Projects

Highly sensitive analysis is required for the point of care (PoC) to enable rapid diagnostics and timely treatment. PoC tests (immuno- and molecular diagnostic) are typically based on affinity reactions that separate the analyte from the sample matrix for subsequent quantification. To keep the analysis time small and reach high sensitivity, the transport of analyte to the functionalized solid phase and the removal of non-affine substances has to be very efficient. However, the state of the art does not provide fundamental knowledge of transport phenomena in centrifugal microfluidics. The goal of this project is to establish fundamental knowledge of centrifugal microfluidic transport phenomena and analyte transport for affinity reactions. The impact of varying ambient conditions and sample matrixes on binding efficiency and speed should be evaluated. Based on this knowledge highly sensitive PoC tests will be automated with centrifugal microfluidics.