Automatic Detection of Two Synovial Fluid Periprosthetic Joint Infection Biomarkers on an Integrated Microfluidic System

Post-arthroplasty periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a serious ailment that can be difficult to diagnose. Herein, we developed a novel integrated microfluidic system (IMS) capable of detecting two common PJI biomarkers, alpha defensin human neutrophil peptide 1 (HNP-1) and C-reactive protein (CRP), from synovial fluid (SF). A magnetic bead-based one-aptamer-one-antibody assay was carried out automatically within 45 min on a single chip for simultaneous detection of both biomarkers at concentration ranges of 0.01-50 (HNP-1) and 1-100 (CRP) mg/L. It is the first report for utilizing these two biomarkers as targets to establish the new one-aptamer-one-antibody assay to detect PJI on-chip, and the aptamers demonstrated high specificity to their SF targets. As 20 clinical samples were correctly diagnosed with our IMS (verified by a common gold standard kit), it could serve as a promising tool for PJI diagnostics.