RAPID MULTIPLEXED ANALYSIS FOR MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTICS


Patrick Doyle
Department of Chemical Engineering

Molecular diagnostics is a multi-billion dollar market that directly impacts the progression in a variety of important medical research; from cancer to genomics. Despite the current use of microarrays in research labs; the technology is expensive, lacks versatility, has reproducibility issues, and is not well suited for applications in global medicine and point-of-care diagnostics. The development of a portable, cheap, simple multiplexing tool that can characterize DNA, RNA, and/or protein targets in a single patient sample would enable bedside diagnostics in clinical settings.

This project will complete proof-of-principle experiments on this new method for multiplexed analysis using multifunctional microparticles created by continuous flow lithography. This method offers many advantages over existing technologies including: high multiplexing capabilities, simple 1-step particle fabrication, and versatility.