology has potential for mobile detection of health and environmental contaminants in various settings.
• The system is beneficial for low-resource environments and community health monitoring.