P-36 Development of Paper Diagnostics for Biomarkers

Paper based Point-of-Care diagnostics tools are gaining attention due to its easy operation, cheap cost, no need for pumps or skilled technician, and its simplicity. A drop of fluid such as blood or urine can pass through wax printed patterns to a testing zone, where a preloaded antibody can bind to the sample indicating different conditions. The results show up as colors of gold nano-particles (GNP) that can be distinguished by bare eyes. This research is a joint effort with Dr. Summerscales, who develops mobile apps to aid in the detection of colors and communication with the health care center. Migration of fluids and binding reaction were simulated for various designs of micro-channels that are printed on either chromatographic or nitrocellulose papers. The COMSOL Multiphysics was used to develop and simulate the mathematical models for various patterns and optical size of channels. In our initial effort to prove the concept, PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) biomarker was used to indicate high levels that may be linked to the presence of prostate cancer. The sensor platform is developed for multi biomarkers and for less sample volumes as it can be easily implemented in our combination of lateral and vertical flow patterns, compared to common lateral flow devices that are designed for one type of target