Microfluidic on-chip immunohistochemistry directly from a paraffin-embedded section

We present here a novel microfluidic platform that can perform microfluidic on-chip immunohistochemistry (IHC) processes on a formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded section slide. Unlike previous microfluidic IHC studies, our microfluidic chip made of organic solvent-resistant polyurethane acrylate (PUA) is capable of conducting on-chip IHC processes consecutively. A narrow channel wall structure of the PUA chip shows effective sealing by pressure-based reversible assembly with a section slide. We performed both on-chip IHC and conventional IHC processes and compared the IHC results based on the immunostaining intensity. The result showed that the effects of the on-chip deparaffinization, antigen retrieval, and immunoreaction processes on the IHC result were equivalent to conventional methods while reducing the total process time to less than 1/2. The experiment with breast cancer tissue shows that human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) classification can be performed by obtaining a clearly distinguishable immunostaining intensity according to the HER2 expression level. We expect our on-chip microfluidic platform to provide a facile technique suitable for miniaturized, automated, and precise diagnostic devices, including a point-of-care device.