Microfluidic blood plasma separation for medical diagnostics: is it worth it?

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Clinical Diagnostics
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Circulating biomarkers show promise for disease diagnosis, but direct detection in blood is hindered by complex sample matrices.
• Blood cells introduce signal variability, with hemoglobin interference being a known issue and cellular component release a growing concern for extracellular marker detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the advantages and limitations of miniaturized blood plasma separation techniques.
• To highlight advances in direct biomarker capture and smart plasma separation methods.
• To assess the feasibility of avoiding plasma separation entirely for point-of-care diagnostics.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent (2006-2016) research in miniaturized blood plasma separation.
• Analysis of microscale separation systems for point-of-care applications.
• Evaluation of direct capture technologies and integrated smart separation approaches.

Main Results:

• Miniaturized plasma separation systems vary in complexity and sample volume suitability.
• Direct capture methods offer an alternative to plasma separation, potentially simplifying point-of-care testing.
• Smart plasma separation technologies aim to enhance efficiency and reduce variability.

Conclusions:

• Miniaturized plasma separation is crucial for point-of-care diagnostics but faces challenges.
• Avoiding plasma separation through direct capture or advanced smart separation presents a promising avenue.
• Further research is needed to optimize these methods for reliable biomarker detection.