Thread as a Low-Cost Biodiagnostic Substrate

Abstract

State of the art diagnostics taken for granted in the developed world are prohibitively expensive to countries which are economically challenged. Development of inexpensive diagnostic devices which are affordable to 3^rd world markets is therefore important for improving global public health.

This study investigates an alternative material for use as a microfluidic diagnostic substrate; thread. Thread is strong, flexible, inexpensive and globally available. It has the form of a ready-made channel which means lab-on-a-chip style devices can be fabricated rapidly simply by sewing thread into a support material such as a cheap plastic film. In this work the use of thread is investigated in various biodiagnostic applications, including testing urine for disease biomarkers and for the grouping of blood. An exploration of a low-cost dosing device to be used in place of expensive micropipettes was also performed. The concepts shown in this work illustrate the great potential of thread for use in the emerging field of low-cost diagnostics, where the broad objective is to improve the state of public health in impoverished and remote regions