Microfluidic-based fluorescence enhancement of silica-embedded carbon dots for direct detection and quantification of unamplified HCV RNA in clinical samples

Abstract

This application of N-CDs/SiO2 as nucleic acid fluorescent probes for the first time, offers a versatile, cost-effective, and universal platform for nucleic acids detection. The developed system can be employed in conventional microwell plate-based detection with minimal modifications to current laboratory setups. Additionally, it was integrated into a 3D-printed microfluidic chip enabling enhancement in specificity, sensitivity and accuracy.