Biosensing utilizing the motion of magnetic microparticles in a microfluidic system

The study for the design of a compact and inexpensive biosensing device, which can be operated either by primary care personnel or by patients as opposed to skilled operators, is presented. The main parts of the proposed device are a microfluidic channel, permanent magnets and functionalized magnetic microparticles. The innovative aspect of the proposed biosensing method is that it utilizes the volumetric increase of magnetic microparticles when analyte binds to their surface. Their velocity decreases drastically when they are accelerated by an externally applied magnetic force within a microfluidic channel. This effect is utilized to detect the presence of analyte e.g. microbes. Analytical calculations showed that a decrease in velocity of approximately 23% can be achieved due to the volumetric change of a magnetic microparticle of 1μm diameter when HIV virions of approximately 0,135μm are bound to its surface and by keeping its magnetic properties the same. Preliminary experiments were carried out utilizing superparamagnetic microparticles coated with streptavidin and polystyrene microparticles coated with biotin