'Lab On a Chip' Made From Paper and Tape

An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at Harvard University have developed a microfluidic device using ordinary paper and tape. Squares of paper are layered and connected with adhesive tape, channeling liquid horizontally and vertically in a very small area. Each square of paper has been treated with photoresist material, which creates channels that funnel liquid into tiny wells containing certain proteins or antibodies. The fluid interacts with that area of the paper and turns the well a certain color. It can, for example, detect varying concentrations of glucose. Lead researcher George Whitesides says such paper 'lab on a chip' tests may lead to a cost-effective, portable, and accurate method for diagnosing diseases in countries lacking reliable health care. The research appears in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science."

Comments

tape and ordinary paper?

[shawb]

In my experience, "ordinary paper" is generally not the same thing as "treated with photoresist material, which creates channels that funnel liquid into tiny wells containing certain proteins or antibodies."

I'd be willing to hazard a guess that it's not the paper or tape that will be making up the bulk of the testing device's price.

Countries that *don't* lack reliable health care?

[mfnickster]

"...such paper "lab on a chip" tests may lead to a cost-effective, portable, and accurate method for diagnosing diseases in countries lacking reliable health care."

How about a cost-effective, portable, and accurate method in countries where we're used to overpaying for the NON-cost-effective methods?

Re:Roadside DNA testing

[MozeeToby]

Or your doctor could test your blood for know cancer proteins each time you go in to visit him. Or inspectors could analyze a water samples in real time in third world countries without the infrastructure to do the testing the normal way. Or any number of other things that that the technology could be used for.

Re:grants are nice

[Anonymous Coward]

Millions in grant money and they came up with "a cost-effective, portable, and accurate method for diagnosing diseases in countries lacking reliable health care."

I don't care if it's made of dogshit and orange peel, if it saves lives then it's money well spent. Just because something's not made of high-tech materials doesn't mean it can't be innovative or useful. In fact low-tech often means cheap and widely available, so it can be a good thing.

Check out the pot it pot refrigerator for a innovative low-tech solution that is changing peoples' lives for the better right now.

Cool but

[EmbeddedJanitor]

Oooh, 3D and all, but is it really any advance over test strips?

The third world has been using test strips fine for the last n years. These 3D paper things don't seem to really be any easier to use or really cheaper to make.

Just because they're made from paper and tape does not mean they can be made in a mud hut. The critical part is treating the carrier with the reactants still requires a clean lab environment.

Re:Countries that *don't* lack reliable health car

[maxume]

Liability, due to bad jury decisions, is responsible for a big chunk of health care costs. So is the AMA, which controls the number of student positions available.

(Doctors *should* be held responsible for mistakes, but the current system doesn't do it right, there is not a reasonable relationship between the severity of the mistakes and the penalties imposed)