Paper-based microfluidic device with upconversion fluorescence assay.

A paper-based microfluidic device with upconversion fluorescence assay (named as UC-μPAD) is proposed. The device is fabricated on a normal office printing sheet with a simple plotting method. Upconversion phosphors (UCPs) tagged with specific probes are spotted to the test zones on the μPAD, followed by the introduction of assay targets. Upconversion fluorescence measurements are directly conducted on the test zones after the completion of the probe-to-target reactions, without any post-treatments. The UC-μPAD features very easy fabrication and operation, simple and fast detection, low cost, and high sensitivity. UC-μPAD is a promising prospect for a clinical point-of-care test.