Journal of Chemical Engineering of Japan, Vol.45, No.7, 528-538, 2012
An On-Site Serology Monitoring System Consisting of a Multiplex Microfluidic Chip Fabricated Using the Electrospray Deposition Method for Laboratory Mice
Mice are important laboratory animals used in biological and medical studies. Pathogen infections in laboratory mice are detected using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which requires a large quantity of serum. A low serum requirement is important for more frequent and detailed analyses for infections. A new serology monitoring system with a 16-microchannel microfluidic chip was developed to identify anti-pathogen antibodies in 0.2 mu L of mouse serum; the system indicates infections caused by 6 important murine pathogens: Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium, Sendai virus, mouse hepatitis virus, Mycoplasma pulmonis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, and ectromelia virus. To avoid non-specific adsorption of mouse sera to the microchannel, a polyvinyl alcohol-based blocking method was developed. To equalize the sensitivities of different antigens, the quantities of pathogen antigens deposited were optimized through precision spotting by using the electrospray deposition method. A comparative study with the conventional ELISA method was carried out, and the developed microfluidic chip system was able to simultaneously and specifically detect antibodies against the above mentioned 6 pathogens with good linearity (R-2 = 0.955-0.966) in 12 min with a lower serum quantity (1/13), reaction time (1/16), and antigen quantities (1/19-1/2,800) than the conventional ELISA. Validation using a serum panel (n = 501) also showed good agreement with previous results.
Keywords:Microfluidic Chip;Microchannel;Electrospray Deposition;Chemiluminescence ELISA;Laboratory Mouse