Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 27, 2026
A Microfluidic Chip for the Versatile Chemical Analysis of Single Cells
Published on: October 15, 2013
A Digital Microfluidic Device Integrated with Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy for Cell-Based Immunoassay
Yuqian Zhang1,2, Yuguang Liu1,2,3
1Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Insights
This study presents a new digital microfluidic device with an electrochemical biosensor to easily and sensitively measure peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). This tool can track immune responses for disease and therapy monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Immunology
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Dynamic immune responses are key indicators of disease status and treatment efficacy.
- Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are crucial for assessing immune function.
- A simple, sensitive, and frequent method for immune system assessment is needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an integrated system for quantifying PBMC abundance.
- To create a user-friendly tool for assessing immune function.
- To enable timely profiling of immune-mediated therapeutic responses.
Main Methods:
- Integration of an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)-based biosensor with a digital microfluidic (DMF) device.
- Utilizing DMF's droplet manipulation for a dynamic cell capture assay.
- Quantification of PBMC abundance using the developed system.
Main Results:
- The integrated system achieved a 2.4-fold signal enhancement through dynamic cell capture.
- Demonstrated sensitivity down to 10^4 PBMCs/mL.
- The system is easy-to-operate and sensitive for PBMC quantification.
Conclusions:
- The developed integrated system offers a sensitive and user-friendly approach for PBMC quantification.
- It holds significant potential for monitoring immune responses to diseases and therapies.
- Future evolution towards a point-of-care diagnostic device for near-patient testing is feasible.
Abstract:
The dynamic immune response to various diseases and therapies has been considered a promising indicator of disease status and therapeutic effectiveness. For instance, the human peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC), as a major player in the immune system, is an important index to indicate a patient's immune function. Therefore, establishing a simple yet sensitive tool that can frequently assess the immune system during the course of disease and treatment is of great importance. This study introduced an integrated system that includes an electrochemical impedance spectroscope (EIS)-based biosensor in a digital microfluidic (DMF) device, to quantify the PBMC abundance with minimally trained hands. Moreover, we exploited the unique droplet manipulation feature of the DMF platform and conducted a dynamic cell capture assay, which enhanced the detection signal by 2.4-fold. This integrated system was able to detect as few as 104 PBMCs per mL, presenting suitable sensitivity to quantify PBMCs. This integrated system is easy-to-operate and sensitive, and therefore holds great potential as a powerful tool to profile immune-mediated therapeutic responses in a timely manner, which can be further evolved as a point-of-care diagnostic device to conduct near-patient tests from blood samples.
More Related Videos
13:42Dry Film Photoresist-based Electrochemical Microfluidic Biosensor Platform: Device Fabrication, On-chip Assay Preparation, and System Operation
Published on: September 19, 2017
08:22Electrowetting-based Digital Microfluidics Platform for Automated Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay
Published on: February 23, 2020
