A low-cost portable microfluidic chemiluminometer for point-of-care testing of adiponectin for early risk assessment of diabetes

• Published in: Sensors and actuators. B, Chemical Vol. 380; p. 133384
• Main Authors: Li, Fengyun, Wang, Wei, Li, Hongli, Yang, Mei, Wu, Jing, Zhang, Lin, Gao, Jianye, Pu, Qiaosheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 01.04.2023; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Adiponectin; Biomarkers; Chemiluminescence; Chemiluminometer; Diabetes; Early risk assessment; Immunoassay; Low cost; Microchannels; Microfluidic chip; Microfluidics; POCT; Point of care testing; Portable equipment; Risk assessment; Workflow; Microfluidic chip; Early risk assessment; POCT; Chemiluminometer; Adiponectin
• ISSN: 0925-4005; 1873-3077
• DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2023.133384

It is of great significance to implement early risk assessment of diabetes using point-of-care testing (POCT) strategies, particularly in the resource-limited settings. Here we proposed a low-cost portable microfluidic POCT chemiluminometer for the determination of adiponectin, an effective biomarker of diabetes. The determination is based on the immunoassay on a centrifugal microfluidic chip made of polycarbonate with 40 parallel detection microchannels. Centrifugation assisted washing processes made the entire immunoassay workflow semi-automatic and easy to perform. The chemiluminescence signal was recorded by a specially designed portable chemiluminometer. The whole set of the device costs less than $600 and weighs only 0.5 kg, which is suitable for POCT use. A limit of detection of 2.7 ng/ml was achieved with a linear response up to 70.5 ng/ml (R2 = 0.975) for serum adiponectin, covering the physiological blood adiponectin levels. Successful determination of adiponectin in six clinical specimens was demonstrated by a comparison with standard enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. [Display omitted] •A semi-automatic operation was achieved by a convenient wash procedure.•A low-cost portable chemiluminometer in common use was built to read signal.•The combined device had a LOD 2.7 ng/ml for adiponectin in human serum.•The device showed reliable results for clinical serum samples.•It proposed a solution to diabetes early risk assessment in primary care units.