Electronic-automated Point-of-Care (POC) diagnostic device aiming at rapid and cost-effective generation of high levels of information in any setting is getting tremendous attention in recent years. In the realm of infectious diseases immediate information identifying the type, strain, and drug resistance status of a pathogen can make it possible for physicians and healthcare workers to maximize the chances of patient survival and minimize the risk that the infection will spread to other members of the community. This research developed a POC system based on a digital microfluidic (DMF) platform with novel microfluidic chip design, automatic droplet manipulation controls, and innovative biotechnologies. Compared with traditional nuclei acids detection methods, our system minimized the volume of a reaction, shortened the reaction time, enlarged the sample consumption volume range, and realized POC, rapid and specific nucleic acid detection. These innovations have led to our start-up company, DigiFluidic Ltd., for commercializing the first automatic DMF-based nucleic acid detection system with wide applications in market.

Fig 1 Novel droplet manipulations on digital microfluidics (Inner Front Cover in Lab on a Chip)

Fig 2 Virus Hunter, the first automatic nucleic acid detection system based on DMF