1. Wicking microfluidic approach to separate blood plasma from whole blood to facilitate downstream assays
- Author
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Owen T. Shellhammer, Matthew H. Kremer, Shay Bracha, Gayan C. Bandara, Vincent T. Remcho, and Linus J. Unitan
- Subjects
business.product_category ,Materials science ,Sample (material) ,Blood separation ,010401 analytical chemistry ,Microfluidics ,02 engineering and technology ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,01 natural sciences ,Biochemistry ,0104 chemical sciences ,Analytical Chemistry ,Blood plasma ,Microfiber ,0210 nano-technology ,business ,Microscale chemistry ,Biomedical engineering ,Point of care ,Whole blood - Abstract
Separation of blood plasma or serum from blood is essential for accurate analysis. Conventional blood separation requires instrumentation, reagents, and large sample volumes, limiting this process to laboratory environments with trained personnel. Full implementation of effective blood separation and analysis on microliter sample volumes for point of care (POC) diagnostics has proven extremely challenging resulting in a growing market demand, with common challenges such as expensive device fabrication processes or devices being comprised of materials which are not easily disposable. We developed a membrane-based wicking microfluidic device which is made using a simple fabrication process. This device uses a unique 3D flow channel geometry, fabricated in a polycaprolactone-filled glass microfiber membrane, to efficiently separate microliter sample volumes of blood. Colorimetric assay chemistries were integrated to demonstrate utility of these devices in POC diagnostics. The devices are capable of separating both fresh and anticoagulant-treated blood at microscale sample volumes (
- Published
- 2021
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