Controlled reagent transport in disposable 2D paper networks.

Recent reports have demonstrated the multi-analyte detection capability of paper networks with multiple outlets per inlet. In this report, we focus on the capabilities of 2D paper networks with multiple inlets per outlet and demonstrate the controlled transport of reagents within paper devices. Specifically, we demonstrate methods of controlling fluid transport using the geometry of the network and dissolvable barriers. Finally, we discuss the implications for higher sensitivity detection using this type of 2D paper network.

Dissolvable fluidic time delays for programming multi-step assays in instrument-free paper diagnostics.

Lateral flow tests (LFTs) are an ingenious format for rapid and easy-to-use diagnostics, but they are fundamentally limited to assay chemistries that can be reduced to a single chemical step. In contrast, most laboratory diagnostic assays rely on multiple timed steps carried out by a human or a machine. Here, we use dissolvable sugar applied to paper to create programmable flow delays and present a paper network topology that uses these time delays to program automated multi-step fluidic protocols. Solutions of sucrose at different concentrations (10-70% of saturation) were added to paper strips and dried to create fluidic time delays spanning minutes to nearly an hour. A simple folding card format employing sugar delays was shown to automate a four-step fluidic process initiated by a single user activation step (folding the card); this device was used to perform a signal-amplified sandwich immunoassay for a diagnostic biomarker for malaria. The cards are capable of automating multi-step assay protocols normally used in laboratories, but in a rapid, low-cost, and easy-to-use format.