Human tear fluid diagnostic assessment enabled by microfluidic protein electrophoresis

Abstract

Human tear film fluid offers tremendous potential as a noninvasive diagnostic fluid. However, the use of tear fluid in diagnostic medicine is limited owing to non-standardized collection methodologies and low volume availability. We present a first-reported microfluidic tear fluid biomarker assay which will serve as a foundation for both rapid biomarker validation and point-of-care ocular diagnostics. Furthermore, we detail important advances in tear fluid preparation for high fidelity protein collection.