Portable digital microfluidic serological immunoassays for measles and rubella were developed and evaluated in a remote setting.

We introduce Digital microfluidic Isolation of Single Cells for -Omics (DISCO), a platform that allows users to select particular cells of interest from a limited initial sample size and connects single-cell sequencing data to their immunofluorescence-based phenotypes. Specifically, DISCO combines digital microfluidics, laser cell lysis, and artificial intelligence-driven image processing to collect the contents of single cells from heterogeneous populations, followed by analysis of single-cell genomes and transcriptomes by next-generation sequencing, and proteomes by nanoflow liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. The results described herein confirm the utility of DISCO for sequencing at levels that are equivalent to or enhanced relative to the state of the art, capable of identifying features at the level of single nucleotide variations. The unique levels of selectivity, context, and accountability of DISCO suggest potential utility for deep analysis of any rare cell population with contextual dependencies.

The integration of 3D porous membranes in a digital microfluidic device enables the generation of cell-free plasma from finger-stick volumes of blood with in-line, on-chip analysis.

Nanostructured microelectrodes (NMEs) are three-dimensional electrodes that have superb sensitivity for electroanalysis. Here we report the integration of NMEs with the versatile fluid-handling system digital microfluidics (DMF), for eventual application to distributed diagnostics outside of the laboratory. In the new methods reported here, indium tin oxide DMF top plates were modified to include Au NMEs as well as counter and pseudoreference electrodes. The new system was observed to outperform planar sensing electrodes of the type that are typically integrated with DMF. A rubella virus (RV) IgG immunoassay was developed to evaluate the diagnostic potential for the new system, relying on magnetic microparticles coated with RV particles and analysis by differential pulse voltammetry. The limit of detection of the assay (0.07 IU mL(-1)) was >100× below the World Health Organization defined cut-off for rubella immunity. The sensitivity of the integrated device and its small size suggest future utility for distributed diagnostics.