Microfluidic Tool Box as Technology Platform for Hand-Held Diagnostics

ing (POCT) will require on-board fluidics, self-con-tained reagents, and multistep reactions, all at a low cost. Disposable microchips were studied as a potential POCT platform. Methods: Micron-sized structures and capillaries were embedded in disposable plastics with mechanisms for fluidic control, metering, specimen application, separa-tion, and mixing of nanoliter to microliter volumes. Designs allowed dry reagents to be on separate sub-strates and liquid reagents to be added. Control of surface energy to 5 dyne/cm2 and mechanical toler-ances to <1 m were used to control flow propulsion into adsorptive, chromatographic, and capillary zones. Fluidic mechanisms were combined into working exam-ples for urinalysis, blood glucose, and hemoglobin A1