Multiplex Biomarker Detection Device

To address the U.S. Army need for a field-portable point-of-care multiplex biomarker detection device to assess the extent and effects of toxic and hazardous chemical exposure during deployments, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop the new Multiplex Biomarker Detection (MBD) device. The MBD device will be composed of a microfluidic chip, miniature pump, and electro-optical readout subsystem integrating a light delivery unit, miniature spectrometer, microprocessor, and liquid crystal display. The MBD system will carry out label-free and reagent-free automated quantitative detection of multiple protein biomarkers in a single run of a 50-microliters blood specimen in 10 min. In Phase I, POC will demonstrate the feasibility of the MBD device by fabricating a prototype and demonstrating its ability to identify ten human cytokines spiked into human blood at sensitivity levels close to those demonstrated with the gold standard methods. In Phase II, POC plans to optimize the MBD design and performance parameters so the system will be able to detect several tens of proteins in blood specified by USACEHR with high sensitivity and specificity in approximately 10 min.