Issue 12, 2014

A paper microfluidic cartridge for automated staining of malaria parasites with an optically transparent microscopy window

Abstract

A paper microfluidic cartridge for the automated staining of malaria parasites (Plasmodium) with acridine orange prior to microscopy is presented. The cartridge enables simultaneous, sub-minute generation of both thin and thick smears of acridine orange stained parasites. Parasites are stained in a cellulose matrix, after which the parasites are ejected via capillary forces into an optically transparent chamber. The unique slanted design of the chamber ensures that a high percentage of the stained blood will be of the required thickness for a thin smear, without resorting to spacers or other methods that can increase production cost or require tight quality controls. A hydrophobic snorkel facilitates the removal of air bubbles during filling. The cartridge contains both a thin smear region, where a single layer of cells is presented unobstructed, for ease of species identification, and a thick smear region, containing multiple cell layers, for enhanced limit of detection.

Graphical abstract: A paper microfluidic cartridge for automated staining of malaria parasites with an optically transparent microscopy window

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
06 Mar 2014
Accepted
15 Apr 2014
First published
15 Apr 2014
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Lab Chip, 2014,14, 2040-2046

Author version available

A paper microfluidic cartridge for automated staining of malaria parasites with an optically transparent microscopy window

M. P. Horning, C. B. Delahunt, S. R. Singh, S. H. Garing and K. P. Nichols, Lab Chip, 2014, 14, 2040 DOI: 10.1039/C4LC00293H

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