Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 7, 2025
06:42
Wide-field Fluorescent Microscopy and Fluorescent Imaging Flow Cytometry on a Cell-phone
Published on: April 11, 2013
23.8K
On-board smartphone micromotor-based fluorescence assays.
Kaisong Yuan1, Víctor de la Asunción-Nadal1, Carmen Cuntín-Abal1
1Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcala, Alcala de Henares E-28871, Madrid, Spain. beatriz.jurado@uah.es.
Lab on a Chip
|January 7, 2022
Summary
This study presents a portable smartphone-based device using micromotors for real-time fluorescence sensing of biomarkers like mercury and cholera toxin B. The system achieves high performance comparable to advanced optical microscopes.
Area of Science:
- Nanotechnology
- Biomedical Engineering
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Real-time detection of biomarkers is crucial for diagnostics.
- Micromotor technology offers novel sensing capabilities.
- Smartphone integration enables portable analytical devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a portable, smartphone-integrated device for real-time fluorescence sensing of biomarkers using micromotors.
- To demonstrate the device's versatility with different micromotor types and biomarkers.
- To validate the analytical performance against established methods.
Main Methods:
- Design and fabrication of a 3D-printed platform for smartphone integration.
- Utilizing magnetic Janus micromotors with quantum dots for mercury detection.
- Employing graphdiyne catalytic micromotors with affinity peptides for cholera toxin B detection.
- Integrating optical lenses and emission filters with a smartphone camera for fluorescence imaging.
Main Results:
- Successful real-time ON-OFF detection of mercury using magnetic micromotors.
- Successful OFF-ON detection of cholera toxin B using catalytic micromotors.
- Achieved analytical performance comparable to high-performance optical microscopy.
- Demonstrated the platform's versatility for various micromotor propulsion mechanisms and biomarkers.
Conclusions:
- The developed portable device enables sensitive and real-time fluorescence sensing of biomarkers.
- The smartphone-integrated micromotor system offers a versatile and accessible analytical platform.
- This technology holds potential for multiplexed biomarker detection and future diagnostic applications.
