Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40351019›Full record

ArticleLab on a chip2025

A compartmentalization-free microfluidic digital assay for detecting picogram levels of protein analytes.

Nguyen H Le, N Sathishkumar, Alinaghi Salari, Ryan Manning, Raymond E Meyer, Cheuk W Kan, Alexander D Wiener, Martin A Rossotti, Sheldon Decombe, Richard P S de Campos and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Lab on a chip, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Ultrasensitive Enzyme-Free Detection of Proteins on Magnetic Beads.Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Nguyen H LeDepartment of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada. aaron.wheeler@utoronto.ca.
N SathishkumarDepartment of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada. aaron.wheeler@utoronto.ca.ORCID 0000-0003-1174-2256
Alinaghi SalariDepartment of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada. aaron.wheeler@utoronto.ca.ORCID 0000-0003-2253-0267
Ryan ManningQuanterix Corporation, 900 Middlesex Turnpike, Billerica, MA 01821, USA.
Raymond E MeyerQuanterix Corporation, 900 Middlesex Turnpike, Billerica, MA 01821, USA.
Cheuk W KanQuanterix Corporation, 900 Middlesex Turnpike, Billerica, MA 01821, USA.
Alexander D WienerQuanterix Corporation, 900 Middlesex Turnpike, Billerica, MA 01821, USA.
Martin A RossottiHuman Health Therapeutics Research Centre, Life Sciences Division, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6, Canada.
Sheldon DecombeDepartment of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada. aaron.wheeler@utoronto.ca.
Richard P S de CamposDepartment of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada. aaron.wheeler@utoronto.ca.
M Dean ChamberlainDepartment of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada. aaron.wheeler@utoronto.ca.
Jamshid TanhaHuman Health Therapeutics Research Centre, Life Sciences Division, National Research Council Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6, Canada.
Nira R PollockDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
David C DuffyQuanterix Corporation, 900 Middlesex Turnpike, Billerica, MA 01821, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1971-2270
Aaron R WheelerDepartment of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3H6, Canada. aaron.wheeler@utoronto.ca.ORCID 0000-0001-5230-7475

Funding

A point-of-care device using Single Molecule Array (Simoa) to measure viral antigens in nasal swabs, saliva, and bloodU01EB033305 · NIBIB · QUANTERIX CORPORATION · PI DUFFY, DAVID C, POLLOCK, NIRA · 2022 to 2022
$1.7M
NIBIB NIH HHS U01 EB033305
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Digitalizing the signals generated from single protein molecules has significantly improved the sensitivity of immunoassays compared to traditional analog "bulk" measurements. The single molecule array (Simoa) technology, for instance, leverages counting of single molecules on magnetic beads to detect low-abundance proteins in biofluids. While existing digital detection platforms are ultra-sensitive, they typically require compartmentalization and complex and bulky analysis equipment, limiting their applicability in resource-limited settings. Here, we introduce a compartmentalization-free digital detection technique, that allows for much more straightforward detection analysis. We applied this method to a model assay for detecting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and compared its performance to alternative techniques. We optimized the new method for digital microfluidics and present preliminary results using an automated system to analyze undiluted human saliva samples, with imaging performed on a portable optical system. We propose that future iterations of the scheme introduced here have the potential to enable a wide range of applications beyond the laboratory.

Indexed as

Microfluidic Analytical TechniquesSARS-CoV-2Spike Glycoprotein, CoronavirusCOVID-19HumansImmunoassayLab-On-A-Chip DevicesSalivaSpike Glycoprotein, Coronavirusspike protein, SARS-CoV-2

Identifiers

PMID40351019
PMCPMC12067047

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.