Automatic Detection of Two Synovial Fluid Periprosthetic Joint Infection Biomarkers on an Integrated Microfluidic

To-Wen Chen1, Rishabh Gandotra2, Hwan-You Chang3

  • 1Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.

Insights

A new microfluidic system rapidly detects two key biomarkers, alpha defensin human neutrophil peptide 1 (HNP-1) and C-reactive protein (CRP), for diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). This innovative tool offers accurate and swift PJI diagnostics from synovial fluid.

Area of Science:

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Infectious Disease Diagnostics
  • Biomarker Detection

Background:

  • Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) poses significant diagnostic challenges.
  • Accurate and timely diagnosis of PJI is crucial for effective patient management.
  • Current diagnostic methods can be time-consuming or lack sensitivity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a novel integrated microfluidic system (IMS) for rapid and simultaneous detection of PJI biomarkers.
  • To establish a one-aptamer-one-antibody assay for detecting alpha defensin human neutrophil peptide 1 (HNP-1) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in synovial fluid (SF).
  • To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the IMS for PJI.

Main Methods:

  • Development of an integrated microfluidic system (IMS) for on-chip biomarker detection.
  • Utilized a magnetic bead-based one-aptamer-one-antibody assay for simultaneous HNP-1 and CRP detection.
  • Assay performed automatically within 45 minutes on a single chip.

Main Results:

  • Simultaneous detection of HNP-1 (0.01-50 mg/L) and CRP (1-100 mg/L) achieved.
  • High specificity of aptamers to their respective SF targets demonstrated.
  • The IMS correctly diagnosed 20 clinical samples, validated against a gold standard kit.

Conclusions:

  • The developed IMS is a promising tool for PJI diagnostics.
  • The novel one-aptamer-one-antibody assay provides a rapid and specific method for PJI biomarker detection.
  • On-chip detection of HNP-1 and CRP offers a potential advancement in diagnosing periprosthetic joint infections.

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