Development Of Rapid Analysis System Based On Microwave-Accelerated Bioassay Technique For Point-Of-Care Applications
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Date
2015
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Department
Chemistry
Program
Doctor of Philosophy
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This item is made available by Morgan State University for personal, educational, and research purposes in accordance with Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Other uses may require permission from the copyright owner.
Abstract
The release of biological and chemical agents into water resources, air, and soil, and even in remote areas causes loss of human life, significant damage to the economy and long term effects on environment and health. Biosensors are useful tools for the assessment and monitoring of environmental and health disasters caused by biological and chemical attacks, accidental release of harmful agents into water shed and food chain. The field of point-of-care systems has emerged rapidly in the last decade with the advent of portable medical devices and biosensors. However, these systems either lack sensitivity, speed to end point are costly. Thus, there are substantial research and development opportunities in this field. In this regard, microwave energy coupled with plasmonic nanoparticles has been successfully used to enhance the sensitivity and signal output from biological assays through a surface plasmon effect. This method is referred to as microwave-accelerated bioassays (MAB) and employs commercially available high throughput screening (HTS) plates or glass microscope slides, which are not designed for microwave heating that results in heterogeneous temperature rise across sample wells. In this research, we developed a new circular bioassay platform to be used with a small monomode microwave cavity powered by a 100 watt external generator. With multiple wells on the new platform, we can test for numerous analytes of interest simultaneously. Our new microwave cavity, with an external microwave generator, is smaller in size compared to conventional kitchen microwave ovens, and is portable and easy to operate. It can be powered by multiple sources, such as low power USB ports or a 12V/150 W power port in a vehicle for on-site sample collection and analysis. Our new biosensing system combines the sensitivity of laboratory based systems and speed of currently available point-of-care systems to generate data within few minutes. This system can be used for various applications such as environmental sensing at water management plants, ecosystem monitoring, and point-of-care diagnostic systems for health care emergencies and for on-field use by military forces.