Toward Rapid and Accurate Molecular Diagnostics at Home

The global outbreaks of infectious diseases have significantly driven an imperative demand for rapid and accurate molecular diagnostics. Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) feature high sensitivity and high specificity; however, the labor-intensive sample preparation and nucleic acid amplification steps remain challenging in order to carry out rapid and precision molecular diagnostics at home. This review discusses the advances and challenges of automatic solutions of sample preparation integrated with on-chip nucleic acid amplification for effective and accurate molecular diagnostics at home. The sample preparation methods of whole blood, urine, saliva/nasal swab, and stool on chip are examined. Then, the repurposable integrated sample preparation on a chip using various biological samples is investigated. Finally, the on-chip NAATs that can be integrated with automated sample preparation are evaluated. The user-friendly approaches with combined sample preparation and NAATs can be the game changers for next-generation rapid and precision home diagnostics.

Automated summary

The global outbreaks of infectious diseases have led to a significant demand for rapid and accurate molecular diagnostics. However, the labor-intensive sample preparation and nucleic acid amplification steps make it challenging to carry out these diagnostics at home. This review discusses the advances and challenges in automatic solutions for sample preparation and on-chip nucleic acid amplification, as well as the potential for game-changing user-friendly approaches for next-generation home diagnostics.