Emerging optofluidic technologies for biodiagnostic applications

Abstract

The unprecedented global COVID‐19 pandemic strongly argues the critical need for innovative diagnostic tools meeting the requirement of test speed, accuracy, and throughput. Owing to the integration of optics and microfluidics technologies, optofluidic technology enables highly precise flow manipulation and highly sensitive signal detection at the microscale, thus offering the promising potential for developing biodiagnostic applications. Research toward this direction is fast growing into an emerging area. In this paper, we give an overview of emerging optofluidic technologies for biodiagnostic applications with the focus on three common types of biomarkers: nucleic acid, protein, and cell. We conclude by discussing the challenges, opportunities, and future perspectives of this field.

THz-PCR Based on Resonant Coupling between Middle Infrared and DNA Carbonyl Vibrations

“…In contrast, THz-PCR not only amplified the specific product (target) but also provided the reliable detection results ∼7 cycles in advance, which equals to increasing the concentration of target templates or enhancing the sensitivity of PCR by two orders of magnitude. Compared with the other published methods for enhancing PCR, − THz shining could be an innovated one with its own advantages. For example, the photonic PCR method relies on the efficient photothermal conversion of nanomaterials (gold nanospheres, gold nanorods, magnetic nanoparticles, etc.)…”

“…The results showed that NIR light did not affect PCR on either the yield or the specificity of amplicons, even if the power reached eight times that of the THz laser (Figure S6), further proving the key contribution of resonant coupling between DNA and middle infrared. This demonstration provides the potential to develop THz-PCR as an innovative nucleic acid amplification technology (NAAT) for next-generation molecular diagnostics . We could envision that with right THz frequencies, the unwinding landscape of dsDNA could be significantly reduced to even occur at body temperature or lower, with no need for thermal transfer anymore, which thus could really mimic DNA replication in life.…”

“…This demonstration provides the potential to develop THz-PCR as an innovative nucleic acid amplification technology (NAAT) for next-generation molecular diagnostics. 35 We could envision that with right THz frequencies, the unwinding landscape of dsDNA could be significantly reduced to even occur at body temperature or lower, with no need for thermal transfer anymore, which thus could really mimic DNA replication in life.…”

Reversible colorimetric sensing of volatile analytes by wicking in close proximity to a photonic film

“…12 Optouidic devices, which combine the advantages of precise uid manipulation (microuidics) with the speed and sensitivity of optical sensing, are receiving a lot of attention. [19][20][21] Nonetheless, optouidic devices oen lack portability due to extensive off-chip hardware. One approach to low-cost, portable optouidic sensing is to induce a color change that can be easily observed by users without complicated equipment for signal readout.…”

Touchable cell biophysics property recognition platforms enable multifunctional blood smart health care

“…Optofluidics 23 , 24 are characterized by high integration 20 , 25 – 28 , precise optical manipulation 29 – 31 , and portability 32 , 33 , and they provide a good platform for studying cell biophysics properties. Currently, a series of good works have been reported for cell deformability monitoring, which implies a potential clinical application for POC blood cell analysis 34 , 35 . Here, we introduce a smart optofluidic engineering platform for multifunctional blood testing via precise cell biophysics property recognition both in mechanics and morphology with high accuracy, low cost, and ease of operation.…”