Abstract
Abstract Diabetes mellitus (DM), one of the most common metabolic diseases worldwide, is the leading cause of blindness, renal failure and non-traumatic foot/leg amputations. Blood glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), which reflects an average glucose concentration over past three months, is an important indicator for the diagnosis, monitoring and risk assessment of diabetes. Compared to another common indicator, i.e. blood glucose, the measurement of HbA1c has less biological variations and does not need fasting. In this study, a new integrated microfluidic system using a novel two-aptamer assayc apable of rapid and accurate measurement of HbA1c in blood was developed. It can automate the entire diagnostic process of the two-aptamer assay on a magnetic bead which exhibits high affinity and specificity to HbA1c. Compared to our previous work using a two-antibody assay to measure HbA1c, the new microflui dicsystem is faster, more cost-effective, more sensitive and more reliable since DNA-based aptamers are more environmentally stable and cheaper when compared to antibodies. Furthermore, the microfluidic system has been extended to parallel processing such that multiple assays can be realized on a single chip. The entire process could be reduced to 30 minuites and the measurement of HbA1c and Hb could be performed simultaneously on a single chip. It can serve as a quick and easy means for diabetes patients to carry out point-of-care diagnosis whenever and wherever possible. Combining the advantages of microfluidics and aptamers, this developed microfluidic system may be promising for providing a home-care device for diabetes patients in the near future. Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus, Aptamer, Microfluidics, HbA1c