Integrating Microfluidics and Electronics in Point-of-Care Diagnostics: Current and Future Challenges

Abstract

Point-of-Care (POC) diagnostics have gained increasing attention in recent years due to its numerous advantages over conventional diagnostic approaches. As proven during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the rapidity and portability of POC testing improves the efficiency of healthcare services and reduces the burden on healthcare providers. There are hundreds of thousands of different applications for POC diagnostics, however, the ultimate requirement for the test is the same: sample-in and result-out. Many technologies have been implemented, such as microfluidics, semiconductors, and nanostructure, to achieve this end. The development of even more powerful POC systems was also enabled by merging multiple technologies into the same system. One successful example is the integration of microfluidics and electronics in POC diagnostics, which has simplified the sample handling process, reduced sample usage, and reduced the cost of the test. This review will analyze the current development of the POC diagnostic systems with the integration of microfluidics and electronics and discuss the future challenges and perspectives that researchers might have.

Electroosmotic Micromixing in Physicochemically Patterned Microchannels

“…The total electric field vector (E) is calculated as the gradient of the total electrical potential as = E (5) Subsequently, the body force (F b ) experienced by fluid particles in electroosmotic flow is obtained as…”

“…It is now well-known that there are multifold advantages of using microfluidic devices over macroscopic ones owing to their portability, ease of use, availability of a higher surface-to-volume ratio for the process intensified engineering processes, control over the reagent parameters owing to their usage of smaller volumes, and capacity to bring in the aspects of very-large-scale integration (VLSI) for a larger throughput and multitasking, among others. Thus, such microfluidic platforms are found to appear in diverse modern-day functionalities that include drug delivery, − point-of-care diagnostics, − tissue engineering, − high-throughput screening, − protein crystallization, − and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis. , In particular, the success in the integration of multiplexing of microfluidic devices on the lab-on-a-chip , platforms has led to the development of portable laboratory prototypes in the diverse areas of biology, − chemistry, − medicine, , and engineering. , However, several limitations related to microfluidic platforms have emerged over the years, including the diffusion-limited mixing capacity, a relatively lower throughput, and crowding–clogging of transport materials, among others. Of late, such areas have become intense scientific and engineering research.…”

A Multidisciplinary Approach toward CMOS Capacitive Sensor Array for Droplet Analysis

“…Such an array can also be envisioned for PoC detection where the numerous parallel detectors enable multiplexing and result in reduced sample size, diagnosis time, cumbersomeness, and cost. On the other hand, the integration of microfluidic components with a sensor would enable the development of a complete lab on chip (LoC) microsystem, which introduces opportunities for affordable, energy-efficient, and portable systems, making it a viable solution for a wide range of applications, especially for PoC diagnostics [22][23][24][25]. Moreover, the combination of microfluidics with an array of sensors would, therefore, enable one to simultaneously measure the properties of different types of liquid.…”

Human Sputum Proteomics: Advancing Non-Invasive Diagnosis of Respiratory Diseases with Enhanced Biomarker Analysis Methods

“…As precision medicine enters the multi-omics era, technology also needs to evolve [118]. Therefore, strengthening the healthcare system is the most ideal way to keep the population healthy and maintain a productive workforce [119].…”