**4. Advantages of microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip technology**

Globally, every country confronts parallel challenges in keeping its inhabitants healthy and preventing the cross-border spread of infectious diseases. Biomedical engineers, synthetic chemists, and biologists along with public health professionals are evaluating the potentiality of microfluidic LoC technology in the context of international public health security. In recent years, certain applications have emerged, from the detection of infectious diseases to diagnostics for international public health [41]. Several on-chip clinical assessments have also appeared include cell analysis, cytometry, blood analysis, nucleic acids amplification, genetic mapping, enzymatic assays, peptide analysis, protein separation, toxicity analysis, and bioassays [42]. In the area of drug research, the LoC devices have gradually became significant with the prominence on cell targeting, clinical trials, drug synthesis, pharmaceutical formulations, and product management process [43]. The LoC devices are found promising in the analysis of drugs and determination of optimal dosages. This is especially useful for testing the synergistic effect of combined drugs [44]. In recent past, microfluidic LoCs presented an exclusive prospect to replicate natural veins for testing nanoparticles as drug carriers for targeting cells or, moreover, presented opportunities for investigate in vitro metabolism of biological cultures [45].

Compactness, portability, modularity, embedded computing, automated sample handling, low electronic noise, limited power consumption, and straightforward integration of various components are some notable technical advantages of LoC devices [46]. Furthermore, LoC devices are capable of supporting a wide range of processes such as sampling, routing, transport, dispensing, and mixing, mostly with reduced moving or spinning mechanisms [47]. Due to their small size, the LoC devices offer precise fluidic transportation via the use of electrokinetics or micropumping, efficient separation of the liquid samples, and precision in the measurement of samples [48]. Likewise, the LoC devices can reduce the time of synthesis of a product and the time of analysis of a sample because of the small fluidic volumes

that they handle. LoC devices can also measure samples with greater precision, with their capability of controlling the chemical reactions through efficient control of the reactants concentration [49].

In the same way, the field of clinical medicine deeply benefited from microfluidic LoC technology as it suites for disease modeling and drug screening [50], tests for observing pandemics [51], glucose monitoring, diabetic control, diagnosis of diseases, and numerous other tests [22, 52]. LoC devices enhance numerous biomedical tests that entail mixing, analysis, and separation of samples, which usually consist of cell suspensions, nucleic acids, and proteins; analytical, electrical, or optical detection methods are also possible [53]. Key manufacturing advantages that make microfluidic LoC technology reasonable are: achievable mass production, affordable replacement cost, short time manufacture, simple quality tests, and broad range of supporting computer-aided design and simulation software tools [54]. However, the technical limitations such as size reduction, sample input rates, power consumption, chip reliability, and biocompatibility all still require further investigations in the design of microfluidic LoC technology [55].

## **5. Research potential of mHealth-based microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip technology for international public health security**

In era of international public health catastrophe, academia, industry, the R&D community, and governments must be stimulated as an interconnected group to promptly determine the obligatory biomedical engineering and international public health interventions. Achieving significant acceleration in R&D related to international public health security requires significant amount of new directions because it is critical to use the best technology, investigation, and development to strengthen international public health defense. However, the simplicity and system integration provided by microfluidic LoC technology for the implementation of multiple tasks, such as sample preparation, separation, amplification, and detection, have largely extended their use in biomedical and international public health applications [56, 57]. Examples of their uses are immunoassays with plasma generation for electrochemical detection, infectious disease diagnostics based on platforms that integrate sample preparation, PCR, integrated valves for DNA-based diagnosis, quantification, and biochemical analysis for the evaluation and quality control of DNA, RNA, proteins, and cells together with fluorescence or similar visualization methods [58, 59].

Microfluidic LoC technology is an excellent choice for integrating mHealthbased point-of-care devices in resource-limited settings, offering portable medical analysis without the need of costly and sophisticated equipment, and the fast obtention of results without involving an extensive knowledge of the diagnosis principle involved [60–64]. Several studies have proven the effectiveness of LoC devices as portable point-of-care diagnosis tools in the detection of infected microorganisms, biological analytes, and blood analysis [61, 62]. Microfluidic LoC systems can also be used for controlled, personalized drug delivery according to patient's response, extent of disease, and current conditions [63]. Besides, key advantages that mHealth-based microfluidic LoCs can offer for international public health are facilitating early-stage accurate diagnosis, maintaining better communication and monitoring of patients, enabling better tracking of disease outbreaks, and improving the epidemiological surveillance of diseases, which are predominantly challenging problems for international public health security.

**205**

*mHealth-Based Microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip for International Health Security*

It is widely discussed that microfluidic LoC technology has great potential to revolutionize the international public health field and possess the capability to give a boost to international public health security. There is a pressing need for new health technologies for diagnosing and treating avoidable international public health problems. mHealth-based microfluidic LoC technology still seem to be a dream especially in resource-limited settings. One of the biggest challenges in the field of mHealth-based microfluidic LoC is the translation from academic research to end-user products. While the field of microfluidic LoC technology has seen an exponential development in recent past, the launch of a commercialized platform that would revolutionize the concept of mHealth-based microfluidic LoC technology is still lacking. A bottleneck that hinders the adoption of microfluidic LoCs in international public health and mHealth applications remains due to the facility and skill requirement and knowledge gap. Despite barriers and challenging issues, many great opportunities are still waiting ahead. There are no "one size fits all" solutions for modeling complex international public health security problems "on a chip." Tackling the international public health security challenges in a way that yields meaningful advances will therefore require bringing together groups with diverse expertise in biomedical engineering, synthetic biologist and chemist, microfluidic LoC technology professionals, international public health, and health

The author declares that there is neither conflict nor financial interest. No

Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China,

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

\*Address all correspondence to: baig@mail.ustc.edu.cn

provided the original work is properly cited.

writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90283*

**6. Conclusion**

security experts.

**Author details**

Mirza Abdul Aleem Baig

Hefei, Anhui, China

**Conflict of interest**

*mHealth-Based Microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip for International Health Security DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90283*
