Material‐to‐Application Integration: Rapid Fabrication of Field‐Deployable Hydrogel‐SiO2 DNA Separator for Low‐Resource Point‐of‐Care Diagnostics

TL;DR

A low-cost, easy-to-use DNA separator is developed for quick and accurate diagnostics in resource-limited areas.

Contribution

A novel hydrogel-SiO2 composite with hierarchical microstructures enables efficient DNA extraction and rapid pathogen detection.

Findings

The S(PAA-SiO2-Mix) device achieves higher DNA extraction yield than commercial kits.

The system detects Vibrio parahaemolyticus at 10 CFU mL−1 in under 40 minutes.

The platform supports equipment-minimized point-of-care diagnostics with high sensitivity.

Abstract

Current nucleic acid (NA) diagnostics are hindered in resource‐limited settings by equipment needs and high costs. S(PAA‐SiO2) is developed, a hydrogel‐SiO2 composite deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) separator addressing these challenges through rapid (<10 min), simple, and skill‐free preparation, ultralow cost ($0.028 per unit), and equipment‐minimized mass production capacity (96 units per batch). Further systematic investigation of SiO2 particle surface modification revealed critical enhancements in DNA adsorption properties. With maintaining structural thermal stability, SiO2 integration significantly improved the surface roughness, specific surface area, and hydrophobicity, leading to hydrophobic and salt bridge effect‐enhanced DNA adsorption. Especially, SiO2 modification with mixed particle size formed a hierarchical microstructure to promote turbulence and interface interaction. Device S(PAA‐SiO2‐Mix) achieved a higher DNA extraction yield than the commercial kits. It possesses potential value for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) diagnosis of bacterial, viral, parasitic, and fungal pathogens. By orchestrating three technological progresses ‐ rapid S(PAA‐SiO2‐Mix) fabrication, high‐throughput DNA extraction, and visual loop‐mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) ‐ a field‐deployable diagnostic workflow is established for Vibrio parahaemolyticus (v. parahaemolyticus, Vpa). This platform achieves equipment‐minimized point‐of‐care detection in <40 min with a sensitivity of 10 CFU mL−1. Its simplicity, speed, and accuracy offer a transformative solution for resource‐limited diagnostics. This work advances separation interface design and presents a novel vision for integrated, equipment‐free molecular detection systems.

A rapidly fabricated hydrogel‐SiO2 composite enables ultralow‐cost, equipment‐minimized DNA extraction, outperforming commercial kits. Hierarchical microstructures enhance hydrophobic/salt‐bridge‐driven adsorption. Integrated with visual LAMP, this field‐deployable system detects Vibrio parahaemolyticus at 10 CFU mL−1 in <40 min, offering transformative point‐of‐care diagnostics for resource‐limited settings.

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