Microfluidic technology and its application in the point-of-care testing field

Abstract

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), countries around the world have suffered heavy losses of life and property. The global pandemic poses a challenge to the global public health system, and public health organizations around the world are actively looking for ways to quickly and efficiently screen for viruses. Point-of-care testing (POCT), as a fast, portable, and instant detection method, is of great significance in infectious disease detection, disease screening, pre-disease prevention, postoperative treatment, and other fields. Microfluidic technology is a comprehensive technology that involves various interdisciplinary disciplines. It is also known as a lab-on-a-chip (LOC), and can concentrate biological and chemical experiments in traditional laboratories on a chip of several square centimeters with high integration. Therefore, microfluidic devices have become the primary implementation platform of POCT technology. POCT devices based on microfluidic technology combine the advantages of both POCT and microfluids, and are expected to shine in the biomedical field. This review introduces microfluidic technology and its applications in combination with other technologies.

Evaluation of food μPADs with the new tech perspectives and future prospects

“…To take advantage of different substrates, researchers have described a novel hybrid microfluidic device made of paper and polymer (Zhou et al, 2022). Diversification of µPAD functions is obtained by the integration of composite materials (Xie et al, 2022). The combination of different materials with paper will improve the functions and applications of µPADs (Jalali-Heravi et al, 2015).…”

Electrochemical Signal Amplification Strategies and Their Use in Olfactory and Taste Evaluation

“…Microfluidics refers to the science and technology of precisely controlling and manipulating micro and nanofluids with high precision and reproducibility in the micro and nanoscale space [ 173 , 174 ]. Microfluidic chips, also known as lab-on-a-chip (LOC), can integrate the basic functional units involved in biological and chemical experiments, such as mixing, reaction, separation and detection, on a single chip with a high degree of integration [ 175 ].…”

“…In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness of health and a growing need for the prevention and diagnosis of several diseases. The combination of microfluidics and advanced biosensing technologies has given rise to many excellent miniaturized analytical platforms that enable the precise control of micro- and nano-fluids and the integration of various types of bio arrays on a miniaturized platform [ 174 ]. Microfluidics, due to its rapid development, has gradually become the main means of implementation for POCT diagnostics.…”

“…Moreover, the application of microfluidics is limited by the ultra-high precision processing requirements, the challenge of precise control of micro- and nano-sized liquids, and the problem of how to achieve rapid mass production at a low cost. In recent years, the introduction of various functional materials has facilitated the development of multifunctional microfluidic control chips, which have broadened the application areas of this type of biosensor and are expected to shine in the biomedical field [ 174 ].…”

Collection, nucleic acid release, amplification, and visualization platform for rapid field detection of rice false smut

“…[19][20][21][22] The LAMP reaction does not require a complicated thermal cycling system and is more suitable for miniaturized instruments, so it is widely used in point-of-care testing. 23,24 However, the LAMP method to pretreat samples is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Moreover, it introduces steps such as nucleic acid extraction, and the degree of automation is not high, so it is difficult to directly meet the needs of field detection.…”