Detection of micro ribonucleic acids from extracted extracellular vesicles for cardiovascular diseases by using an integrated microfluidic system

Recently, micro ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) extracted from extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been recognized as promising biomarkers for early detection of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, the detection and quantification of miRNAs by using the existing methods are relatively labor-intensive and time-consuming. In this work, an integrated microfluidic system equipped with highly sensitive field-effect transistors which is capable of performing EVs extraction, EVs lysis, target miRNAs extraction and miRNAs detection was reported. The entire detection process could be automated within three hours on a single chip and the detection limit of miRNAs was observed to be in a femtomolar range, which meets the requirement of physiological concentrations. This integrated microfluidic system has great potential to be a tool for early detection of CVDs.