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A multi‐functional electrochemical sensing system using microfluidic technology for the detection of urea and creatinine
Author(s) -
Huang ChaoJune,
Lin JiunLin,
Chen PingHong,
Syu MeiJywan,
Lee GwoBin
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
electrophoresis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.666
H-Index - 158
eISSN - 1522-2683
pISSN - 0173-0835
DOI - 10.1002/elps.201000679
Subject(s) - microfluidics , polydimethylsiloxane , microfluidic chip , materials science , nanotechnology , chip , mixing (physics) , lab on a chip , biomedical engineering , computer science , engineering , telecommunications , physics , quantum mechanics
This study presents a new microfluidic system capable of precise measurements of two important biomarkers, urea and creatinine, automatically. In clinical applications, high levels of these two biomarkers are early indicators of nephropathy or renal failure and should be monitored on a regular basis. The microfluidic system is composed of a microfluidic chip, a control circuit system, a compressed air source and several electromagnetic valves to form a handheld system. The microfluidic chip is fabricated by using micro‐electromechanical systems and microfluidic techniques comprising electrochemical sensor arrays and polydimethylsiloxane‐based microfluidic structures such as micropumps/micromixers, normally closed valves and microchannels. The microfluidic system performs a variety of critical processes including sample pretreatment, mixing, transportation and detection on a single chip. The experimental results show that the entire procedure takes approximately 40 min, which is much faster than the traditional method (more than 6 h). Furthermore, the total sample volume consumed in each operation is only 0.1 mL, which is significantly less than that required in a large system (5 mL). The developed automatic microfluidic system may provide a powerful platform for further clinical applications.