SMILE Platform: An Innovative Microfluidic Approach for On-Chip Sample Manipulation and Analysis in Oral Cancer Diagnosis

Oral cancer belongs to the group of head and neck cancers, and, despite its large diffusion, it suffers from low consideration in terms of prevention and early diagnosis. The main objective of the SMILE platform is the development of a low-cost device for oral cancer early screening with features of high sensitivity, specificity, and ease of use, with the aim of reaching a large audience of possible users and realizing real prevention of the disease. To achieve this goal, we realized two microfluidic devices exploiting low-cost materials and processes. They can be used in combination or alone to obtain on-chip sample preparation and/or detection of circulating tumor cells, selected as biomarkers of oral cancer. The realized devices are completely transparent with plug-and-play features, obtained thanks to a highly customized architecture which enables users to easily use them, with potential for a common use among physicians or dentists with minimal training.

Streamlined digital bioassays with a 3D printed sample changer

Off-chip sample changer device increase the sample throughput of droplet digital bioassays.

An inkjet-printed polysaccharide matrix for on-chip sample preparation in point-of-care cell counting chambers

Gellan/trehalose layers were tailored to optimize on-chip storage and release of antibodies in a simple point-of-care CD4 counting chip with excellent agreement with standard methods.

Development of an on-chip sample injection system with a 6-port valve incorporated in a microchip

We demonstrate on-chip sample injection using a 6-port valve incorporated in a microchip.