Research On A Novel Portable Biochip Detection Technology And Its Application In Early Disease Diagnosis

With economic growth and improved life,health has become a topic of great concern.However,in remote and resource-poor areas,long-distances travel to hospitals and turnaround times delay the diagnosis and treatment of severe infectious and noninfectious diseases.With the aim to provide an effective means of addressing these global challenges,we currently experience a scientific and technological revolution in the next generation of analytical and diagnostic devices,which are characterized by their very small size,ease of use,multi-analytical capacities and speed.A novel terminology,point-of-care(POC)is becoming increasingly familiar and popular among scientists and technologists.In parallel,both scientists and engineers have been exploiting consumer electronics(e.g.,office scanner,disc player,and smartphone)as alternative cost-effective and user-friendly on-site analytical and point-of-care(POC)diagnostic tools to complement centralized laboratory facilities and instrumentation over the past two decades.1.Blu-ray discs as universal biochip substrates:lithography-free surface activation and assay patterning.Blu-ray discs(BDs)are advantageous in comparison with other optical discs(CDs,DVDs)in terms of not only their storage capacity but also the high-quality materials fabricated from.We have recently discovered that the "Hard CoatTM" film of Verbatim Blu-ray discs is in fact a unique type of polymeric substrate that can be readily activated and adapted for multiplex biochip fabrications.Particularly the Hard CoatTM film peeled from Blu-ray discs is optically transparent without any auto-fluorescence background,which can be activated by treating with a common base(1.0 M NaOH)at a slightly elevated temperature(55?).The surface density of reactive carboxylic acid groups generated,6.6±0.7×10-9 mol/cm2,is much higher than that on polycarbonate(PC)upon UV/ozone irradiation(4.8±0.2×10-10 mol/cm2).There are no significant physical damages to the substrate morphology,and the aging effect is minimal.More importantly,the BD substrate can be patterned by using either cut-out filter paper masks or microfluidic channel plates;both are lithography-free,bench-top methods that facilitate the device fabrication in a common laboratory setting.We have also demonstrated this new type of biochip substrates for various assay applications,with classical biotin-streptavidin binding and DNA hybridization arrays as trial systems.2.Neonatal infections are infections of the neonate(newborn)during the neonatal period or first four weeks after birth.It is estimated that as many as 600,000 newborns die each year from a serious infection.More than 90%of these deaths occur in the poorest countries of Asia and Africa.Until now,there is no ideal diagnostic test for detecting sepsis and thus management of possible sepsis cases often depends on clinical algorithm leading to empirical treatment.Biomarkers have shown great promise in the diagnosis of sepsis and guiding the appropriate treatment of neonates.Serum procalcitonin(PCT),serum amyloid A protein(SAA)and C-reactive protein(CRP)are the most used biomarkers for early neonatal infection diagnosis.More importantly,the multiple markers,CRP,SAA,PCT are used to improve sensitivity and enhance diagnosis accuracy.In this study,we reported a mini DVD based technology with multiplex immunoassays of neonatal infections for use as a point-of-care early diagnostic in developing countries.3.Ebola virus nucleic acid detection is achieved with a smartphone-based technology.Ebola virus disease(EVD)is a highly lethal contagious disease caused by the negative RNA strand Ebola virus.The 2014-2016 EVD outbreaks in West Africa has killed 11,325(39.5%)persons,the largest in history.While the spread of EVD in West Africa has been controlled,Ebola infection will persist in animals,and additional cases may continue to occur from time to time in the future.Early diagnosis and rapid initiation of treatment remain a key strategy in the control of EVD.In this study,the assay is based on DNA hybridization on a transparent plastic substrate PC.By using the smartphone detection system,we can directly display the hybridization results,which realize fast,simple,low-cost Ebola virus testing.