Development of microfluidic passive flow assays for point-of-care quantification of chronic kidney disease biomarkers in urine and serum

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorTomsa, Dumitru
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeSalimi, Elham (Electrical and Computer Engineering)
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeRigatto, Claudio (Internal Medicine)
dc.contributor.supervisorLin, Francis
dc.date.accessioned2025-06-09T17:44:23Z
dc.date.available2025-06-09T17:44:23Z
dc.date.issued2025-06-01
dc.date.submitted2025-06-01T23:49:32Zen_US
dc.date.submitted2025-06-09T15:45:00Zen_US
dc.degree.disciplineBiomedical Engineering
dc.degree.levelMaster of Science (M.Sc.)
dc.description.abstractChronic kidney disease (CKD) significantly affects people's health and life quality and presents a high economic burden worldwide. However, the existing diagnostic test methods remain complicated and cost-prohibitive. This research addresses critical gaps in CKD diagnostics through the development of innovative microfluidic platforms for point-of-care (PoC) testing. We present complementary approaches targeting key CKD biomarkers: a passive flow microreactor for urinary creatinine measurement (uCR-Chip) and microfluidic devices for serum cystatin C (CYS-C) quantification. The uCR-Chip employs a 2-phase pressure compensation technique, optimized observation window (OW), and channel network design to control fluidic mixing and chemical reactions precisely. A stable signal is achieved within 7 minutes, with the dynamic range up to 40 mM and a lower limit of detection of 0.521 mM. This performance meets clinical precision requirements and demonstrates acceptable recovery rates in artificial urine matrices, particularly at lower creatinine concentrations, making it highly amenable to integration with previously developed microfluidic urine albumin assays. For CYS-C, recommended as a superior estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) biomarker due to minimal influence from non-filtration factors like muscle mass, we developed a PDMS-based immunoturbidity chip enabling side-scattering optical measurement. We demonstrated that the CYS-C chip meets the clinical requirements for detection range and limits while integrated into a custom-developed reader for PoC applications. Validation studies using CKD patient samples demonstrated comparable agreement levels with the traditional well plate-based immunoturbidity assay test results, determining eGFR range across clinically relevant group criteria. Together, these microfluidic platforms offer viable solutions for decentralized CKD assessment, providing potential technology for measuring various disease biomarkers with advantages in accessibility, speed, and precision compared to existing clinical methods.
dc.description.noteOctober 2025
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1993/39105
dc.language.isoeng
dc.subjectChronic kidney disease
dc.subjectCKD
dc.subjectCreatinine
dc.subjectCystatin C
dc.subjectMicrofluidics
dc.subjectChip
dc.subjectPoint of Care
dc.subjectPOC
dc.titleDevelopment of microfluidic passive flow assays for point-of-care quantification of chronic kidney disease biomarkers in urine and serum
local.subject.manitobano
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Thesis(Dumitru Tomsa) .pdf
Size:
4.34 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
770 B
Format:
Item-specific license agreed to upon submission
Description:
Download
Collections
FGS - Electronic Theses and Practica