AC electrokinetic stirring and focusing of nanoparticles

Abstract

Immunoassay-based sensors rely on specific antigen-antibody binding for identification of proteins. These sensors have applications in both clinical laboratories for medical diagnostics, and in research laboratories for highly-multiplexed testing. In these cases, throughput is a key consideration. One factor limiting test duration is diffusion of analyte to the reporter. An incubation step of minutes to hours is required for diffusion-limited reactions to reach detectable levels. These tests are usually performed at centralized labs where high throughput is achieved through robotics and highly parallel assays. However, if the assay could be moved from a centralized lab to the point of care, the test could be much faster, as well as smaller, while maintaining high sensitivity. Immunoassay-based sensors rely on specific antigen-antibody binding for identification of proteins. These sensors have applications in both clinical laboratories for medical diagnostics, and in research laboratories for highly-multiplexed testing. In these cases, throughput is a key consideration. One factor limiting test duration is diffusion of analyte to the reporter. An incubation step of minutes to hours is required for diffusion-limited reactions to reach detectable levels. These tests are usually performed at centralized labs where high throughput is achieved through robotics and highly parallel assays. However, if the assay could be moved from a centralized lab to the point of care, the test could be much faster, as well as smaller, while maintaining high sensitivity. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.