A Finger-Actuated Microfluidic Device for On-Chip Extraction of MicroRNAs for Point-of-Care Detection of Drug-Induced Liver Injury

Drug-Induced Liver Injury (DILI), the leading cause of acute liver failure in the Western world, also contributes significantly to post-market drug withdrawals, posing substantial risks to patient safety and drug development trials [1]. Existing diagnostic methods lack the sensitivity and specificity needed for precise diagnosis and timely intervention [2]. Among the emerging biomarkers, microRNA-122 with its heightened sensitivity, holds immense promise for DILI detection. However, translating its potential into a commercially viable point-of-care (POC) application remains a challenge [3]. Several assays for POC diagnostics based on microRNAs (miRNAs) have been investigated, showing promise to varying extents but lacking straightforward applicability in the POC setting. [4]
This project aims to address this gap by devising a novel, low-cost finger-actuated microfluidic device for efficient on-chip extraction of miRNAs using magnetic beads, eliminating the need for extensive lab equipment and expertise. The device has the potential for integration with simple detection assays like lateral flow or electrochemical detection methods for DILI detection. This integrated device includes a range of innovative features previously reported by our lab, such as the integration of custom-filled reagents blisters and a single-stroke manual pump, upcycled from an e-Vape cap (Elfbar-600), thus offering the possibility of an overall low-cost device [5].
This finger-actuated device, with its user-friendly interface and low cost, presents the possibility of an efficient POC detection method for DILI and a more streamlined drug development process.

[1] J. H. Hoofnagle and E. S. Björnsson, “Drug-Induced Liver Injury — Types and Phenotypes,” New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 381, no. 3, pp. 264–273, Jul. 2019, doi: 10.1056/nejmra1816149.
[2] R. J. Andrade et al., “Drug-induced liver injury,” Nat Rev Dis Primers, vol. 5, no. 1, Dec. 2019, doi: 10.1038/S41572-019-0105-0.
[3] A. D. B. Vliegenthart, C. Berends, C. M. J. Potter, M. Kersaudy-Kerhoas, and J. W. Dear, “MicroRNA-122 can be measured in capillary blood which facilitates point-of-care testing for drug-induced liver injury,” Br J Clin Pharmacol, vol. 83, no. 9, pp. 2027–2033, Sep. 2017, doi: 10.1111/BCP.13282.
[4] V. P. Dave et al., “MicroRNA amplification and detection technologies: opportunities and challenges for point of care diagnostics,” Laboratory Investigation, vol. 99, no. 4, pp. 452–469, Apr. 2019, doi: 10.1038/S41374-018-0143-3/ATTACHMENT/3DF45153-CC9B-4F84-A58D-595A0B55B09E/MMC1.PDF.
[5] E. Haque, A. J. Conde, W. N. Macpherson, S. R. Knight, R. M. Carter, and M. Kersaudy-Kerhoas, “A microfluidic finger-actuated blood lysate preparation device enabled by rapid acoustofluidic mixing”, doi: 10.1101/2022.10.16.512425.