The objective of this proposal is to develop a new technological platform for reading out multiple fluorescence droplet based assays on microfluidic chips. The proposed technology could have significant impact in medical diagnostics, environmental surveillance, and bio/chemical warfare defense. The project educational program is well thought out and includes development of a senior design course on the appropriate point of care diagnostics for rural medicine in underserved countries.
The key innovation is amplitude modulated encoding of the fluorescence signal generated by a droplet passing through a microfluidic channel using a distinct micro-patterned (barcoded) mask for each of the channels. This may solve the problem of detecting each droplet individually, which is very time consuming. Instead, all droplets are detected in parallel followed by signal decomposition based on the barcode. This is elegant and innovative. The PI proposes to adopt the device for barcode detection of pathogens in water. This is clearly a problem of very high importance, especially in field conditions in the developing world.
