Editing Lab-on-a-chip (section)

== Global health ==
Lab-on-a-chip technology may soon become an important part of efforts to improve [[global health]],<ref name="Yager2006">{{cite journal |author= Paul Yager |author2= Thayne Edwards |author3= Elain Fu |author4= Kristen Helton |author5= Kjell Nelson |author6= Milton R. Tam |author7= Bernhard H. Weigl |date=July 2006 |title= Microfluidic diagnostic technologies for global public health |journal= [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume= 442 |issue= 7101 |pages= 412–418|doi= 10.1038/nature05064 |pmid= 16871209 |bibcode= 2006Natur.442..412Y |s2cid= 4429504 |doi-access= free }}</ref> particularly through the development of [[point-of-care testing]] devices.<ref name="Yetisen2013">{{cite journal | author = Yetisen A. K. | year = 2013 | title = Paper-based microfluidic point-of-care diagnostic devices | journal = Lab on a Chip |volume= 13 |issue= 12 |pages= 2210–2251 |doi=10.1039/C3LC50169H| pmid = 23652632 | s2cid = 17745196 }}</ref>  In countries with few healthcare resources, [[infectious diseases]] that would be treatable in a developed nation are often deadly.  In some cases, poor healthcare clinics have the drugs to treat a certain illness but lack the [[diagnostic tool]]s to identify patients who should receive the drugs.  Many researchers believe that LOC technology may be the key to powerful new diagnostic instruments. The goal of these researchers is to create [[microfluidic]] chips that will allow healthcare providers in poorly equipped clinics to perform diagnostic tests such as [[microbiological culture]] [[assays]], [[immunoassays]] and [[nucleic acid]] [[assays]] with no laboratory support.

=== Global challenges ===
For the chips to be used in areas with limited resources, many challenges must be overcome.  In developed nations, the most highly valued traits for diagnostic tools include speed, sensitivity, and specificity; but in countries where the healthcare infrastructure is less well developed, attributes such as ease of use and shelf life must also be considered.  The reagents that come with the chip, for example, must be designed so that they remain effective for months even if the chip is not kept in a [[climate control]]led environment.  Chip designers must also keep [[cost]], [[scalability]], and [[recyclability]] in mind as they choose what materials and fabrication techniques to use.

=== Examples of global LOC application ===
One of the most prominent and well known LOC devices to reach the market is the at home pregnancy test kit, a device that utilizes [[paper-based microfluidics]] technology. 

Another active area of LOC research involves ways to diagnose and manage common [[infectious diseases]] caused by [[bacteria]], e.g. [[bacteriuria]], or [[virus]]es, e.g. [[influenza]]. A gold standard for diagnosing [[bacteriuria]] ([[urinary tract infections]]) is [[microbial culture]]. A recent study based on lab-on-a-chip technology, Digital Dipstick,<ref name="IseriBiggel2020">{{cite journal|last1=Iseri|first1=Emre|last2=Biggel|first2=Michael|last3=Goossens|first3=Herman|last4=Moons|first4=Pieter|last5=van der Wijngaart|first5=Wouter|title=Digital dipstick: miniaturized bacteria detection and digital quantification for the point-of-care|journal=Lab on a Chip|year=2020|volume=20|issue=23|pages=4349–4356|issn=1473-0197|doi=10.1039/D0LC00793E|pmid=33169747|doi-access=free}}</ref> miniaturised [[microbiological culture]] into a dipstick format and enabled it to be used at the [[point-of-care]]. Lab-on-a-chip technology can also be useful for the diagnosis and management of viral infections. In 2023, researchers developed a working prototype of an [[RT-LAMP]] lab-on-a-chip system called LoCKAmp, which provided results for [[SARS-CoV-2]] tests within three minutes.<ref name="pmid37740394">{{cite journal |vauthors=Papamatthaiou S, Boxall-Clasby J, Douglas EJ, Jajesniak P, Peyret H, Mercer-Chalmers J, Kumar VK, Lomonossoff GP, Reboud J, Laabei M, Cooper JM, Kasprzyk-Hordern B, Moschou D |title=LoCKAmp: lab-on-PCB technology for <3 minute virus genetic detection |journal=[[Lab on a Chip]] |volume=23 |issue=20 |pages=4400–4412 |date=October 2023 |pmid=37740394 |pmc=10563828 |doi=10.1039/d3lc00441d}}</ref><ref name="Engineer 2023">{{cite web |title=LoCKAmp diagnosis device hailed as 'world's fastest Covid test' |website=[[The Engineer (UK magazine)|The Engineer]] |date=2 November 2023 |url=https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/news/lockamp-diagnosis-device-hailed-as-world-s-fastest-covid-test/ |access-date=29 October 2024}}</ref> Managing [[HIV]] infections is another area where lab-on-a-chips may be useful. Around 36.9 million people are infected with HIV in the world today, and 59% of these people receive [[anti-retroviral]] treatment. Only 75% of people living with HIV knew their status.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet|title = Global HIV & AIDS statistics — 2019 fact sheet}}</ref>  Measuring the number of [[CD4+ T lymphocytes]] in a person's blood is an accurate way to determine if a person has HIV and to track the progress of an HIV infection.{{Citation needed|date=May 2018}} At the moment, flow [[cytometry]] is the gold standard for obtaining CD4 counts, but flow cytometry is a complicated technique that is not available in most developing areas because it requires trained technicians and expensive equipment. Recently such a cytometer was developed for just $5.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ozcan|first=Aydogan|title=Diagnosis in the palm of your hand|url=http://dailybruin.com/2011/08/21/43312-8-22-radio-diagnosis/|work=Multimedia::Cytometer|publisher=The Daily Bruin|access-date=26 January 2015}}</ref> 
Another active area of LOC research is for controlled separation and mixing.  In such devices it is possible to quickly diagnose and potentially treat diseases. As mentioned above, a big motivation for development of these is that they can potentially be manufactured at very low cost.<ref name="researchgate.net"/>  One more area of research that is being looked into with regards to LOC is with home security.  Automated monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a desired functionality for LOC.  If this application becomes reliable, these micro-devices could be installed on a global scale and notify homeowners of potentially dangerous compounds.<ref>{{cite journal |doi =10.1038/micronano.2015.39|title =Chip-scale gas chromatography: From injection through detection|journal =Microsystems & Nanoengineering|volume =1|year =2015|last1 =Akbar|first1 =Muhammad|last2 =Restaino|first2 =Michael|last3 =Agah|first3 =Masoud|issue =1|page =15039|doi-access =free|bibcode =2015MicNa...115039A}}</ref>