A wireless point-of-care testing system for the detection of neuron-specific enolase with microfluidic paper-based analytical devices

Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) had clinical significance on diagnosis, staging, monitoring effect and judging prognosis of small cell lung cancer. Thus, there had a growing demand for the on-site testing of NSE. Here, a wireless point-of-care testing (POCT) system with electrochemical measurement for NSE detection was developed and verified. The wireless POCT system consisted of microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs), electrochemical detector and Android's smartphone. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) measurement was adopted by means of electrochemical detector which including a potentiostat and current-to-voltage converter. μPADs were modified with nanocomposites synthesized by Amino functional graphene, thionine and gold nanoparticles (NH2-G/Thi/AuNPs) as immunosensors for NSE detection. Combined with μPADs, the performance of the wireless POCT system was evaluated. The peak currents showed good linear relationship of the logarithm of NSE concentration ranging from 1 to 500 ng mL−1 with the limit of detection (LOD) of 10 pg mL−1. The detection results were automatically stored in EEPROM memory and could be displayed on Android's smartphone through Bluetooth in real time. The detection results were comparable to those measured by a commercial electrochemical workstation. The wireless POCT system had the potential for on-site testing of other tumor markers.