2.1.5 - Designing better biosensors from first principles
- Event
- EUROSENSORS 2026
2026-09-06 - 2026-09-09
Zurich - Band
- Lectures
- Chapter
- Microfluidic Devices, Lab on a Chip, µTAS, Organ on Chip Systems
- Author(s)
- D. Juncker - McGill University,Montréal (CANADA)
- Pages
- 80 - 80
- DOI
- 10.5162/eurosensors2026/2.1.5
- ISBN
- 978-3-910600-12-6
- Price
- free
Abstract
Biosensors and microfluidics have yet to collectively meet necessary and desired benchmarks of high sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility, multiplexing and speed. Notably, scaling in multiplexed sandwich assays faces compounding cross-reactivity [1], while the trade-off between time-to-result and sensitivity remains stifling. Here, we will discuss conceptual frameworks and practical designs that transcend these limitations. Firstly, the colocalization-by-linkage assay on microparticles (CLAMP) enables scalable multiplexing on barcoded microparticles with standard flow cytometry readout [2,3]. Thousands of proteins can be detected in 20 μl with a turnaround of ~3 h only. Secondly, the microfluidic sieve detector (MFSD) rapidly ‘sieves’ hundreds of microliters of sample in 1 min, and detects individual proteins digitally following partitioning and enzymatic amplification [4]. The MFSD enables very rapid (< 5 min) and ultrasensitive (zeptomolar) assays with 7 OM dynamic range and low CVs (<15%) suitable for quantification; it can also detect nucleic acids (isothermally) more sensitively and faster than PCR. While classical mass action and transport theory apply, insight is gained from a proposed stochastic Brownian agent dynamics (SBAD) model with flow. We believe the MFSD sets a new standard for assays, and together with the CLAMP, and with SBAD, highlight the potential for new biosensing approaches and principles.