Rapid quantitative assays for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and hemoglobin combined on a capillary-driven microfluidic chip

Lab Chip. 2021 Sep 14;21(18):3573-3582. doi: 10.1039/d1lc00354b.

Abstract

Rapid tests for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) are extremely important for determining G6PD deficiency, a widespread metabolic disorder which triggers hemolytic anemia in response to primaquine and tafenoquine medication, the most effective drugs for the radical cure of malaria caused by Plasmodium parasites. Current point-of-care diagnostic devices for G6PD are either qualitative, do not normalize G6PD activity to the hemoglobin concentration, or are very expensive. In this work we developed a capillary-driven microfluidic chip to perform a quantitative G6PD test and a hemoglobin measurement within 2 minutes and using less than 2 μL of sample. We used a powerful microfluidic module to integrate and resuspend locally the reagents needed for the G6PD assay and controls. We also developed a theoretical model that successfully predicts the enzymatic reactions on-chip, guides on-chip reagent spotting and allows efficient integration of multiple assays in miniaturized formats with only a few nanograms of reagents.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antimalarials*
  • Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase*
  • Hemoglobins
  • Microfluidics
  • Primaquine

Substances

  • Antimalarials
  • Hemoglobins
  • Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase
  • Primaquine