Citation: Mengyuan Zhao, Xianming Liu, Haiyue Ye, Dachuan Ma, Yue Hou, Hongyu Dong, Yangyang Long, Ningning Liu, Xiaoxu Wang, Xiaodan Yu, Yahong Chen, Xinmiao Liang, Yao Lu. Digital microfluidics actuated multiplexed heterogeneous immunoassay with enhanced automation and efficiency[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(4): 111788. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111788 shu

Digital microfluidics actuated multiplexed heterogeneous immunoassay with enhanced automation and efficiency

Mengyuan Zhao ^{a, b, c} ,
Xianming Liu ^{b, e, *,} ,
Haiyue Ye ^{b, f} ,
Dachuan Ma ^b ,
Yue Hou ^b ,
Hongyu Dong ^b ,
Yangyang Long ^b ,
Ningning Liu ^b ,
Xiaoxu Wang ^d ,
Xiaodan Yu ^d ,
Yahong Chen ^{a, c, **,} ,
Xinmiao Liang ^{b, e, *,} ,
Yao Lu ^{b, e, *,}

a.
College of Chemistry and Green Catalysis Center, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
b.
Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Natural Medicines, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116024, China
c.
College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Zhoukou Normal University, Zhoukou 466001, China
d.
Affiliated Center Hospital, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China
e.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
f.
Southen University of Technology, Shenzhen 518000, China

^**

liuxianming@dicp.ac.cn

chenyahong@zknu.edu.cn

liangxm@dicp.ac.cn

luyao@dicp.ac.cn

Received Date: 28 November 2024
Revised Date: 11 June 2025
Accepted Date: 4 September 2025
Available Online: 5 September 2025

Figures(5)

Digital microfluidics (DMF) shows great promise in addressing the need for miniaturization and automation in immunoassay detection. Despite recent advances, an automatically operated, multiplexed heterogeneous immunoassay platform powered by DMF remains underdeveloped. Here we present a DMF platform for automated and multiplexed heterogeneous immunoassay detection by coupling spatial barcoding with automatic and uniform droplet dispensing. FluoroPel was selected as a robust hydrophobic reagent for coating the DMF top plate, and it also served as the substrate for the immuno-reaction. Its mechanical robustness was further enhanced with a Cytop CTL-809A adhesive layer under the top hydrophobic layer. Hourglass-shaped electrode patterns ensured consistent and uniform distribution of immunoassay reagents, with volume variation down to 1.0%. The analysis duration was significantly reduced from 75 min to 20 min after a heating module was integrated to elevate the immuno-reaction temperature to 37 °C. Utilizing a compact instrument featuring a multi-droplet manipulation protocol, we successfully implemented fully operated, multi-sample, multiplexed immunoassays using recombinant proteins on cell culture supernatants on the DMF platform. This innovative platform significantly enhances the efficiency, reliability, and degree of automation of DMF-actuated multiplexed heterogeneous immunoassays, potentially providing a viable solution for field deployment and multi-sample parallel diagnosis.
- Digital microfluidics,
- Mulitpled immunoassay,
- Automation,
- Multiplexed,
- FluoroPel
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沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院沈阳 110142