Integrated Microfluidic Flexible Test Strip for on-Chip Micromixing and Glucose Sensing With Smartphone-Based Chemiluminescence Platform

Abstract

Efficient micromixing and accurate sensing are essential for advancing lab-on-a-chip platforms in biomedical applications. This work introduces a novel microfluidic flexible test strip for on-chip glucose sensing, leveraging a serpentine-shaped microchannel optimized through design and simulation in a software tool to enhance passive mixing of two different fluid samples. The integrated system utilizes a smartphone-based chemiluminescence (CL) detection approach for real-time glucose quantification. A 3D-printed device ensures precise camera alignment for optimal luminescence capture. The polydimethylsiloxane-based microfluidic test strip enables rapid and cost-effective glucose detection, serving as a portable alternative to conventional sensors. Experimental validation demonstrates 97.47% mixing efficiency, ensuring uniform reaction conditions. The system exhibits a strong linear response between 3 and 7 mM, with a 0.3-mM detection limit. CL intensity correlates positively with glucose concentration, following the linear regression, while expected vs. estimated glucose values yield an R² of 0.94, confirming high accuracy. These findings highlight the potential of microfluidic-assisted flexible test strips for point-of-care diagnostics, paving the way for advanced biosensing applications.