Self-driven filter-based blood plasma separator microfluidic chip for point-of-care testing
Hojjat Madadi1,2, Jasmina Casals-Terré2, Mahdi Mohammadi2
1Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Health Care, Italian Institute of Technology, Naples, Italy.
Biofabrication
|May 23, 2015
Summary
A novel microfluidic chip efficiently separates plasma from whole blood without external power, enabling rapid, single-use blood tests for improved patient care diagnostics.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Microfluidics
- Point-of-Care Diagnostics
Background:
- Plasma extraction is crucial for blood assays.
- Existing methods are time-consuming and require external forces.
- Lab-on-a-chip devices are needed for clinical diagnostics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a self-driven microfluidic chip for efficient plasma separation.
- To enable single-use, self-powered blood tests.
- To demonstrate the chip's utility in a hybrid diagnostic device.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic chips modified for hydrophilicity.
- Utilizing hydrodynamic principles (constriction, symmetrical filtration) for plasma separation.
- Integration of the microfluidic chip with a lateral flow immunochromatographic assay.
Main Results:
- Extraction of >0.1 μl plasma from ~5 μl whole blood in 3-5 minutes.
- Achieved high plasma purity (>98%) without external force or power.
- Demonstrated successful rapid detection of thyroid stimulating hormone using the hybrid device.
Conclusions:
- The novel microfluidic chip offers a self-driven, efficient solution for plasma separation.
- This technology advances the development of single-use, point-of-care diagnostic devices.
- The chip's design facilitates integration with other diagnostic platforms for comprehensive analysis.
