Paper-based analytical platform for point-of-care immunodiagnostics with amplified response and automated assay steps

• Grant number: 14/18190-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: February 15, 2015
• End date: February 14, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Lauro Tatsuo Kubota
• Grantee: Glauco Pilon dos Santos
• Supervisor: Scott T. Phillips
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Pennsylvania State University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/09171-2 - Construction and application of a paper-based analytical device for the diagnosis of malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum, BP.DR

Abstract

There is increasing interest toward the generation of simplified analytical systems to be applied in point-of-care (POC) testing. Laboratory analysis is a time-consuming process that requires numerous steps and qualified technicians to handle samples and analyze results. In these POC devices, all steps usually performed in conventional laboratories are converted to a single analytical platform, suitable to be used by unskilled persons and without needing external power sources for device operation. The attractive properties of paper as porous/fibrous structure, allowing storing or immobilizing chemicals on its surface; capillary-driven fluid flow; biocompatibility; biodegradability; low cost; ease of modification by printing, coating and impregnating; mechanical flexibility, which allows the formation of 2D/3D complex structures, and ready availability everywhere in the world makes paper an ideal platform for the development of microfluidic analytical devices, thus providing simple applications in diagnostics. This project aims to construct a simple, rapid, inexpensive and easy-to-use paper-based analytical platform for point-of-care immunodiagnostics, employing lateral flow materials in a reconfigured format, and using reagents for highly sensitive responses with automated assay steps. The system could be also adapted to quantify bionalytes without needing external electronic readers by simply measuring the reaction time, which depends on the analyte concentration. (AU)