A microfluidic system integrated with optical detection devices for automatic detection of C-reactive protein

C-reactive protein (CRP) is commonly known as a clinical marker, which has been identified as an independent predictor for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke. In this study, a new microfluidic system for automatic measurement of CRP is reported. The entire process including sample pre-treatment, incubation between target CRP and anti-CRP antibody, developing process and detection can be automatically performed on a single chip. In addition, chemiluminescent signal was measured by using a home-made luminometer to quantify the concentration of CRP. When compared to previous works, not only can the new chip perform the entire process by integrating a new micro-injector, but a new CRP-specific DNA aptamer was also used for CRP measurement. Experimental data showed that the developed system can automate the entire process within 30 minutes with a detection limit of 0.0125 mgL^-1, which was superior to previous works.