A portable automated chip for simultaneous rapid point-of-care testing of multiple β-agonists

Abstract

Abusive use of β-agonists as feed additives for animals and medication is detrimental to human health and food safety. Conventional assays are restricted to a single type of β-agonists detection and cannot match the multiplexing features to perform automated, high throughput, and rapid quantitative analysis in real samples. In this research, we develop a portable automated chip system (PACS) with highly integrated automated devices in conjunction with portable microfluidic chips to provide simultaneous point-of-care testing of multiple β-agonists in the field, simplifying complex manual methods, shortening assay times, and improving sensitivity. Specifically, silicon film is used as reaction substrates for immobilizing the conjugates of β-agonists to increase the sensitivity of the assay result. Then, the PACS with a chemiluminescence imaging detector is established for automatic high-throughput and sensitive detection of Clenbuterol, Ractopamine, and Salbutamol based on the indirect immunoassay. Newly developed chip with high mixing performance can improve the sensitivity of target determination. Multiplex assays were carried out using the developed system for Clenbuterol, Ractopamine, and Salbutamol with a limit of detection of 54 pg mL^-1,59 pg mL^-1, and 93 pg mL^-1, respectively. Except for sample preparation and coating, the detection in the PACS takes less than 47 min. A satisfactory sample recovery (86.33%-108.12%) was obtained, validating the reliability and practical applicability of this PACS. Meanwhile, the PACS enables sensitive and rapid detection of multiple β-agonists in farms or markets where lacking advanced laboratory facilities.

Keywords: Automation system; Chemiluminescence; Lab-on-chip; Sensitive detection; β-agonists.