Open-source, 3D-printed Peristaltic Pumps for Small Volume Point-of-Care Liquid Handling

3D-printed laboratory devices can enable ambitious research purposes even at a low-budget level. To follow this trend, here we describe the construction, calibration, and usage of the FINDUS (Fully Integrable Noncommercial Dispensing Utility System). We report the successful 3D printing and assembly of a liquid-handling workstation for less than $400. Using this setup, we achieve reliable and flexible liquid-dispensing automation with relative pipetting errors of less than 0.3%. We show our system is well suited for several showcase applications from both the biology and chemistry fields. In support of the open-source spirit, we make all 3D models, assembly instructions, and source code available for free download, rebuild, and modification.

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A Portable 3D-Printed Platform for Point-of-Care Diagnosis of Clostridium Difficile Infection and Malaria

10.26434/chemrxiv.7640414 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Soichiro Tsuda ◽

Lewis A. Fraser ◽

Salah Sharabi ◽

Mohammed Hezwani ◽

Andrew Kinghorn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clostridium Difficile ◽

3D Printing ◽

Open Source ◽

Clostridium Difficile Infection ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Low Cost ◽

Clinical Applications ◽

Printing Technology ◽

3D Printing Technology ◽

3D Printed

Here, we integrate 3D-printing technology with low-cost open source electronics to develop a portable diagnostic platform suitable for a wide variety of diagnostic and sensing assays. We demonstrate two different clinical applications in the diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection and malaria.

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A Portable 3D-Printed Platform for Point-of-Care Diagnosis of Clostridium Difficile Infection and Malaria

10.26434/chemrxiv.7640414.v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Soichiro Tsuda ◽

Lewis A. Fraser ◽

Salah Sharabi ◽

Mohammed Hezwani ◽

Andrew Kinghorn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clostridium Difficile ◽

3D Printing ◽

Open Source ◽

Clostridium Difficile Infection ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Low Cost ◽

Clinical Applications ◽

Printing Technology ◽

3D Printing Technology ◽

3D Printed

Here, we integrate 3D-printing technology with low-cost open source electronics to develop a portable diagnostic platform suitable for a wide variety of diagnostic and sensing assays. We demonstrate two different clinical applications in the diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection and malaria.

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Antibody Screening Results for Anti-Nucleocapsid Antibodies Towards the Development of a SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein Antigen Detecting Lateral Flow Assay

10.26434/chemrxiv.12709538 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

David Cate ◽

Helen Hsieh ◽

Veronika Glukhova ◽

Joshua D Bishop ◽

H Gleda Hermansky ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nucleocapsid Protein ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Lateral Flow ◽

Screening Methods ◽

Antibody Screening ◽

Liquid Handling ◽

Large Numbers ◽

Accurate Performance ◽

Further Development ◽

Assay Conditions

The global COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent demand for large numbers of inexpensive, accurate, rapid, point-of-care diagnostic tests. Analyte-based assays are suitably inexpensive and can be rapidly mass-produced, but for sufficiently accurate performance they require highly optimized antibodies and assay conditions. We used an automated liquid handling system, customized to handle arrays of lateral flow immunoassay (LFA) tests in a high-throughput screen, to identify anti-nucleocapsid antibodies that will perform optimally in an LFA. We tested 1021 anti-nucleocapsid antibody pairs as LFA capture and detection reagents with the goal of highlighting pairs that have the greatest affinity for unique epitopes of the nucleocapsid protein of SARS-CoV-2 within the LFA format. In contrast to traditional antibody screening methods (e.g., ELISA, bio-layer interferometry), the method described here integrates real-time reaction kinetics with transport in, and immobilization directly onto, nitrocellulose. We have identified several candidate antibody pairs that are suitable for further development of an LFA for SARS-CoV-2.

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3D Printed Smart Silk Wearable Sensors

The Analyst ◽

10.1039/d0an02292f ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tianshu Chu ◽

Huili Wang ◽

Yumeng Qiu ◽

Haoxi Luo ◽

Bingfang He ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Point Of Care ◽

Wearable Sensors ◽

Point Of Care Testing ◽

Biochemical Sensing ◽

3D Printed ◽

Physiological And Biochemical

Wearable sensors play a key role in point-of-care testing (POCT) for its flexible and integration capability on sensitive physiological and biochemical sensing. Here, we present a multifunction wearable silk patch...

