An Assay System for Point-of-Care Diagnosis of Tuberculosis using Commercially Manufactured PCB Technology

Daniel Evans*, Konstantinos I. Papadimitriou, Louise Greathead, Nikolaos Vasilakis, Panagiotis Pantelidis, Peter Kelleher, Hywel Morgan, Themistoklis Prodromakis

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Rapid advances in clinical technologies, detection sensitivity and analytical throughput have delivered a significant expansion in our knowledge of prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers in many common infectious diseases, such as Tuberculosis (TB). During the last decade, a significant number of approaches to TB diagnosis have been attempted at Point-of-Care (PoC), exploiting a large variation of techniques and materials. In this work, we describe an electronics-based Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (eELISA), using a Lab-on-A-Printed Circuit Board (LoPCB) approach, for TB diagnosis based on cytokine detection. The test relies upon an electrochemical (amperometric) assay, comprising a high-precision bioinstrumentation board and amperometric sensors, produced exclusively using standard PCB manufacturing processes. Electrochemical detection uses standard Au and Ag electrodes together with a bespoke, low-power, multichannel, portable data-Acquisition system. We demonstrate high-performance assay chemistry performed at microfluidic volumes on Au pads directly at the PCB surface with improved limit of detection (∼10 pg/mL) over standard colorimetric ELISA methods. The assay has also been implemented in plasma, showing the utility of the system for medical applications. This work is a significant step towards the development of a low-cost, portable, high-precision diagnostic and monitoring technology, which once combined with appropriate PCB-based microfluidic networks will provide complete LoPCB platforms.

Original languageEnglish
Article number685
JournalScientific Reports
Volume7
Issue number1
Early online date6 Apr 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2017

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