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Point of care (POC) diagnostics represents one of the fastest growing health care technology segments. Developments in microfabrication have led to the development of highly-sensitive nanocalorimeters ideal for directly measuring heat generated in POC biosensors. Here we present a novel nano-calorimeter-based biosensor design with differential sensing to eliminate common mode noise and capillary microfluidic channels for sample delivery to the thermoelectric sensor. The calorimeter has a resolution of 1.4 ± 0.2 nJ/(Hz) utilizing a 27 junction bismuth/titanium thermopile, with a total Seebeck coefficient of 2160 μV/K. Sample is wicked to the calorimeter through a capillary channel making it suitable for monitoring blood obtained through a finger prick (<1 μL sample required). We demonstrate device performance in a model assay using catalase, achieving a threshold for hydrogen peroxide quantification of 50 μM. The potential for our device as a POC blood test for metabolic diseases is shown through the quantification of phenylalanine (Phe) in serum, an unmet necessary service in the management of Phenylketonuria (PKU). Pegylated phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PEG-PAL) was utilized to react with Phe, but reliable detection was limited to <5 mM due to low enzymatic activity. The POC biosensor concept can be multiplexed and adapted to a large number of metabolic diseases utilizing different immobilized enzymes.

We reduced the reaction volume in microfabricated suspended-membrane titration calorimeters to nanoliter droplets and improved the sensitivities to below a nanowatt with time constants of around 100ms, The device performance was characterized using exothermic acid-base neutralizations and a detailed numerical model. The finite element based numerical model allowed us to determine the sensitivities within 1% and the temporal dynamics of the temperature rise in neutralization reactions as a function of droplet size. The model was used to determine the optimum calorimeter design (membrane size and thickness, junction area, and thermopile thickness) and sensitivities for sample volumes of 1 nl for silicon nitride and polymer membranes. We obtained a maximum sensitivity of 153 pW/√Hz for a 1 μm SiN membrane and 79 pW/√Hz for a 1 μm polymer membrane. The time constant of the calorimeter system was determined experimentally by using a pulsed laser to increase the temperature of nanoliter sample volumes. For a 2.5 nanoliter sample volume, we experimentally determined a noise equivalent power of 500 pW/√Hz and a 1/e time constant of 110ms for a modified commercially available infrared sensor with a thin-film thermopile. Furthermore, we demonstrated detection of 1.4 nJ reaction energies from injection of 25 pl of 1 mM HCl into a 2.5 nl droplet of 1 mM NaOH.

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