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

The emerging technologies on mobile-based diagnosis and bioanalytical detection have enabled powerful laboratory assays such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to be conducted in field-use lab-on-a-chip devices. In this paper, we present a low-cost universal serial bus (USB)-interfaced mobile platform to perform microfluidic ELISA operations in detecting the presence and concentrations of BDE-47 (2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether), an environmental contaminant found in our food supply with adverse health impact. Our point-of-care diagnostic device utilizes flexible interdigitated carbon black electrodes to convert electric current into a microfluidic pump via gas bubble expansion during electrolytic reaction. The micropump receives power from a mobile phone and transports BDE-47 analytes through the microfluidic device conducting competitive ELISA. Using variable domain of heavy chain antibodies (commonly referred to as single domain antibodies or Nanobodies), the proposed device is sensitive for a BDE-47 concentration range of 10(-3)-10(4 ) μg/l, with a comparable performance to that uses a standard competitive ELISA protocol. It is anticipated that the potential impact in mobile detection of health and environmental contaminants will prove beneficial to our community and low-resource environments.