Paper Microfluidics for POC Testing in Low-Resource Settings

Paper microfluidics is a subarea of microfluidics in which porous materials are used to create devices. Advantages of paper microfluidics include fluid transport via capillary forces, so that external pumping equipment is not necessary, and the use of less expensive materials than those commonly used in conventional microfluidic devices. Paper microfluidics enables the development of fully disposable devices that are appropriate for use in even the lowest-resource settings, and the potential for high impact improvement to human health. In this chapter, we first discuss the paper microfluidic device fabrication processes of materials selection, fluidic boundary definition, and reagent patterning. Next, we discuss tools development for manipulating fluids in paper microfluidic devices. Then, we describe specific medical applications with discussion of three promising paper microfluidic devices. Finally, we close with a general discussion of challenges in the translation of paper microfluidic devices from the lab to the field.