2nd Generation of Immuno-NASBA LOC Devices for Monitoring Biomarkers in Aquatic Environment

Water environmental problems usually make a global threat to human beings. There has been a growing demand for convenient and sensitive tools to detect the biomarkers in aquatic environment. Here, an improved Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) based on the real-time Immuno-NASBA (nucleic acid sequence-based amplification) assay was designed and studied. The disposable Immuno-NASBA chip is modeled as a 384-well ELISA microplate, which contains 148 reaction chambers inside the channel networks. All valves are designed outside the chip and reusable. The sample and reagent solutions are driven into each chamber in turn, which was controlled by the valve system. Notably, the 2^nd generation Immuno-NASBA chip is still compatible with common microplate readers in a biological laboratory, and has the potential to distinguish multiple environmental biomarkers quantitatively and simultaneously. Quantitative real-time NASBA assays on microplate readers were specially studied as well. The results indicated that the Q-NASBA test can quantify targets precisely and rapidly. This LOC device might be used to evaluate the water quality in the future.