Diabetes mellitus is a public health problem affecting millions of people worldwide. Commercially available glucose sensors are enzyme based and has serious drawbacks like insufficient long-term stability, which originates from the intrinsic nature of the enzymes. This nonenzymatic glucose sensor strip overcomes the drawbacks of the commercially available counterparts by replacing the enzyme with metal oxalate nanoparticles. The product has successfully passed pre-compliance testing and is currently undergoing clinical trials
A lab-on-a-chip device for the detection of cholesterol, creatinine, and glucose was successfully fabricated and tested. A three-stage fabrication process was developed for bonding the electrodes with the PDMS microfluidic channels. Sensors for cholesterol, glucose, and creatinine were integrated with microfluidic channels. Molecules such as ascorbic acid, urea, uric acid, and dopamine had negligible interference on detection of cholesterol, creatinine, and glucose. The sensors were also found to be free from cross interference. Physiological glucose, creatinine, and cholesterol concentrations were successfully measured in the LOC device. The LOC was integrated with the indigenously developed electronic meter and the integrated POCT device was tested successfully. The results obtained were successfully transferred to a smartphone using Bluetooth.
The current trend towards biomedical device development focuses on mass screening in an affordable way. In order to screen a large population to initiate treatment at an early stage, it is necessary to have a system which can process a large number of samples and is capable of providing results in a reliable, economical and accurate manner. Towards this, a platform device for the simultaneous detection of 10 samples was designed and developed. The developed device was successfully used to monitor the glucose level of 10 different individuals simultaneously.
A simple, handheld battery powered microhematocrit centrifuge was fabricated and used for the testing of anemia and sensing of protein and glucose. The device was demonstrated as an anemia reader by calculating the hemoglobin levels from the hematocrit levels obtained by the centrifuge. The plasma extracted by the system was found to have very high purity and used for the colorimetric estimation of protein and electrochemical estimation of glucose. For the colorimetric assay, a strategy for accurate sample dispensing and mixing has been developed using capillary tubes. The hemoglobin estimated was compared with that of the results obtained from clinical labs and found in good agreement.
Valves are an indispensable component for the development of an automated device as they play a vital role in controlling and manipulating fluid flow. An array of programmable, easy-to-fabricate, low-cost valves for microfluidic applications was fabricated based on electromagnetic actuation. The sequential flow of fluids is achieved by automating the powering of an array of the solenoids one-by-one which causes the valve membrane to deflect sequentially.
