Abstract
Non-invasive diagnosis on biological liquid samples, such as urine, sweat, saliva, and tears, may allow patients to evaluate their health by themselves. To obtain accurate diagnostic results, target liquid must be precisely sampled. Conventionally, urine sampling using filter paper can be given as an example sampling, but differences in the paper structure can cause variations in sampling volume. This paper describes precise liquid sampling using synthetic microfluidic papers, which are composed of obliquely combined micropillars. Sampling volume accuracy was investigated using different designs and collection methods to determine the optimal design and sample collecting method. The optimized protocol was followed to accurately measure potassium concentration using synthetic microfluidic paper and a commercially available densitometer, which verified the usefulness of the synthetic microfluidic papers for precision sampling.
Highlights
Medical diagnosis that is performed beside a patient and produces results in a rapid manner has been attracting considerable attention, referred to as Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) [1]
The coefficient of variation (CV) value for immersion methods I and II using synthetic microfluidic paper (SMP) decreased as pitch ratio increased, while no significant difference was found between the two methods
The results showed that the SMP was better than the filter paper and the sampling sheet provided by the densitometer manufacturer
Summary
Medical diagnosis that is performed beside a patient and produces results in a rapid manner has been attracting considerable attention, referred to as Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) [1]. As one of POCT fashions, there is a non-invasive testing performed by a patient oneself through small medical devices. Such devices typically diagnose liquid samples obtained from human bodies such as blood, sweat, saliva, tears and urine. Blood provides more information than the other sample types. Despite the difficulty for patients themselves to access blood without the help of medical professionals, glucose monitoring for diabetic patients is one of the few examples currently used [2, 3].
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