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A sample volume independent paper microfluidic device for quantifying glucose in real human plasma

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Abstract

The uncontrolled volume of sample has a significant influence on the outcome of the colorimetric detection method performed on paper-based microfluidic devices. In a reliable colorimetric assay, the results should be completely dependent on the concentration of analyte in the sample rather than its volume. However, this effect is usually overlooked in the development of paper-based microfluidic devices as a simple, inexpensive, portable and user-friendly medical diagnostic system. In this work, a volume-independent micro paper-based analytical device has been introduced in which the need for precise controlling of sample volume is eliminated. We have shown that the proposed device is only sensitive to the concentration of analyte (glucose) in the sample instead of its volume. We have also demonstrated that the proposed device addresses the reported problem of colour heterogeneity and is relatively insusceptible to the variation of reagents volume. An inexpensive smart phone camera is used for capturing the images and a portable 3D printed tool is designed to eliminate the environmental illuminations. To simulate the real condition, human plasma samples are used throughout the experiments.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support provided by the Research Council of University of Tehran is gratefully acknowledged.

Funding

This work is supported with an INSF grant number 95848969.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Micro Bio Technology Laboratory (MBTechLab), Department of Electrical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), Tehran, Iran

    Mehrdad Lotfi Choobbari & Amir Jahanshahi

  2. Laboratory of Bio-Analysis, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammad Behnam Rad & Hedayatollah Ghourchian

Authors
  1. Mehrdad Lotfi Choobbari
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  2. Mohammad Behnam Rad
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  3. Amir Jahanshahi
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  4. Hedayatollah Ghourchian
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Correspondence to Amir Jahanshahi or Hedayatollah Ghourchian.

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Choobbari, M.L., Rad, M.B., Jahanshahi, A. et al. A sample volume independent paper microfluidic device for quantifying glucose in real human plasma. Microfluid Nanofluid 24, 74 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-020-02382-y

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