Recent progress of smartphone-assisted microfluidic sensors for point of care testing

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Point of care (POC) testing is of great importance in rapid diagnosis of disease, monitoring environmental pollutants, food safety analysis and other fields, especially in resource-limited settings. Microfluidic sensors combined with miniaturized portable detection devices are ideal for POC testing, which significantly reduce the reagent/sample consumption and shorten the analysis time without relying on laboratories and operators. Smartphone-based microfluidic sensors are suitable for POC detection because of their ability to high computational capability and data transferability, making them rapidly emerging as a potential substitute for traditional laboratory instruments. In this review, we introduced the functions of smartphones could achieve in the microfluidic sensing and summarized the detection routes involved in smartphone-based microfluidic sensors, including colorimetric, fluorescent, electrochemical and chemiluminescent sensing, together with thermal imaging and multiple-mode detection. An overview of recent applications in disease diagnosis, environmental monitoring and food safety detection fields was provided. Challenges and future perspectives were discussed. Advances in smartphone-assisted microfluidic sensors are summarized based on their detection modes and typical applications with an introduction of the functions of smartphones. Challenges and perspectives are contemplated. • Progress of smartphone-assisted microfluidic sensors for POC testing is reviewed. • The functions of smartphones in the microfluidic sensors are briefly enumerated. • Their main detection modes and typical applications are critically summarized. • Challenges and perspectives of this area are discussed.