Centrifugal LabTube platform for fully automated DNA purification and LAMP amplification based on an integrated, low-cost heating system.

This paper introduces a disposable battery-driven heating system for loop-mediated isothermal DNA amplification (LAMP) inside a centrifugally-driven DNA purification platform (LabTube). We demonstrate LabTube-based fully automated DNA purification of as low as 100 cell-equivalents of verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) in water, milk and apple juice in a laboratory centrifuge, followed by integrated and automated LAMP amplification with a reduction of hands-on time from 45 to 1 min. The heating system consists of two parallel SMD thick film resistors and a NTC as heating and temperature sensing elements. They are driven by a 3 V battery and controlled by a microcontroller. The LAMP reagents are stored in the elution chamber and the amplification starts immediately after the eluate is purged into the chamber. The LabTube, including a microcontroller-based heating system, demonstrates contamination-free and automated sample-to-answer nucleic acid testing within a laboratory centrifuge. The heating system can be easily parallelized within one LabTube and it is deployable for a variety of heating and electrical applications.

A versatile-deployable bacterial detection system for food and environmental safety based on LabTube-automated DNA purification, LabReader-integrated amplification, readout and analysis.

Contamination of foods is a public health hazard that episodically causes thousands of deaths and sickens millions worldwide. To ensure food safety and quality, rapid, low-cost and easy-to-use detection methods are desirable. Here, the LabSystem is introduced for integrated, automated DNA purification, amplification and detection. It consists of a disposable, centrifugally driven DNA purification platform (LabTube) and a low-cost UV/vis-reader (LabReader). For demonstration of the LabSystem in the context of food safety, purification of Escherichia coli (non-pathogenic E. coli and pathogenic verotoxin-producing E. coli (VTEC)) in water and milk and the product-spoiler Alicyclobacillus acidoterrestris (A. acidoterrestris) in apple juice was integrated and optimized in the LabTube. Inside the LabReader, the purified DNA was amplified, readout and analyzed using both qualitative isothermal loop-mediated DNA amplification (LAMP) and quantitative real-time PCR. For the LAMP-LabSystem, the combined detection limits for purification and amplification of externally lysed VTEC and A. acidoterrestris are 10(2)-10(3) cell-equivalents. In the PCR-LabSystem for E. coli cells, the quantification limit is 10(2) cell-equivalents including LabTube-integrated lysis. The demonstrated LabSystem only requires a laboratory centrifuge (to operate the disposable, fully closed LabTube) and a low-cost LabReader for DNA amplification, readout and analysis. Compared with commercial DNA amplification devices, the LabReader improves sensitivity and specificity by the simultaneous readout of four wavelengths and the continuous readout during temperature cycling. The use of a detachable eluate tube as an interface affords semi-automation of the LabSystem, which does not require specialized training. It reduces the hands-on time from about 50 to 3 min with only two handling steps: sample input and transfer of the detachable detection tube.

Profiling lymphocyte interactions at the single-cell level by microfluidic cell pairing.

Establishing a successful immune response requires cell-cell interactions, where the nature of antigen presentation dictates functional outcomes. Methods to study these interactions, however, suffer from limited throughput and a lack of control over cell pairing. Here we describe a microfluidic platform that achieves high-throughput deterministic pairing of lymphocytes with a defined contact time, thereby allowing accurate assessment of early activation events for each pair in controlled microenvironments. More importantly, the platform allows the capture of dynamic processes and static parameters from both partners simultaneously, thus enabling pairwise-correlated multiparametric profiling of lymphocyte interactions over hundreds of pairs in a single experiment. Using our platform, we characterized early activation dynamics of CD8 T cells (OT-1 and TRP1 transnuclear (TN)) and investigated the extent of heterogeneity in T-cell activation and the correlation of multiple readouts. The results establish our platform as a promising tool for quantitative investigation of lymphocyte interactions.

Rapid and robust detection methods for poison and microbial contamination.

Real-time on-site monitoring of analytes is currently in high demand for food contamination, water, medicines, and ingestible household products that were never tested appropriately. Here we introduce chemical methods for the rapid quantification of a wide range of chemical and microbial contaminations using a simple instrument. Within the testing procedure, we used a multichannel, multisample, UV-vis spectrophotometer/fluorometer that employs two frequencies of light simultaneously to interrogate the sample. We present new enzyme- and dye-based methods to detect (di)ethylene glycol in consumables above 0.1 wt % without interference and alcohols above 1 ppb. Using DNA intercalating dyes, we can detect a range of pathogens ( E. coli , Salmonella , V. Cholera, and a model for Malaria) in water, foods, and blood without background signal. We achieved universal scaling independent of pathogen size above 10(4) CFU/mL by taking advantage of the simultaneous measurement at multiple wavelengths. We can detect contaminants directly, without separation, purification, concentration, or incubation. Our chemistry is stable to ± 1% for >3 weeks without refrigeration, and measurements require <5 min.