Lab-on-chip device promises HIV diagnosis in 10 minutes

The ‘lab-on-chip’ device is entirely self-powered, using pressure differences and gravity to separate components of a small blood sample.

Microfluidic technologies have been touted for some time, and while small devices have been demonstrated, they typically rely on large and expensive external equipment such as compressors and various electronic components.

This essentially renders them unsuitable for applicatioons such as point-of-care diagnostics and field work in developing nations.

Aiming for a simpler approach, a team from Dublin City University and University of California, Berkeley designed a device incorporating micro-scale channels and trenches powered by a process called degas-driven flow.

After manufacture, all air is removed from the device – creating an internal vacuum – and it is then sealed and stored. When ready for use the seal is ripped of and a blood sample is placed in the end wells, which creates a pressure gradient forcing the blood horizontally across the channels.

Crucially, along the bottom of the channels are trenches, which collect the denser red blood cells as they sink along their journey through the channels.