Integrated DNA and RNA extraction and purification on an automated microfluidic cassette from bacterial and viral pathogens causing community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections.

In this paper, we describe the development of an automated sample preparation procedure for etiological agents of community-acquired lower respiratory tract infections (CA-LRTI). The consecutive assay steps, including sample re-suspension, pre-treatment, lysis, nucleic acid purification, and concentration, were integrated into a microfluidic lab-on-a-chip (LOC) cassette that is operated hands-free by a demonstrator setup, providing fluidic and valve actuation. The performance of the assay was evaluated on viral and Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial broth cultures previously sampled using a nasopharyngeal swab.

Fast nucleic acid amplification for integration in point-of-care applications.

An ultrafast microfluidic PCR module (30 PCR cycles in 6 min) based on the oscillating fluid plug concept was developed. A robust amplification of native genomic DNA from whole blood samples could be achieved at operational conditions established from systematic investigations of key parameters including heat transfer and in particular flow velocities. Experimental data were augmented with results from computational fluid dynamics simulations.

Development of chip-compatible sample preparation for diagnosis of infectious diseases.

Diagnosis of infectious diseases in primary care is predominantly based on medical history and physical examination, as conventional laboratory investigations are often associated with delays that are unacceptable in medical practice. Point-of-care testing, and especially lab-on-a-chip (LoC) systems, are expected to result in a considerable reduction in associated healthcare costs and lead to fast, but appropriate and effective, personalized therapy. Although appropriate sample preparation is essential for final detection, most microfluidic-based approaches start from samples prepared by conventional laboratory procedures, therefore continuing to restrict the use of these systems to a laboratory setting.

Justification of rapid prototyping in the development cycle of thermoplastic-based lab-on-a-chip.

During the developmental cycle of lab-on-a-chip devices, various microstructuring techniques are required. While in the designing and assay implementation phase direct structuring or so-called rapid-prototyping methods such as milling or laser ablation are applied, replication methods like hot embossing or injection moulding are favourable for large quantity manufacturing. This work investigated the applicability of rapid-prototyping techniques for thermoplastic chip development in general, and the reproducibility of performances in dependency of the structuring technique.

On-chip analysis of respiratory viruses from nasopharyngeal samples.

Point-of-care (PoC) testing followed by personalized efficient therapy of infectious diseases may result in a considerable reduction of associated health care costs. Lab-on-a-chip (LoC) systems represent a potentially high efficient class of PoC tools. Here, we present a LoC system for automated pathogen analysis of respiratory viruses from nasopharyngeal specimens.

Compact, cost-efficient microfluidics-based stopped-flow device.

Stopped-flow technology is frequently used to monitor rapid (bio)chemical reactions with high temporal resolution, e.g., in dynamic investigations of enzyme reactions, protein interactions, or molecular transport mechanisms.

Lab-on-a-chip for the isolation and characterization of circulating tumor cells.

A smart miniaturized system is being proposed for the isolation and characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) directly from blood. Different microfluidic modules have been designed for cell enrichment and -counting, multiplex mRNA amplification as well as DNA detection. With the different modules at hand, future effort will focus on the integration of the modules in a fully automated, single platform.

Automated genotyping of circulating tumor cells.

Cancer remains a prominent health concern in modern societies. Continuous innovations and introduction of new technologies are essential to level or reduce current healthcare spending. A diagnostic platform to detect circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood may be most promising in this respect.