Next Generation Cardiac Diagnostics Nano-Bio-Chip Sensors for Oral Fluid Testing

In US about 500,000 people suffer recurrent coronary events each year. If it were plausible and practical to predict, in an efficient manner, the likelihood of recurrent acute coronary syndromes or death, and to more accurately diagnose a heart attack, it would be possible in many cases to prevent and thus alter otherwise adverse outcomes. Unfortunately, blood-based tests are not viable for frequent monitoring of such patients. We report here development of lab-on-a-chip (LOC) sensor systems that may show utility for noninvasive oral fluid testing of cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients.

Objective: Our goal is to develop fully integrated, highly sensitive LOC diagnostics systems that can be used in connection with oral fluid samples for CVD patients.

Methods: New microfabrication methods are combined here to develop a suite of customized nano-bio-chips that can operate at point-of-need. In spite of ultra-small size and inexpensive cost, these units exhibit excellent performance characteristics and compare favorably to their modern, expensive macroscopic counterparts. These systems can be used to create integrated separation, collection and detection ensembles that serve as basis for eliminating their laboratory-confined counterparts.

Results: Studies have been completed to explore full integration of whole saliva sample collection, processing, analyte detection and quantitation using LOC systems. Here 3 collection modalities have been explored along with recovery of 19 important biomarkers with known associations in serum with CVD. Through study of 50 matched serum and saliva samples, selection of key biomarkers in saliva has now been completed. Twelve such biomarkers are adapted to LOC platform and explored for clinical samples of control and CVD patients.

Conclusions: Integrated LOC systems have been developed using whole saliva samples in context of multiplexed testing of CVD patients and controls.

Supported by National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Division of NIH (#U01 DE017793-01).