A Variable Height Microfluidic Device for Multiplexed Immunoassay Analysis of Traumatic Brain Injury Biomarkers

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, partially due to the lack of sensitive diagnostic methods and efficacious therapies. Panels of protein biomarkers have been proposed as a way of diagnosing and monitoring TBI. To measure multiple TBI biomarkers simultaneously, we present a variable height microfluidic device consisting of a single channel that varies in height between the inlet and outlet and can passively multiplex bead-based immunoassays by trapping assay beads at the point where their diameter matches the channel height. We developed bead-based quantum dot-linked immunosorbent assays (QLISAs) for interleukin-6 (IL-6), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and interleukin-8 (IL-8) using Dynabeads M-450, M-270, and MyOne, respectively. The IL-6 and GFAP QLISAs were successfully multiplexed using a variable height channel that ranged in height from similar to 7.6 mu m at the inlet to similar to 2.1 mu m at the outlet. The IL-6, GFAP, and IL-8 QLISAs were also multiplexed using a channel that ranged in height from similar to 6.3 mu m at the inlet to similar to 0.9 mu m at the outlet. Our system can keep pace with TBI biomarker discovery and validation, as additional protein biomarkers can be multiplexed simply by adding in antibody-conjugated beads of different diameters.

Automated summary

The study introduced a novel variable height microfluidic device for multiplexing multiple TBI biomarkers simultaneously, which can passively multiplex bead-based immunoassays by trapping beads based on their diameter matching the channel height.