An enzymatic immunoassay microfluidics integrated with membrane valves for microsphere retention and reagent mixing

The present study presents a new microfluidic device integrated with pneumatic microvalves and a membrane mixer for enzyme-based immunoassay of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) biomarkers, namely, myoglobin, and heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP). Superparamagnetic microspheres with carboxyl groups on their surfaces were used as antibody solid carriers. A membrane mixer consisting of four ψ-type membrane valves was assembled under the reaction chamber for on-chip performing microsphere trapping and reagent mixing. The entire immunoassay process, including microsphere capture, reagent input, mixing, and subsequent reaction, was accomplished on the device either automatically or manually. The post-reaction substrate resultant was analyzed using a microplate reader. The results show that the average absorbance value is correlated with the concentration of cardiac markers, in agreement with the results obtained using a conventional microsphere-based immunoassay; this indicated that the proposed on-chip immunoassay protocol could be used to detect both myoglobin and H-FABP. The minimum detectable concentration is 5 ng/mL for myoglobin and 1 ng/mL for H-FABP.

► A new and integrated microfluidics for microsphere-based enzymatic immunoassay was described.
► Microsphere retention and reagent mixing were realized via membrane microvalves and a mixer.
► The entire immunoassay process could be accomplished either automatically or manually.
► Two acute myocardial infarction-related early biomarkers were analyzed as case studies.