A Microfluidic Approach and Enhancement Towards a Colorimetric Enzyme-Linked-Immunosorbant-Assay for Diagnostic Detection of Infectious Diseases

Accounting for more than 13 million deaths a year, infectious diseases have become the world’s biggest killer of children and young adults worldwide [1]. Diagnostic tools and technologies are vital towards identifying the presence and treatment of these diseases. Detection methods have commonly relied on DNA using polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR), however antibody methods have become popular due to growing trends in technology and detection sensitivity. ImmPORT Therapeutics, a leading group in generating infectious disease proteome microarrays, has developed multiplex systems for comprehensive analysis of immune responses to multiple infectious diseases [2]. Current microarray handling however requires conventional lab-bench methods that require whole-day processes and large amounts of user-handling confined to laboratory settings. Miniaturization of laboratory processes would provide numerous advantages in terms of cost, time, portability and multistage automation in addition to what is already offered. The proposed microfluidic device is a colorimetric enzyme-linked-immunosorbant assay (ELISA) for antibody detection of infectious agents that draws on ImmPORT Therapeutics technology with a purpose of decreasing reagent volumes and times potentially unattainable through conventional methods.