Cost Effective Paper-Based Colorimetric Microfluidic Devices and Mobile Phone Camera Readers for the Classroom

We have developed a simple and direct method to fabricate paper-based microfluidic devices that can be used for a wide range of colorimetric assay applications. With these devices, assays can be performed within minutes to allow for quantitative colorimetric analysis by use of a widely accessible iPhone camera and an RGB color reader application (app) to measure color intensity. In the described laboratory experiment, students design and create their own microfluidic devices with common laboratory supplies such as Kimwipes, Parafilm, and a thermal laminator, and gain hands-on experience in the analysis of Fe2+ and Cu2+ by colorimetric determination.

[1]  Holger Becker,et al.  Hot embossing as a method for the fabrication of polymer high aspect ratio structures , 2000 .

[2]  Mandy B Esch,et al.  Influence of master fabrication techniques on the characteristics of embossed microfluidic channels. , 2003, Lab on a chip.

[3]  Vincent T. Remcho,et al.  Two-stage polymer embossing of co-planar microfluidic features for microfluidic devices , 2008 .

[4]  V. Remcho,et al.  Fabrication of a microfluidic system for capillary electrophoresis using a two-stage embossing technique and solvent welding on poly(methyl methacrylate) with water as a sacrificial layer. , 2008, Analytical chemistry.

[5]  Junfei Tian,et al.  Paper-based microfluidic devices by plasma treatment. , 2008, Analytical chemistry.

[6]  G. Whitesides,et al.  Three-dimensional microfluidic devices fabricated in layered paper and tape , 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[7]  D. Citterio,et al.  Inkjet-printed microfluidic multianalyte chemical sensing paper. , 2008, Analytical chemistry.

[8]  S. S. Sibbett,et al.  Multiplex lateral-flow test strips fabricated by two-dimensional shaping. , 2009, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[9]  S. Sundberg.  Microfluidic techniques for DNA melting analysis and digital polymerase chain reaction , 2010 .

[10]  W. Qiu,et al.  Integration of cell phone imaging with microchip ELISA to detect ovarian cancer HE4 biomarker in urine at the point-of-care. , 2011, Lab on a chip.

[11]  Aydogan Ozcan,et al.  Integrated rapid-diagnostic-test reader platform on a cellphone. , 2012, Lab on a chip.

[12]  Eric Kehoe,et al.  Introducing Colorimetric Analysis with Camera Phones and Digital Cameras: An Activity for High School or General Chemistry , 2013 .

[13]  Aydogan Ozcan,et al.  A personalized food allergen testing platform on a cellphone. , 2013, Lab on a chip.

[14]  I. Papautsky,et al.  Optimization of a paper-based ELISA for a human performance biomarker. , 2013, Analytical chemistry.

[15]  Aydogan Ozcan,et al.  Cellphone-based devices for bioanalytical sciences , 2014, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.

[16]  Aydogan Ozcan,et al.  Albumin testing in urine using a smart-phone. , 2013, Lab on a chip.

[17]  V. Remcho,et al.  Low-cost, high-speed identification of counterfeit antimalarial drugs on paper. , 2014, Talanta.

[18]  Aydogan Ozcan,et al.  Mobile phones democratize and cultivate next-generation imaging, diagnostics and measurement tools. , 2014, Lab on a chip.