A design pipeline for development of a multi-analyte marine bio-sensor lab-on-a-disc platform

Abstract

The development of microfluidic sensors as cost-effective strategies for environmental monitoring has been a primary goal for the platform since the 1980s. This paper outlines the lessons learned, during the designing and testing of biochemical assay protocols on a Lab-on-a-Disc (LOAD), using MARIne environmental in-situ Assessment and monitoring tool BOX (MARIABOX) project. Two novel platforms were produced in the MARIABOX project, with the latter mostly falling outside the scope of this study: A centrifugal microfluidic platform which would perform on-disc biochemical assays, and a deployable ‘Smart Buoy’ which would manage the storage, performance and biosensor detection of the centrifugal microfluidic platform. The technical challenge of the project was an -in-situ system and the monitoring of eight separate analytes including microcystin, saxitoxin, domoic acid, azaspiracid, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, naphthalene, camphechlor and heavy metal presence. This paper highlights the concurrent and collaborative strategy used by the 14 international partners of the MARIABOX project, required to achieve the 4-year development target.