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A Smartphone Camera Colorimetric Assay of Acetylcholinesterase and Butyrylcholinesterase Activity

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21051796 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (5) ◽

pp. 1796

Author(s):

Miroslav Pohanka ◽

Jitka Zakova

Keyword(s):

Limit Of Detection ◽

Colorimetric Assay ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Specific Treatment ◽

Point Of Care Testing ◽

Analytical Instruments ◽

Colorimetric Test ◽

3D Printed ◽

Butyrylcholinesterase Activity ◽

Additional Education

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) can serve as biochemical markers of various pathologies like liver disfunction and poisonings by nerve agents. Ellman’s assay is the standard spectrophotometric method to measure cholinesterase activity in clinical laboratories. The authors present a new colorimetric test to assess AChE and BChE activity in biological samples using chromogenic reagents, treated 3D-printed measuring pads and a smartphone camera as a signal detector. Multiwell pads treated with reagent substrates 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenyl acetate, indoxylacetate, ethoxyresorufin and methoxyresorufin were prepared and tested for AChE and BChE. In the experiments, 3D-printed pads containing indoxylacetate as a chromogenic substrate were optimal for analytical purposes. The best results were achieved using the red (R) channel, where the limit of detection was 4.05 µkat/mL for BChE and 4.38 µkat/mL for AChE using a 40 µL sample and a 60 min assay. The major advantage of this method is its overall simplicity, as samples are applied directly without any specific treatment or added reagents. The assay was also validated to the standard Ellman’s assay using human plasma samples. In conclusion, this smartphone camera-based colorimetric assay appears to have practical applicability and to be a suitable method for point-of-care testing because it does not require specific manipulation, additional education of staff or use of sophisticated analytical instruments.

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3D Printed Imaging Platform for Portable Cell Counting

The Analyst ◽

10.1039/d1an00778e ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Diwakar M. Awate ◽

Cicero C. Pola ◽

Erica Shumaker ◽

Carmen L Gomes ◽

Jaime Javier Juarez

Keyword(s):

3D Printing ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Cell Counting ◽

Biomedical Sciences ◽

Widespread Application ◽

Resource Limited ◽

Cost Effective Approach ◽

3D Printed

Despite having widespread application in the biomedical sciences, flow cytometers have several limitations that prevent their application to point-of-care (POC) diagnostics in resource-limited environments. 3D printing provides a cost-effective approach...

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Induction of Neural Plasticity Using a Low-Cost Open Source Brain-Computer Interface and a 3D-Printed Wrist Exoskeleton

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21020572 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 572

Author(s):

Mads Jochumsen ◽

Taha Al Muhammadee Janjua ◽

Juan Carlos Arceo ◽

Jimmy Lauber ◽

Emilie Simoneau Buessinger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Open Source ◽

Neural Plasticity ◽

Motor Evoked Potentials ◽

Low Cost ◽

True Positive Rate ◽

Positive Rate ◽

3D Printed ◽

Major Factors ◽

And Control ◽

Bci System

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have been proven to be useful for stroke rehabilitation, but there are a number of factors that impede the use of this technology in rehabilitation clinics and in home-use, the major factors including the usability and costs of the BCI system. The aims of this study were to develop a cheap 3D-printed wrist exoskeleton that can be controlled by a cheap open source BCI (OpenViBE), and to determine if training with such a setup could induce neural plasticity. Eleven healthy volunteers imagined wrist extensions, which were detected from single-trial electroencephalography (EEG), and in response to this, the wrist exoskeleton replicated the intended movement. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited using transcranial magnetic stimulation were measured before, immediately after, and 30 min after BCI training with the exoskeleton. The BCI system had a true positive rate of 86 ± 12% with 1.20 ± 0.57 false detections per minute. Compared to the measurement before the BCI training, the MEPs increased by 35 ± 60% immediately after and 67 ± 60% 30 min after the BCI training. There was no association between the BCI performance and the induction of plasticity. In conclusion, it is possible to detect imaginary movements using an open-source BCI setup and control a cheap 3D-printed exoskeleton that when combined with the BCI can induce neural plasticity. These findings may promote the availability of BCI technology for rehabilitation clinics and home-use. However, the usability must be improved, and further tests are needed with stroke patients.

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