MSGID: 1:317/3 6270b025   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Researchers develop smartphone-powered microchip for at-home medical   
   diagnostic testing    
    The new technology could make at-home diagnosis of diseases faster and   
   more affordable    
      
     Date:   
         May 2, 2022   
     Source:   
         University of Minnesota   
     Summary:   
         A research team has developed a new microfluidic chip for   
         diagnosing diseases that uses a minimal number of components and   
         can be powered wirelessly by a smartphone. The innovation opens   
         the door for faster and more affordable at-home medical testing.   
      
      
      
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   A University of Minnesota Twin Cities research team has developed a new   
   microfluidic chip for diagnosing diseases that uses a minimal number of   
   components and can be powered wirelessly by a smartphone. The innovation   
   opens the door for faster and more affordable at-home medical testing.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   The researchers' paper is published in Nature Communications, a   
   peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal published by Nature   
   Research. Researchers are also working to commercialize the technology.   
      
   Microfluidics involves the study and manipulation of liquids at a   
   very small scale. One of the most popular applications in the field   
   is developing "lab-on- a-chip" technology, or the ability to create   
   devices that can diagnose diseases from a very small biological sample,   
   blood or urine, for example.   
      
   Scientists already have portable devices for diagnosing some conditions   
   - - rapid COVID-19 antigen tests, for one. However, a big roadblock to   
   engineering more sophisticated diagnostic chips that could, for example,   
   identify the specific strain of COVID-19 or measure biomarkers like   
   glucose or cholesterol, is the fact that they need so many moving parts.   
      
   Chips like these would require materials to seal the liquid inside,   
   pumps and tubing to manipulate the liquid, and wires to activate those   
   pumps -- all materials that are difficult to scale down to the micro   
   level. Researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities were able   
   to create a microfluidic device that functions without all of those   
   bulky components.   
      
   "Researchers have been extremely successful when it comes to electronic   
   device scaling, but the ability to handle liquid samples has not kept up,"   
   said Sang- Hyun Oh, a professor in the University of Minnesota Twin Cities   
   Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and senior author of the   
   study. "It's not an exaggeration that a state-of-the-art, microfluidic   
   lab-on-a-chip system is very labor intensive to put together. Our   
   thought was, can we just get rid of the cover material, wires, and pumps   
   altogether and make it simple?"  Many lab-on-a-chip technologies work by   
   moving liquid droplets across a microchip to detect the virus pathogens   
   or bacteria inside the sample. The University of Minnesota researchers'   
   solution was inspired by a peculiar real- world phenomenon with which wine   
   drinkers will be familiar -- the "legs," or long droplets that form inside   
   a wine bottle due to surface tension caused by the evaporation of alcohol.   
      
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Using a technique pioneered by Oh's lab in the early 2010s, the   
   researchers placed tiny electrodes very close together on a 2 cm by 2 cm   
   chip, which generate strong electric fields that pull droplets across the   
   chip and create a similar "leg" of liquid to detect the molecules within.   
      
   Because the electrodes are placed so closely together (with only 10   
   nanometers of space between), the resulting electric field is so strong   
   that the chip only needs less than a volt of electricity to function. This   
   incredibly low voltage required allowed the researchers to activate the   
   diagnostic chip using near- field communication signals from a smartphone,   
   the same technology used for contactless payment in stores.   
      
   This is the first time researchers have been able to use a smartphone   
   to wirelessly activate narrow channels without microfluidic structures,   
   paving the way for cheaper, more accessible at-home diagnostic devices.   
      
   "This is a very exciting, new concept," said Christopher Ertsgaard, lead   
   author of the study and a recent CSE alumnus (ECE Ph.D. '20). "During   
   this pandemic, I think everyone has realized the importance of at-home,   
   rapid, point-of-care diagnostics. And there are technologies available,   
   but we need faster and more sensitive techniques. With scaling and   
   high-density manufacturing, we can bring these sophisticated technologies   
   to at-home diagnostics at a more affordable cost."  Oh's lab is working   
   with Minnesota startup company GRIP Molecular Technologies, which   
   manufactures at-home diagnostic devices, to commercialize the microchip   
   platform. The chip is designed to have broad applications for detecting   
   viruses, pathogens, bacteria, and other biomarkers in liquid samples.   
      
   "To be commercially successful, in-home diagnostics must be low-cost and   
   easy- to-use," said Bruce Batten, founder and president of GRIP Molecular   
   Technologies. "Low voltage fluid movement, such as what Professor Oh's   
   team has achieved, enables us to meet both of those requirements. GRIP   
   has had the good fortune to collaborate with the University of Minnesota   
   on the development of our technology platform. Linking basic and   
   translational research is crucial to developing a pipeline of innovative,   
   transformational products."  In addition to Oh and Ertsgaard, the   
   research team included University of Minnesota Department of Electrical   
   and Computer Engineering alumni Daniel Klemme (Ph.D. '19) and Daehan Yoo   
   (Ph.D. '16) and Ph.D. student Peter Christenson.   
      
   This research was supported by the National Science Foundation   
   (NSF). Oh received support from the Sanford P. Bordeau Endowed   
   Chair at the University of Minnesota and the McKnight University   
   Professorship. Device fabrication was performed in the Minnesota Nano   
   Center at the University of Minnesota, which is supported by NSF through   
   the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI).   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Minnesota. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Christopher T. Ertsgaard, Daehan Yoo, Peter R. Christenson,   
      Daniel J.   
      
         Klemme, Sang-Hyun Oh. Open-channel microfluidics via resonant   
         wireless power transfer. Nature Communications, 2022; 13 (1) DOI:   
         10.1038/s41467- 022-29405-2   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220502094748.htm   
      
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