Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have resulted in an estimated death toll of nearly 17 million yearly. Early detection of CVDs may reduce the risk of sudden deaths. The current technologies based on antigen-antibody interactions have limitations in point-of-care (POC) applications. This study therefore reports an aptamer magnetic bead-based assay which is relatively sensitive and highly selective on a new integrated microfluidic platform for simultaneous analysis of up to six untreated clinical serum samples utilizing less than a volume of 10 µL from each patient. Experimental results showed that one of the important biomarkers for CVDs, cardiac troponin I, could be detected on the microfluidic platform in less than 35 minutes with a limit of detection of 0.01 ng/mL. It may provide a promising device for POC applications.