Numerous effective techniques had been developed for infectious disease diagnosis or heavy metal ions detection in water samples. However, these methods are either time-consuming, costly, or require sophisticated instruments and technicians. Here we present a portable microfluidic device that can perform immunoassay for infectious disease diagnosis or detect heavy metal ions in water samples. The device is composed of two major components: nanomaterials modified paper-based detection platform and semi-automated flow manipulator.

Here we introduce a portable microfluidic device that can perform immunoassay for infectious disease diagnosis or detect heavy metal ions in water samples. A reusable spring-containing syringe-like device is used to hold a disposable detection pad that is modified with functional nanomaterials for water quality monitoring or antibodies for disease diagnosis. This disposable detection pad that can be modified with functional nanomaterials for directly water quality monitoring, or nanomaterial-labeled antibodies for disease diagnosis.  By simply turning the syringe plunger to release its movement, samples can be actuated to flow through the paper without manual actuation. Moreover, a flow regulator is linked to the syringe outlet to provide a steady flow rate.

We expect these techniques can be widely used for the applications of precision medicine and environmental water quality monitoring.