Fabrication of microtiter plate on paper using 96-well plates for wax stamping

Paper-based analytical devices have prominently emerged as a group of diagnostic tools with prospective to eliminate the expensive, time-consuming, and intricate analytical methodologies. Wax printing has been a dominant technique to fabricate hydrophobic patterns on paper for fluid control, but the discontinuation of commercial solid ink printers has begun a genesis of alternate wax patterning strategies. In this study, a simple and rapid fabrication methodology for realizing a 96-well microtiter plate on paper has been developed. The method involves the use of commercially available polystyrene microplates as a stamp for wax patterning. The technique further eradicates the requirement of customized stamps and the step of heating paper substrates for creating wax barriers. Thus, wax stamped paper microplates can be used for a wide range of bioanalytical tests maneuvering reduced generation of non-biodegradable waste, minimal reagent usage, and inexpensive readout strategies. The viability of the fabricated platform has been assessed by colorimetric detection of glutathione using 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine-H₂O₂ redox system. RGB analysis of the colorimetric response showed a linear concentration range from 0 to 90 µM (R ² = 0.989) along with a detection limit of 28.375 µM.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10404-022-02606-3.