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Humidity-enhanced microfluidic plasma separation on Chinese Xuan-papers
Xianchang Wu1, Shuqiang Min1, Tonghuan Zhan1
1School of Mechanical Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, 215009, China. xb022@ustc.edu.cn.
Lab on a Chip
|August 19, 2024
Summary
A novel humidity-enhanced paper-based method significantly improves micro-scale plasma separation for point-of-care testing (POCT). This technique achieves high plasma yield and purity, enabling rapid glucose detection without bulky equipment.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Analytical Chemistry
- Materials Science
Background:
- Traditional centrifugation is unsuitable for point-of-care testing (POCT) due to its size, cost, and power requirements.
- Microfluidic paper-based devices offer an alternative for plasma separation but suffer from low plasma yield.
- Efficient plasma separation is crucial for accurate analyte detection in POCT.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a humidity-enhanced paper-based microfluidic method for improved plasma separation.
- To overcome the limitations of low plasma yield in existing paper-based devices.
- To demonstrate the integration of this method for rapid glucose concentration detection.
Main Methods:
- Paper treated with blood-typing antibodies for enhanced plasma separation.
- Whole blood introduced to treated paper, incubated under high humidity for 5 minutes.
- Red blood cell agglutination and plasma wicking facilitated by humidity for separation.
Main Results:
- Achieved extremely high plasma yield up to 60.1% from whole blood using Xuan-paper.
- Obtained plasma purity of 99.99%.
- Successfully integrated the method for naked-eye glucose concentration detection.
Conclusions:
- The humidity-enhanced method provides a simple, inexpensive, and effective solution for micro-scale plasma separation.
- This technology significantly increases plasma yield, addressing a key limitation in paper-based diagnostics.
- The approach is suitable for integration into various paper-based microfluidic analytical devices for POCT.
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