Recombinase polymerase amplification integrated with microfluidics for nucleic acid testing at point of care

Nucleic acid testing (NAT) implemented on a portable, miniaturized, and integrated device with rapid and sensitive results readout is highly demanded for pathogen detection or genetic screening at resource-limited settings, especially after the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The integration of recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) with emerging microfluidics, classified by paper-based microfluidics and chip-based microfluidics, shows great potential to perform laboratory independent NAT assays at point of care with minimal labor, time and energy consumption. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art of RPA integrated with paper-based microfluidics and chip-based microfluidics, and discusses their pros and cons. Finally, existing challenges and possible ways for optimization of microfluidics-based RPA are proposed.