The assay on TiO2 NF integrated disc is a rapid, inexpensive and convenient technique for the ultrasensitive detection of low abundant proteins present in very low volume of blood. This technique has the advantage of using small sample volumes (10 μl) and is amenable for analysis of multiple samples simultaneously. This provides a great potential as a multiplexing immunoassay device. The device has the added advantage that it does not require sample pretreatment steps like plasma separation, which are required in conventional ELISAs. Moreover, the device can perform whole immunoassay procedures (e.g., mixing, washing, binding etc.) automatically due to pre-designed chambers, channels, and valves. Additionally, using commercialized disc fabrication methods (e.g., injection molding, UV/ultrasonic/thermal bonding) instead of milling and manual assembly using adhesives, the whole procedure from device fabrication to analysis can be automated.
Also, the transfer-printing method presented here shows a simple and easy transfer of electrospun NF from donor to target substrate by utilizing a thin adhesive PDMS layer. In general, the TiO2 NFs obtained after the calcination process are brittle and easily peel off from the grounded substrate due to weak adhesion.25 Due to its characteristic brittleness, integrating the TiO2 NF mats with other devices is difficult. To solve this, many methods have been reported. For example, hot-press26 and solvent-vapor27 techniques showed the enhancement of the adhesion between TiO2 NFs mat and target surface before calcination process. Even though these methods increased the adhesion, the TiO2 NF mats were not intact due to the high mechanical pressure or the solvent applied during the respective techniques. Furthermore, because of the calcination step, integration of the TiO2 NF mats using these methods can be applied only for limited target surfaces.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first technique to show the transfer-printing of NF mats on to a device made of thermoplastics, retaining the novel properties of NFs even after the transfer. For better performance of the device, fabrication of high-quality NFs and optimization of pre-curing conditions are desired. As mentioned in the protocol, the time required for pre-curing may vary depending on the environmental conditions; therefore, pre-curing conditions are to be optimized by measuring the adhesion force using a tack-test.
Furthermore, the protocol presented here, provides skillful guides for the fully automated ELISA process on a disc. The protocol introduces not only fabrication of the disc but also the automation of all the processes required for ELISA, including separation of whole blood, metering, mixing, washing and detection. Each step is optimized with spin speed, mixing frequency, and operation time. Based on this operation guide, the reagents loaded on a disc can be transferred utilizing a single motor. Since the device performed excellent detection sensitivity with very low volume of blood, it provides a great potential for diagnostic applications by screening biomarkers at an early stage of disease. The device would be enabled to detect any biomarker depending on the availability of its specific antibodies.
Although the device with TiO2 NF mats achieved highly enhanced sensitivity due to the large surface area of the mats, one of the remaining challenge of this technique could be in the mass production of uniform NF mats. Because the sensitivity of the ELISA is strongly affected by the surface area of the nanofiber mat, it is critical to achieve not only a high surface area but also a reproducible and uniform surface area in different batches of mass production.
In conclusion, we have shown a simple method to integrate a brittle NF mat into a functional device for ultrasensitive protein detection. The advantages of this method are as follows: 1) previously electrospun TiO2 NFs could be prepared only on conductive and thermally stable surfaces; here, we have shown that they can be transferred onto any substrate including non-conductive and plastic materials; 2) the TiO2 NF mats can withstand pressure and remain stable during washing steps due to the high adhesion force of PDMS layer; 3) it provides a relatively higher surface area for bioassays; and 4) the antibodies can be covalently attached to the TiO2 NFs due to the intact surface properties on NFs. This technique has great potential to be used for integration of nanofibrous materials into devices for diverse applications.