Parallel fluorescence interrogation of multichannel chips for rapid point-of-care testing

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Microfluidics
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Developing rapid and reliable point-of-care testing (POCT) devices necessitates advanced optical platforms.
• Existing platforms often struggle to balance speed, sensitivity, and robustness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a fully integrated optoelectronic platform for fluorescence detection in multichannel microfluidic chips.
• To demonstrate a parallel optical interrogation strategy for enhanced POCT performance.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a diffractive optical element (DOE) for simultaneous multi-channel excitation.
• Employed waveguide absorption filters (WAFs) for parallel fluorescence collection and excitation light rejection.
• Integrated the optical platform with microfluidic handling and control software for automated immunoassays.

Main Results:

• Achieved optical interrogation within seconds, eliminating mechanical scanning.
• Demonstrated stability and reproducibility through repeated chip loading experiments with low variability.
• Successfully implemented a C-reactive protein (CRP) fluorescence sandwich immunoassay with a limit of detection of 0.32 µg/mL.

Conclusions:

• The proposed parallel optical architecture shows significant potential for developing rapid, scalable, and reliable fluorescence-based POCT platforms.
• This approach can advance the field of point-of-care diagnostics.