Microfluidic Measurements of Protein Biomarkers from Exhaled Breath

Microfluidic Measurements of Protein Biomarkers from Exhaled Breath 

Bailey McCarthy Riley, Cassandra L. Ward, and Thomas H. Linz

Wayne State University 

Poster PDF

Abstract: 

There is a critical need for non-invasive clinical testing for diseases that require frequent patient monitoring. Breath is an attractive sample matrix because it can be repeatedly collected from individuals without discomfort. Significant progress has been made to screen for small molecule diagnostic biomarkers in breath, but there remains a deficit in technology to measure exhaled macromolecules as well. Our group has developed a microfluidic platform to quantify proteins and nucleic acids from exhaled breath condensate. A microwell array platform was integrated with digital PCR detection to measure proteins and nucleic acids in parallel. This system was then applied to quantify three cytokine biomarkers from exhaled breath within a single multiplexed assay. We envision that complementary measurements of biological macromolecules and volatile organic compounds position exhaled breath as the future medium for non-invasive clinical testing.