Silk-Based Diagnostic Device Interweaving Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Fibers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current diagnostic devices for analyte detection in biological samples face challenges such as high costs, bulkiness, delayed results, and limited ability to perform multiplex tests, with existing manufacturing methods being costly and unsuitable for large-scale production of portable, low-cost, and reliable devices.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the interweaving of hydrophilic and hydrophobic fibers, where hydrophilic fibers treated with reagents are woven with hydrophobic fibers to create a diagnostic device that utilizes capillary action for sample flow and reagent interaction, enabling efficient detection and multiplex analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If plastic-based microfluidic devices are used, then cost and processability are improved, but hydrophobicity prevents simple capillary flow and requires expensive readers
Solution Approach 1:
The plastic substrate is treated with plasma or chemical solutions to create localized hydrophilic regions in specific areas where capillary flow is needed, while maintaining hydrophobicity in other regions. This local modification enables controlled fluid flow paths without requiring complete substrate hydrophilization, thus preserving cost-effectiveness and manufacturing simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The device combines plastic substrate material with hydrophilic coatings or surface treatments in a composite structure. This composite approach allows the bulk material to retain its cost advantages and mechanical properties while the surface layer provides the necessary hydrophilic capillary action, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing ease and flow capability.
2Ease of operation
If paper-based lateral flow devices are used, then capillary flow and visual readout are achieved, but reliability and multiplexing capability are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into multiple functional layers and regions: a plastic substrate layer for structural support and reagent containment, a hydrophilic surface layer for capillary flow, and distinct functional zones for different analyte detections. This segmentation enables multiple tests (multiplexing) while maintaining reliable capillary flow through the hydrophilic layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a composite structure combining plastic substrate with hydrophilic surface treatments, creating a device that integrates the manufacturing advantages of plastic with the capillary flow and visual readout capabilities of paper-based systems, while adding enhanced reliability through controlled fluid dynamics and stable reagent platforms.
3Manufacturing precision
If traditional microelectronic fabrication methods are used, then precision is improved, but cost and capital investment increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces complex microelectronic fabrication processes with simpler textile manufacturing techniques adapted for diagnostic devices. Patterned hydrophilic channels are created using printing or weaving methods rather than photolithography and etching, dramatically reducing equipment requirements and capital investment while maintaining sufficient precision for capillary flow and analyte detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The manufacturing approach changes from sub-micron precision requirements of microelectronic fabrication to larger feature size tolerances acceptable for capillary flow applications. This parameter relaxation enables the use of cost-effective textile manufacturing processes instead of expensive semiconductor fabrication, reducing capital investment while maintaining functional precision for diagnostic purposes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The approach results in a cost-effective, portable, and reliable diagnostic device capable of rapid analyte detection with improved mechanical stability and scalability, overcoming limitations of existing technologies by using existing textile manufacturing techniques and materials like silk and gold-coated silk.
Implementation Method 1
sample flow occurs automatically through capillary action
Data Source
AI summary
In one aspect, the invention provides a method for making a hydrophilic-silk composition. The method includes providing at least one strand of silk fiber, treating the silk fiber with an alkaline solution to provide at least one strand of degummed silk fiber, and treating the degummed silk fiber with a treatment solution to provide a hydrophilic-silk composition. The degummed silk fiber or the hydrophilic-silk composition is further immobilized with at least one reagent to make a silk-based diagnostic composition. The invention provides a silk-based diagnostic composition made by the method of the invention, and a diagnostic device that comprises the silk-based diagnostic composition. In another aspect, the invention provides a method of making a diagnostic device. The method includes providing at least one strand of a diagnostic-fiber composition, providing at least one strand of a hydrophobic-fiber composition, inter-weaving the at least one strand of the diagnostic-fiber composition and the at least one strand of the hydrophobic-fiber composition. In one embodiment, the diagnostic-fiber composition and the hydrophobic-fiber composition are both based on silk.