A paper microfluidic cartridge for automated staining of malaria parasites with an optically transparent microscopy window

Abstract

A paper microfluidic cartridge for the automated staining of malaria parasites (Plasmodium) with acridine orange prior to microscopy is presented. The cartridge enables simultaneous, sub-minute generation of both thin and thick smears of acridine orange stained parasites. Parasites are stained in a cellulose matrix, after which the parasites are ejected via capillary forces into an optically transparent chamber. The unique slanted design of the chamber ensures that a high percentage of the stained blood will be of the required thickness for a thin smear, without resorting to spacers or other methods that can increase production cost or require tight quality controls. A hydrophobic snorkel facilitates the removal of air bubbles during filling. The cartridge contains both a thin smear region, where a single layer of cells is presented unobstructed, for ease of species identification, and a thick smear region, containing multiple cell layers, for enhanced limit of detection.