{"id":84268,"date":"2017-08-08T12:24:50","date_gmt":"2017-08-08T09:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.technion.ac.il\/blog\/microfluidic-chip-boosts-immunoassays-by-x1000\/"},"modified":"2017-08-08T12:24:50","modified_gmt":"2017-08-08T09:24:50","slug":"microfluidic-chip-boosts-immunoassays-by-x1000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.technion.ac.il\/en\/blog\/microfluidic-chip-boosts-immunoassays-by-x1000\/","title":{"rendered":"Microfluidic Chip Boosts Immunoassays by x1000"},"content":{"rendered":"

HAIFA, ISRAEL and ZURICH (August 8, 2017) \u2013 Proteins are one of the most important classes of biomarkers – biological molecules indicative of a disease or health of an individual. Protein detection is critical in a wide variety of tests that include the diagnosis of malaria, detection of a cardiovascular event, cancer screening and monitoring, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Animation \u2013 principle of ITP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now, a team from Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel and IBM Research in Zurich has improved the sensitivity of protein detection in immunoassays by more than 1,000-fold, when compared to standard immunoassay implementation. The team\u2019s method \u2013 which appears on the cover of the peer-reviewed journal <\/span>Analytical Chemistry<\/span><\/i><\/a> \u2013 is based on a simple piece of hardware: a microfluidic chip containing flow channels the width of a human hair.<\/span><\/p>\n

High sensitivity in detection is particularly important when protein biomarkers are present in extremely small numbers, as is the case in the early stages of a disease. The team\u2019s approach might one day enable simple devices capable of analyzing small samples (such as a drop of blood), replacing the large and sophisticated laboratory equipment that is currently required.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use an old focusing technique called isotachophoresis (ITP) in a new way,\u201d says Assistant Professor Moran Bercovici, of the Technion Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. \u201cUsing a combination of electric fields and specialized chemistry, we collect proteins into a tiny volume and precisely deliver them to react with detection antibodies patterned on the surface of the microchannel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe essentially cheat the detector,\u201d says Federico Paratore, a joint PhD student between the groups, and the lead author on the work. \u201cWe present a protein concentration that is 10,000-fold higher than in the original sample to a standard detector, and get the detector to respond accordingly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The test is a simple one, as demonstrated by Paratore. A few drops of the sample are introduced into the microfluidic chip, and an electric field is turned on. The proteins are compressed to a volume of approximately 50 picoliters – about 1 million times smaller than the volume of a human teardrop, and the result is visible within a few minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Federico Paratore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Paratore is part of a joint European Union project, Virtual Vials, and works across both sites, combining the strengths of the Technion\u2019s team in electrokinetics and fluid mechanics with IBM-Zurich\u2019s expertise in microtechnology and diagnostics. At the Technion, Paratore collaborated with Tal Zeidman-Kalman and Tally Rosenfeld, who are co-authors of this paper.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe elegance of this approach is in its simplicity, and of course the immense enhancement in assay sensitivity that could be applied to a range of immunoassay,\u201d says Dr. Govind Kaigala, scientist at IBM Research in Zurich. \u201cWe strongly believe such a technology will help to fill the gaps in existing immunoassay technology, and be applied directly to biological samples such as blood, saliva, or urine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HAIFA, ISRAEL and ZURICH (August 8, 2017) \u2013 Proteins are one of the most important classes of biomarkers – biological molecules indicative of a disease or health of an individual. Protein detection is critical in a wide variety of tests that include the diagnosis of malaria, detection of a cardiovascular event, cancer screening and monitoring,… Continue Reading Microfluidic Chip Boosts Immunoassays by x1000<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMicrofluidic Chip Boosts Immunoassays by x1000 - \u05d4\u05d8\u05db\u05e0\u05d9\u05d5\u05df-\u05de\u05db\u05d5\u05df \u05d8\u05db\u05e0\u05d5\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d9 \u05dc\u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.technion.ac.il\/en\/blog\/microfluidic-chip-boosts-immunoassays-by-x1000\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Microfluidic Chip Boosts Immunoassays by x1000 - \u05d4\u05d8\u05db\u05e0\u05d9\u05d5\u05df-\u05de\u05db\u05d5\u05df \u05d8\u05db\u05e0\u05d5\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d9 \u05dc\u05d9\u05e9\u05e8\u05d0\u05dc\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"HAIFA, ISRAEL and ZURICH (August 8, 2017) \u2013 Proteins are one of the most important classes of biomarkers – biological molecules indicative of a disease or health of an individual. 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