Development of Printed-Circuit-Board Based Industry-Compatible Point-of-Care Biosensing and Bioprocessing Technology with Applications
Hsiu-Yang Tseng
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
htseng@ntust.edu.tw
Abstract
Printed circuit board (PCB) technology is adopted in this work to facilitate the performance and translation of point-of-care (POC) biosensing and bioprocessing devices toward practical products. Key features of the proposed technology are a universal, standardized platform and a set of techniques, featuring integrated functional units, three-dimensional (3D) configurations, convenient device-instrumentation interconnections, and industry-compatible precision manufacturing. The developed technology aims to incorporate and fabricate multiple functional units into a POC device with a compact configuration to perform bio/chemical sensing or processing that requires complex experimental conditions. Three example biosensing and bioprocessing applications has been realized for proof of concept. The first demonstrator is a glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency assay with integrated pH sensing units and temperature control units on boards. The assay is found to determine the G6PD level of a sample within 2 minutes. The second demonstrator is a molecule-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) device. A method is employed in this work to produce arrays of electrochemical biosensors and thermal cyclers using a three-metal PCB technology. The qPCR experiments are performed with 95% PCR efficiency and the detection limit of 59 deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) copies. The third demonstrator is a cell-based on-board cooling rate controlled cryopreservation device. The possibility of meso-scale integration between the platform, sample storage and instrumentation is demonstrated in this work. On-board cooling-rate-controlled cryopreservation devices for use in low-temperature (-80°C) environments were able to maintain a stable cooling rate as low as 1°C per minute. Based on the work presented, the future development plan and possible business models for the proposed technology are envisioned from academic and industrial perspectives to realize POC biosensing and bioprocessing applications toward commercialization.
Short Bio
Dr. Hsiu-Yang Tseng is currently an assistant professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. Dr. Tseng receives his PhD from the Simon Fraser University in 2015, and M.S./B.S. both from the University of Washington in 2010. His research field covers interdisciplinary subjects of biosensing, microfluidics, and heat & mass transfer.