A numerical platform for predicting the performance of paper-based analytical devices.

This article presents a numerical platform for predicting the performance of paper-based analytical devices. The capillary flow, reaction, dissolution, and other physicochemical phenomena associated with device operation are accounted for using Darcy's law, Richard's equation and other transport equations. The platform can be used for different paper substrates, biorecognition methods, detection systems (such as optical and electrochemical detection), device patterns and dimensions, and ways in which the device is operated such as the input method of the body fluid.