Grant: Alliance Grants

Diagnostics are an essential part of the healthcare system. Early and accurate detection of disease indicators are vital for reducing transmission and successful treatments. Building upon Dr. Dae Kun Hwang's previous work, Dr. Hwang has invented a highly rapid and simultaneous multiplexed immunoassay platform based on a hydrogel membrane to address this challenge. This will detect and quantify various biomarkers concurrently in the same sample. Microfluidics also requires smaller samples which are cheaper and easier to automate. These advantages will significantly reduce testing and detection time. However, this hydrogel membrane microfluidic platform suffers from low sensitivity compared to highly ultra-sensitive detection devices, such as electrospray mass spectrometry. Via the proposed international collaboration with Dr. Younghum Kim's research team, Dr. Hwang will encapsulate metallic nanoparticles such as silver, synthesized by Dr. Kim's team, into the hydrogel to overcome the low sensitivity limitation. This nanoparticle encapsulation will significantly enhance the detection signals of target biomolecules. Dr. Kim's and Dr. Hwang's research teams will investigate the effects of the size, shape, and concentration of metallic nanoparticles on signal enhancement. Dr. Hwang's innovative and versatile biomedical tools will allow him to improve the quality of healthcare and wellbeing on a large scale.