(Invited) Magnetofluidic Platforms for Point-of-Care Detection of Infectious Diseases

Abstract

Commercialized rapid POC PCR technologies are either too slow, lack antimicrobial resistance data, or are too costly for widespread adoption in resource-limited settings. This talk discusses the use of magnetofluidic platforms coupled with inexpensive disposable assay cartridges to automate, accelerate, and simplify PCR tests of infectious diseases. Instead of traditional fluidic strategies for sample handling and assay automation, magnetofluidic technologies use the movement of magnetic beads through discrete droplets of reagents to capture, purify, and transfer analytes for amplification and/or detection, eliminating the need for large, complex instrumentation and fluidics typically associated with clinical laboratory PCR tests. Miniaturized and focused thermal cycling enabled by magnetofluidic PCR significantly shortens the turnaround time of a DNA/RNA test to <15 min. We demonstrated the versatile use of portable magnetofluidic platforms for various infectious disease diagnostic applications, including POC detection of sexually transmitted infections and antimicrobial susceptibility, multiplex detection of SARS-CoV-2 and respiratory pathogens, and HIV viral load testing.