Interplay of the Mass Transport and Reaction Kinetics for Lateral Flow Immunoassay Integrated on Lab-on-Disc

Lateral Flow Assays (LFAs) are ubiquitous test platforms due to their affordability and simplicity but are often limited by low sensitivity and lack of flow control. The present work demonstrates the combination of LFAs with centrifugal microfluidic platforms that allows for enhancement of LFAs’ sensitivity via the increase in the dwell time of the analyte at the test line as well as by passing a larger sample volume through the LFA strip. The rate of advancement of the liquid front in the radially positioned NC strip is retarded by the centrifugal force generated on spinning disc; therefore, the dwell time of the liquid front above the test line of LFA is increased. Additionally, integrating a waste reservoir enables passive replenishment of additional sample volume increases total probed volume by approximately 20% (from 50 μL to 60 μL). Comprehensive analysis, including COMSOL multiphysics simulation, was performed to deduce the importance of parameters such as channel height (100–300 μm), disc spin rate (0–2000 rpm), and reaction kinetics (fast vs. slow binding kinetics). The analysis was validated by the experimental observation of the slower-reacting CD79b protein on the test strip. For slower-reacting targets like CD79b, fluorescence intensity increased by ~40% compared to the static LFA. A new merit number, TRc (Transport Reaction Constant), is introduced, which refines the traditional Damköhler number (Da) by including the thickness of the liquid layer (such as the height of the microchannel), which affects the final sensitivity of the assays and is designed to reflect the role channel height plays for surface-based assays (in contrast to the bulk assays).