An ultrasensitive one-pot Cas13a-based microfluidic assay for rapid multiplexed detection of microRNAs.

Aberrant microRNA expression is associated with tumor progression in various organs. Detecting microRNAs as clinical cancer biomarkers can facilitate early cancer diagnosis and monitoring. However, the rapid and accurate quantification of microRNAs from biological samples remains a significant challenge.

3D-printed acoustic metasurface with encapsulated micro-air-bubbles for frequency-selective manipulation.

Acoustic waves provide an effective method for object manipulation in microfluidics, often requiring high-frequency ultrasound in the megahertz range when directly handling microsized objects, which can be costly. Micro-air-bubbles in water offer a solution toward low-cost technologies using low-frequency acoustic waves. Owing to their high compressibility and low elastic modulus, these bubbles can exhibit significant expansion and contraction in response to even kilohertz acoustic waves, leading to resonances with frequencies determined and tuned by air-bubble size.

Portable all-in-one microfluidic system for CRISPR-Cas13a-based fully integrated multiplexed nucleic acid detection.

Point-of-care testing of "sample in, answer out" is urgently needed for communicable diseases. Recently, rapid nucleic acid tests for infectious diseases have been developed for use in resource-limited areas, but they require types of equipment in central laboratories and are poorly integrated. In this work, a portable centrifugal microfluidic testing system is developed, integrated with magnetic bead-based nucleic acid extraction, recombinase-assisted amplification and CRISPR-Cas13a detection.