An optical platform based on fluorescence anisotropy for C — reactive protein assay

A novel optical platform for point of care testing application was developed. The core of the platform is a miniaturised polymethylmetacrylate (PMMA) chip through which the analysed sample flows. Thanks to the fluorescence anisotropy exhibited by any dipole emitting at a distance from a medium interface of the order of the emitted wavelength, a large fraction of the fluorescence emitted by the sensing layer immobilized onto the internal flow-channel travels along the thickness of the PMMA up to its end-face where it is collected by a plastic optical fibre connected to a spectrum analyser. The potentiality of the optical chip was investigated with a sandwich assay for the C-reactive protein, one of the markers for inflammatory diseases.