Abstract
Paper-based microfluidic devices have many applications in biomedical and environmental analysis. However, the process of prototyping device designs can be tedious, error-prone, and time-consuming. Here, we present a cross-platform, open-source software tool—AutoPAD—developed to quickly create and modify device designs and provide a free alternative to commercial design software. The capabilities that we designed to be inherent to AutoPAD (e.g., automatic zone alignment and design refactoring) highlight its potential use in nearly any paper-based microfluidic device application and for creating nearly any desired design, which we demonstrate through the recreation of numerous device designs from the literature.
Highlights
Three-dimensional devices fabricated from multiple sheets of paper, each of which comprise multiple copies of a device layer, rely on procedures that are similar to additive manufacturing processes[22]
We have described the development of AutoPAD—the first software program created to enable the design of paper-based microfluidic devices
We anticipate that automatic zone alignment and refactoring capabilities—functions that we programmed to be inherent to AutoPAD—will aid in the exploration of more complex design structures[55], and facilitate the broader use of advanced design features
Summary
Paper-based microfluidic devices have many applications in biomedical and environmental analysis. Devices become substantially more error-prone and time-consuming to fabricate when additional layers or complex channel structures are required These problems are exacerbated further by the need to produce and test many iterations of the device, which is often required for the development and optimization of an assay. Similar to other open-source scientific software (e.g., ImageJ27 and Jmol28), we make the source code for AutoPAD free to use and modify This approach supports our goals to (i) reduce costs associated with starting and maintaining research laboratories in the field of paper-based diagnostics and (ii) enable new opportunities for researchers for whom costs of other design software may be prohibitive (e.g., high school students and laboratories in developing economies). Files of PDF format are recognized by every operating system, every printer, and most graphics design software, which ensures the compatibility of our program and its outputs with other systems currently in use
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