posted on 2015-11-04, 00:00authored byMax M. Gong, Reza Nosrati, Maria
C. San Gabriel, Armand Zini, David Sinton
DNA analysis is essential
for diagnosis and monitoring of many
diseases. Conventional DNA testing is generally limited to the laboratory.
Increasing access to relevant technologies can improve patient care
and outcomes in both developed and developing regions. Here, we demonstrate
direct DNA analysis in paper-based devices, uniquely enabled by ion
concentration polarization at the interface of patterned nanoporous
membranes in paper (paper-based ICP). Hepatitis B virus DNA targets
in human serum are simultaneously preconcentrated, separated, and
detected in a single 10 min operation. A limit of detection of 150
copies/mL is achieved without prior viral load amplification, sufficient
for early diagnosis of hepatitis B. We clinically assess the DNA integrity
of sperm cells in raw human semen samples. The percent DNA fragmentation
results from the paper-based ICP devices strongly correlate (R2 = 0.98) with the sperm chromatin structure
assay. In all cases, agreement was 100% with respect to the clinical
decision. Paper-based ICP can provide inexpensive and accessible advanced
molecular diagnostics.