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A Lab-in-a-Fiber optofluidic device using droplet microfluidics and laser-induced fluorescence for virus detection
Helen E Parker1,2, Sanghamitra Sengupta3,4, Achar V Harish5
1Laser Physics Group, Department of Applied Physics, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), 100 44, Stockholm, Sweden. h.parker@hw.ac.uk.
Scientific Reports
|March 4, 2022
Summary
This study introduces a novel fiber-based droplet microfluidics system for high-throughput analysis. The Lab-in-a-Fiber device integrates laser-induced fluorescence detection for sensitive, real-time measurements, enabling applications like COVID-19 diagnostics.
Area of Science:
- Optofluidics
- Microfluidics
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Microfluidics, particularly droplet microfluidics, offers high throughput and independent droplet manipulation.
- Traditional microfluidic chips face limitations in optical coupling.
- Fibers present an alternative format with potential for enhanced optical properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a uniaxial optofluidic Lab-in-a-Fiber system for droplet generation and analysis.
- To integrate droplet microfluidics with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection using a novel periscope fiber.
- To validate the system's performance for sensitive, real-time measurements and diagnostic applications.
Main Methods:
- Generation of monodisperse droplets within a fiber using a Lab-in-a-Fiber scheme.
- Development of an optical side-coupling periscope fiber for LIF detection.
- Characterization using fluorescein and detection of reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) products.
Main Results:
- Successful generation of 0.9 nL monodisperse droplets.
- Achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of 10 nM for fluorescein.
- Demonstrated real-time detection of RT-LAMP products relevant to COVID-19 diagnostics.
Conclusions:
- The Lab-in-a-Fiber device offers a stable, compact, and sensitive platform for droplet microfluidics.
- The system enables high-throughput analysis with enhanced optical coupling.
- This technology advances the development of point-of-care droplet digital RT-LAMP platforms.